Shield your eyes friends because today’s wedding is so packed with colour, that you’re going to need to take a step back. There’s a skirt that’s every hue, an outdoor reception that’s practically a rainbow and in the midst of it all, Lizzy and Ivan’s beautiful story. It’s The Colour Issue through and through!

The Raw Photographer joined this merry crew on the day, where the bride, an interior stylist, dreamt up big ideas for a day, planned in just three months, which she describes as “Colourful, Eclectic & Glam”. “When you only have three months to plan a wedding, you are pushed to make decisions very quickly. However, my favourite part of the whole process would have been planning all the decor/look for the reception table. I would cover my hallway runner with a white sheet and pretend it was the table and practice styling with every new item I would buy. There were a lot of items I bought but didn’t get used because there just wasn’t enough room on the table.”

It was at a local nightclub where these two first laid eyes on one another. “We locked eyes at the bar in Gilligans Nightclub in Cairns almost 8 years ago (but let’s be honest he was only looking at one thing and it wasn’t my face! He tells me that he spotted me from behind haha!) He didn’t know at the time though, but I had seen him out a couple of months before our official meeting and already had my eye on him #stalker”.

Ivan asked the big question when the couple holidayed to Port Douglas for their babymoon, Lizzy reminiscing “We were on our Babymoon at the beautiful Sea Temple, Port Douglas – we had just checked in, turned the TV onto a music channel and chilled for the afternoon in the room. I hopped in the huge bathtub to relax and have a glass of Mimosa… Next minute Ivan walks around the corner wearing JUST a Zebra print G-String and gets down on one knee – I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this stage. I mean how could I say no to that! At the time I hadn’t even noticed the music in the background but we caught the last few seconds of the song that was playing and it was Austin Powers theme song! That part was not planned!”

The beautiful tropical location Kewarra Beach Resort was just the ticket for these two, who chose the spot so their guests wouldn’t have to travel between ceremony and reception. Lizzy sharing “Kewarra Beach Resort is an exclusive tropical retreat with an amazing beachfront location. The resort itself is nestled amongst the most beautiful palm trees and paperbark gum trees, it truly reflects the very essence of tropical Australia. September is a great month to get married in Cairns. The weather is almost always perfect so you can hold all the celebrations outdoors. We were able to get married on the beach and have our reception on their Forest Deck amongst nature and under the stars.”

The groom dressed in pieces from YD, Gazman and Beau Hudson. His look filled with colour, much to his colour loving heart’s delight.

Lizzy chose Kina Grannis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love ” to play as she walked down the aisle with her father. “I was so nervous all week especially the morning of our wedding. But the sun was shining and it was a glorious day. Can I just say how hard it is to walk gracefully in heels on a BEACH!! Thanks to my Dad holding me upright, I made it to Ivan safely, with sand between my toes.”

Lizzy and Ivan chose the bride’s uncle to make their vows official, telling “As soon as I was standing up there with Ivan, my nerves were completely gone. With only 23 guests it was a very intimate occasion. It was a short ceremony but filled with so much LOVE and laughter. My Uncle, who is a Pastor married us which was really special. The only tradition we stuck to was using traditional wedding vows.”

 

Tiny tots were an important part of Lizzy and Ivan’s day, the couple including their children  Olive (5 yrs) & Van (3 yrs)” I will never forget my daughter coming up to me during the reception and telling me “This is the best wedding I have ever seen, Mummy…You’re the best!” It was so adorable. No one could burst my little girl’s happiness bubble that day, she was so happy that her Mummy & Daddy were getting married (FINALLY)!”

This bride? She started planning her wedding outfit many years before the big day thanks to a Bell Frankie and Co pair of earrings! She explains “I started my wedding outfit three years ago when my darling sister surprised me with my beautiful wedding earrings. I had been eyeing them off for a while and I am so glad she bought them when she did, otherwise I would have missed out on them for sure. I then put them in a box picture frame and admired them for the last three years waiting for our special day. We never had a date set at this stage, we just knew it would happen eventually.”

And then the skirt came next, Lizzy searching high and low for an amazing skirt she’d fallen in love with by Sass and Bide, finally finding it at Lynn Woods Store. “In April this year I found my skirt (still no wedding date) … it was bold and colourful and SOO me and was ON SALE! I consulted my sister about the skirt and by the time I decided to buy it, it was sold out in my size everywhere in Australia! But I was not going to give up that easy and I found one in a boutique dress shop in New Zealand – upon receiving the skirt, the shop owner wrote me a thank you card and on the back of the card read “Why fit in when you were born to stand out” it was meant to be mine! I knew I was never going to have a traditional white dress – my home and life are full of colour! I have never even been into a Bridal shop to try a bridal dress on.”

The finishing touch to the bride’s look? The top (from Asos) and Bared Footwear shoes. “In June this year, we set our wedding date, FINALLY!! I had 3 months to find a top and shoes. I originally thought about doing a white bodice style top, but I couldn’t find the perfect white to match the skirt. Then I thought maybe a colour that was in the skirt and then I thought black, nothing sparked joy for me until I found my sequin-embellished cropped top. It was the perfect amount of GLAM to compliment my earrings and skirt. Everything fell into place quite easily, it was great! The shoes were a no brainer, they had to be pink to match my hair. Although I didn’t get the experience of going into a dress store with my BFFs and trying on dresses, I found doing everything online was super quick and easy and saved me so much time.”

Lizzy and Ivan wanted a personable photographer who would help their day flow in the easygoing way they dreamt of, they found it! “When your photographer comes to your home for your first meeting and greets you at the front door with a hug, you know you’ve made the right decision. We loved him…the kids loved him! So much so that our daughter Olive drew him a beautiful drawing to take home and on our wedding day he told me that he still has that drawing on his fridge – CUTE!! Jason is the nicest and most easy-going guy. He is so easy to talk to and we both felt so comfortable around him. During our wedding ceremony, I don’t even remember seeing him – he just blended into our small group of people. Nothing was too hard during our portrait session… he made us feel natural in every photo and that shows in the beautiful photos we received. I will treasure them forever. Jason is an AHH-MAZING photographer!!!”

Lizzy is an interior stylist (Lizzy Higham Interior Styling) and designed the wedding decor herself. “Being an Interior Stylist, I did all my own styling for the reception. The pink napkins were cut and sewn by my mum and my sister so generously offered to iron them all. I upcycled the green candelabra on the centre of the table that I purchased off the FB Marketplace, it used to be silver.”

“The bride made sure to honour the younger guests, with this advice for future couples to be. “Having our children and our 4 nieces at our wedding, I made sure that I had activities to keep them all occupied. We all know kids get bored very easily! I put together little goodie bags for them that included play dough, candy, bubbles, puzzles, glow sticks and crayons – I also made custom colouring/activity books to suit each child.”

The outdoor reception seated guests at long tables topped with fresh, colourful blooms that were tied back to the bride’s bouquet, all styled by Botanic Republic. Lizzy explained “I knew I wanted my flowers to be bright and colourful. I didn’t have any specific flowers picked, so I sent my florist three inspo pics of my favourite bouquets. I left everything to my amazing florist. I had no idea what I was getting until the day and I was absolutely blown away with my bouquet and table posies. They were beyond beautiful and I still to this day can’t stop thinking about them. I kept one of the poppies from my bouquet and have dried and flattened it to put in a frame for my gallery wall. Poppies are now my new favourite flower!”

And then, once dinner was done it was time to dance, the groom choosing the couple’s first dance song, Lizzy remembering “Ivan actually chose the song for our first dance, which made it really special. Because that is the only input he had, haha! ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ by STARSHIP. He said that he liked the words and I couldn’t agree more… it was perfect! I wished I had got some dance lessons… I’m not a very good slow dancer. it didn’t help that we were upstaged by our 3-year-old. He pulled out these awesome moves and stole the show… but it didn’t bother us 🙂 All our nieces joined in and danced all around us, it was really cute.”

A big congratulations to you both Lizzy and Ivan! Talk about an amazing day to share! Thank you also to The Raw Photographer for sharing these fab images!