Matt & Erin

The venue search began immediately as Erin said “YES!” after 10 years together, no less on a mountain top mind you! Their day was surrounded by family and friends, and of course their fur baby, Norman. A few minor hiccups on the day (we won’t mention the steamer!) put no dampener on the fun and love that was celebrated on the cliff top at Villa Botanica. Thank you for sharing this gorgeous Whitsundays wedding with us as we wish Matt and Erin a lifetime of happiness together! 

The Risk!

We started our search for a wedding venue the day that we got engaged. Matt took me for a run in the Noosa hinterlands and at the top of the cliff overlooking the water asked me to marry him after nearly 10 years together!

Noosa was the easy option as we love it there and often visit but we wanted to try somewhere different but still have our special day close to the water. Then we found Villa Botanica at Airlie Beach and we quickly contacted them thinking…could this be as good as it seems in the photos? How have we not heard of this place?

We decided to book the venue without seeing it to save on costs and all the way leading up to the wedding we were terrified that it would not be what we hoped! We were certainly not disappointed.

The dress

I flew to Melbourne to check out a dress that I absolutely loved at Suzanne Harwood. It looked terrible on me! But, the team at Suzanne Harward were just amazing and asked me to try on a dress that I would never have picked for myself. I nearly died…it was perfect. I spent the day trying on more dresses at two other bridal boutiques but knew that I’d found the one for me and ended up flying it home to Brisbane with me.

The boys wore classic black tuxedos which added to the pop against the different backdrops. The girls were dressed in Shona Joy. Their nude tones really helped to highlight the delicate French lace detail of my Suzanne Harward dress.

The Style

The style of our wedding was classic and elegant but at the same time we wanted it to be fun! Villa Botanica was the perfect venue. It provided so many beautiful backdrops – from elegant garden’s, desert (via the Cactarium) and of course the water.

We made the decision to have the reception on the sea-deck overlooking the ocean which left us and our guests feeling like we were somewhere in the Mediterranean.

The day

It was the most amazing day to spend marrying the love of my life, surrounded by friends and family. The atmosphere of excitement, fun and love was unforgettable. We have the best support and to share the experience with our friends and family at such a unique location made the day all the more perfect.

It made for a more relaxing and enjoyable time knowing that everyone there was on a mini-holiday. A big requirement for our wedding was that our fur baby, Norman was able to be a part of the day. He made the drive up from Brisbane with us and I couldn’t have imagined such an important day without him there.

Our photographers, All the love in the world, have taken some amazing aerial shots that really show case just how amazing the venue really is. We love Jesse and Mikala who came up from the Sunshine Coast to photograph our day.

The Lessons Learned

We were big on planning and this paid off in terms of bringing all the little touches to the wedding that made it ‘ours’. BUT things do go wrong. Matt’s suit pants split the day of the wedding and the steamer also burst on fire as the boys’ suits were about to be ironed, not the best start to the day! Luckily, no damage was done and crisis was avoided thanks to one of the groomsmen’s secret talent for sewing haha!

Leading up to the day stick with your vision and do what you feels good, not what feels right. On the day, as best you can, just let the stress go, leave the little details, your guests won’t remember them and enjoy the day that you’ve been waiting planning together for!