Renee & Tyson

On a sunny day in Brisbane, Renee and Tyson said I do! Wearing a sparkling Karen Willis Holmes gown and with Scottish details throughout the day, their romantic celebration ended with a giant dinner party, everyone seated at one long (lovely!) table.

Renee remembers how they met, sharing, ”It was through a friend in high school. He actually drove us to our school formal (he was the older guy with a cool car). We started dating about 6 months after I finished school. Tyson proposed while we were on holidays in Hawaii. We went out for dinner at Iron Chef’s Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant in Waikiki. After dinner, Tyson had planned a walk along the beach but it had started raining so the proposal happened in the hallway of our hotel!”

The bride chose a fitted and sparkling Karen Willis Holme gown with navy stilettos, carrying a bouquet of mixed roses and dahlias. She shares, ”I wore the ‘Anya’ gown with a silk georgette drape skirt over the top and my family tartan for the ceremony, I removed the skirt and tartan for our reception. The ladies at Karen Willis Holmes in Paddington were lovely and so helpful with the whole process, I purchased my dress 3 months out from the wedding and I chose it due to their beautiful ready to wear collection.” The groom wore a custom made navy and black suit with embroidered initials on the shirt cuff, made by George & King.

Avoiding wedding aisle jitters, the bride and groom to be enjoyed their first look before the formalities began. They chose ‘Weddings at the Church’ by AVIdeas for their location, sharing,  ”We wanted an indoor ceremony and had looked at a few places before stumbling across this beautiful venue. It was the first one we both loved and felt right for our ceremony.”

Wearing her family’s tartan and with the bagpipes playing, the bride walked down the aisle with her father, who was dressed in a kilt. The bride tells, ”We both agreed on an unplugged wedding. It was important that our guests were present for our ceremony and not viewing it through a lense on their phone or camera. Our celebrant, Bill Scurry, read an excerpt from ‘Captain Correlli’s Mandolin’ and did a Handfasting Prayer during our ceremony. We also had a blessing from both of our parents.”

Moody and romantic was the brief for the blooms on the day, and the couple were thrilled with the outcome. They share, ”Our amazing wedding planner Emma from Coco & Confetti chose our flowers. The first time I saw them was actually on the day! We had full confidence in her as we had seen her previous work and it really fit with what we were looking for. I had Pinterest board to share my ideas with Emma and she nailed it!”

Capturing the day was photographer Tennille Fink, who was suggested to the couple by their wedding planner. They share, ”We had a catch up over Skype and after our initial conversation, we didn’t even look for anyone else! Both Tennille Fink and Emma at Coco & Confetti are so amazing at what they do! Their attention to detail, creativity and we really felt they both listened and really understood us. Emma particularly looked after styling, planning, coordinating, flowers and sourcing all the rentals as well as keeping me on-track and calm.”

Very keen to have the reception feel as though everyone was at a big dinner party, Renee and Tyson found the perfect location. They remember, ”The one element we really wanted for our reception was to have all of the guests on one long table with us sitting amongst them as we had no bridal party. The Tote Room at Brisbane Racing Club was perfect!”

Styled by Coco & Confetti, the industrial and reception space was romantic, with garden flowers in peach, wine and burgundy warming the space. Candles were scattered down the long tables, with a three double tiered gold hand painted cake stealing the show. The couple danced to ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran, and list their highlights from the day, remembering, ”My grandfather saying grace before dinner, our bagpiper for the ceremony and my family tartan – on my sash and my fathers kilt!”

Thank you to our magnificent bride and groom for sharing your beautiful wedding day, and congratulations! Thank you also to Tennille Fink for sharing your stunning images!