Zoe & Dave

It made sense that Zoe and Dave chose the beach for their wedding – the pair meeting in the beachside town of Phuket in Thailand many moons ago, instantly noticing an attraction. Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast setting for a scene that was filled with bohemian details – a tipi on the sand anyone? And plenty of family and friends – even the groom’s twelve-year-old dog, Dax made an appearance!

Luckily for us,  Adriana Watson Photography was there to capture every moment as it happened!

It was a pure romance when Dave proposed – right down the oysters! Zoe tells the story. “Dave proposed to me at our local beach, it was a complete surprise and I couldn’t have been happier! We celebrated that night with champagne and two dozen oysters!! I picked up the first oyster, slurping it back and biting down on something hard… I spat it into my hand… and there it was… a PEARL!! We couldn’t believe it. We both laugh, believing it was a sign of our amazing future together. I keep it in my jewellery box and hopefully, one day will create a necklace with it.”

Zoe chose a lace gown designed by Marilyn Crystelle. She shares “When it came time to selecting the dress, I chose the designer Marilyn Crystelle. For months we collaborated on ideas to create my dream dress, she sourced some beautiful lace and our design started to take place. Having my dress made was one of the highlights for me when planning the wedding. I loved seeing the progress of each fitting, Marilyn is an incredible designer, the dress was even more beautiful than I ever imagined.”

Zoe and Dave held their day at Novotel Twin Waters. Zoe shares “Most of our guests travelled so we wanted to make it as easy as possible.”

Zoe walked down the aisle to the sound of a live bagpiper. She explains “I had a playlist selected, like every bride. But my dad had other plans! My family’s heritage is Scottish and my grandmother was too sick to attend the day. He surprised me with a Scottish bagpiper!!”

Zoe and Dave chose Jay Flood to officiate their ceremony, telling “Determined to keep the earthy vibes flowing it was important to us to find a relaxed celebrant that had some flair.
Then we found Jay Flood!  He was so casual and that definitely helped with the nerves on the day, he continually cracked jokes- he had all our guests and us at ease.”

 

Zoe and Dave worked with the talented Ginger Lily and Rose on their wedding flowers, noting “I love all the natural earthy flowers so I choose a Native palette. Ginger Lily Rose created some amazing arrangements. My favourite were the bouquets, particularly mine with a King Protea as the centrepiece. We dressed up the peacock chairs with some native embellishments which were such a beautiful feature.”

A bright blue Kombi van from Deluxe Kombi Service transported the couple. “We really enjoyed Deluxe Kombis. Michael our driver was more than happy to go with our ideas, (even when we changed photo location at the last minute), going the extra mile by taking a video of us in the Kombi, pouring our drinks for us and giving us all the time we needed.”

Of their photographer, Zoe remarks “We connected with our photographer Adriana Watson right from the first time we met, it was obvious that she knew the type of photos we wanted. Adriana captured every element with such detail and so many beautiful natural moments throughout the day.
She captured photographs that will tell our story for a lifetime.”

Shares Zoe “I loved every part of the wedding planning – the most rewarding thing was seeing how much my husband enjoyed the day and listen to him brag about our wedding to other couples on our honeymoon. He was so proud.”

Guests dined on the beach at long tables under a tipi. Zoe says “We decided early on that we wanted an outdoor wedding and couldn’t think of a more beautiful way than having a TIPI!!”

Each place setting was topped with a fresh sprig of rosemary grown by the newlyweds, below hand cut timber place cards.

Shares the bride “Whilst it isn’t tradition, as the bride, I felt I wanted to make a speech on the day, particularly to mention my mum and dad for all their help and ongoing support and also to share some cheeky stories of Dave and me.”

The cake was surrounded by herbs picked by the bride’s father – each holding a special meaning. Zoe explains “My father had collected and dry pressed a variety of flowers and laid them out around the cake. This was a representation of my family’s heritage. The red roses are for my grandfather’s English family. The Scottish thistle is for my grandmother’s Scottish family. The golden wattle is for my mum’s Australian family.”

“Our good friends Shane and Lisa had just started their ‘Event hire’ business – ‘Say It With Lights ‘ and they lent us their handcrafted LOVE letters for the night!! With the water backdrop, the letters lit up and everyone made a dance floor in front with their feet shuffling in the sand.”

Of their first dance, Zoe reminisces  “We chose ‘Gonna Love You’ by Avicii – we love to party and chose a song that we felt reflected our love for one another and it had an upbeat (vibe) that we could really dance to!”

Congratulations Zoe and Dave! Thank you for sharing your beautiful stories with us! Thank you also to Adriana Watson Photography for sharing today’s celebration