Candice and Brandon changed their wedding plans four times to make sure that Brandon’s Queensland family could be involved in their wedding day while borders closed during COVID, but as luck would have it, they were able to arrive from Queensland the day before the wedding, to be a part of the well overdue celebration.

And a celebration it was, because, for Candice and Brandon who planned a day that was all about rustic, boho details, this was a day set to  go down in history. The wedding, filled with a beautiful, neutral colour palette, was not only beautiful but personal. Little details, big details, personal and fun details all wove their way throughout a day that at its very core, as evidenced by the beautiful photography by Jypsea, was relaxed and fun.

Candice and Brandon’s story begins at work, tells Candice, “I had just come back to the office after being on-site for six weeks and was trying to She-Hulk carry all my stuff into the office in one go and then suddenly the door opened and a face I had never seen before held the door open for me. I didn’t realise he was a long-term employee from our East Coast Division.”

Brandon proposed with a sneaky story that included a helicopter ride to winery Amelia Park. He tells the tale of how it unfolded, “I was on a job away from home and thought to myself how and when am I going to propose, as I knew Candice wanted to get married before we were going to have kids. I saw that onsite they were doing vouchers for the best safety leaders so I made up a story that Chevron (the client I work for) was handing out prizes for the best safety share.

I said I had handed one in and then proceeded over the next three months to say that I had been put into the top 100 draws, then the top 50, then the top 20, top 10 at which point I told Candice that there were 10 prizes and even listed them all off with top prize being a helicopter wine tour that left the Crown and went down to Margaret River for the day and 2 nights accommodation at the Crown and 10th place being skirmish for you and 10 mates which I told her I was most excited for. I then told her we had won and set the date of the 23rd of October.

In the weeks leading up to it I was so stressed and at one point raised my voice at Candice in some slightly wrong directions. The night before I had a work function at which point my boss continually encouraged the “just one more” beer which led to about 1000 beers being drunk. In the morning I was a little hungover and nearly spewed on the flight down into our bag that had the ring in it. Luckily after our first stop off, I was able to have a cocktail which set me up for the day. We had three stop offs and I made sure I didn’t do it at the first two to ensure Candice had no idea it was coming.

We got to the last stop at Amelia Park and the pilot almost gave it away by asking me and pointing out the spot to which I swiftly replied “yeah you’re clear on my side mate” I looked straight back at Candice and was like “why would he ask me if the blades were clear?” Unfortunately, a few drunk stragglers from Amelia Park came out to look at the helicopter right where I wanted to propose so I had to change the location pretty quickly. We had both had quite a bit to drink at this stage and all I remember was telling her that we hadn’t won a prize and I dropped down on my knee and proposed… to which she said “I guessed it!” and then proceeded to leave me hanging until I said “soo is it a yes?” and then she said “Yes!!”.We enjoyed our last stop at Amelia Park then flew back to the Crown where I had organised a surprise dinner with her family.”

Want to settle in for the story? Hailstorm & Co captured this beauty!

The groom and groomsmen found their suits somewhat last minute at Politix. Candice tells “We knew from early on that our wedding colours would be sage and gold so Brando narrowed down his suit colour to a sage/olive green. We had the groomsmen and Brando fitted for custom-made suits at another tailor. We were told 5 weeks but 8 weeks in they weren’t answering our calls and finally called a week out from the wedding to say the suits would not be ready in time (insert panic here). Thankfully Politix came to the rescue! While it meant that all the groom and groomsmen had to all be in the same suit, they gave Brando a bowtie and waistcoat so he looked a little different and delivered on the shoes and belts as well. ”

Candice and Brandon were supported by an epic dream team of vendors, but one of them that Candice gives extra special praise to, is the hair and makeup duo Lush Hair & Makeup. “The Hair and Makeup teams were Nic and Mel and let me tell you if you ever need a hype-up team, these women are it! The thing that I loved most was that I have VERY curly hair and I struggled to find a hairdresser down south   (I mean, I struggle in the metro area of Perth). These ladies were not only happy to do it but were glad I chose not to straighten my hair and nailed the hair and makeup.”

Candice’s dream for a wedding gown? Lace! She found what she was looking for at Lutka Boutique. “I had done SO much research on wedding dresses once we were engaged haha. I had a folder on my phone that had over 100 screenshots of everything dress related saved. I knew I wanted lace and that was not negotiable, it is something my mum and I both love so I wanted to make sure that was incorporated in the dress.

I found my dream dress online at Lutka Boutique in Fremantle but it was so beautiful that I thought it would be out of budget and was too scared to call and ask the price in case they told me it was more than we could afford. But Brando convinced me to call and it was within budget! Maddi at Lutka Boutique is so lovely and helpful. She made the experience wonderful.”

The day was filled with details – even tiny ones, that were special and personal to Candice and Brandon. “We were sure to include our doggos! They couldn’t come with us so Brando wore some socks I bought him for his birthday with their faces on them! There was a pair of socks for each dog so he wore one of each.

For myself, I wore a pearl that Brando had organised for me to harvest for my birthday a few months earlier. He had it put into a rose gold cage necklace for me for the day. As my something old and something blue, I wore a ring that belonged to my great grandmother, it was a gold band with a turquoise stone.”

The couple chose Black Brewing Co for their wedding, hosting both their ceremony and reception at the venue.  “It was on the list originally but wasn’t our first choice” admits Candice. “After visiting a few venues, Black Brewing felt most suited to our vibe/feel and suited to our families. At the time of booking them, they were also the only venue that could host the guest numbers that we had!”

The wedding party walked down the aisle to “Simply The Best” by The Moon Loungers which switched to “I was Made for Loving you” by Tori Kelly as Candice began to walk. Remembers Brandon “I remember my bride looking absolutely stunning, our families getting along better than expected and everyone having a great day. It was genuinely the best day of my life.”

The couple was married to Claire Sprunt. “We didn’t want our wedding to be very formal (we aren’t very formal) so we wanted it to be lighthearted and fun” explains Candice. “We had been kind of stumped on a celebrant and no one was feeling right, enter Claire. I found Claire by searching through Instagram and the first thing I noticed was that I got such a warm feeling from seeing her photos. She always had a big smile on her face and her couples were always smiling or laughing. The best thing about Claire is that when you sit and talk to her, it’s like you’re talking to a friend that you’ve known for years.”

“Laity (Jypsea) was such an incredible photographer!” notes Candice. “There really aren’t the right words to say how thankful we are that we found her. I did an empowerment shoot with her to give to Brando as his wedding gift and she made me feel so comfortable, she was so accommodating and on our wedding day, she did a great job of wrangling all the stragglers for their photos.

This girl is a powerhouse! She not only did our photography but she helped just about every step of the way and honestly was more helpful with sourcing vendors than our coordinators were. She is not only a wonderful photographer but also just such a great person too.”

“The flowers were chosen by the florist we worked with at Mayflower Weddings and Events” notes Candice of the earthy-toned floral details for the day, “We told them the colour theme we had and the feel we were going for (plus some idea photos from Pinterest) and they made the magic happen.  Our floral arrangements and wedding stationery were absolutely beautiful. The flowers were pulled together last minute and still looked stunning.”

Each guest received a wedding favour put together by Candice. “I hand mixed a lavender bath salt soak and my bridesmaids helped to make a lemon and ginger tea mix. For the kids, I made a lolly mix. These were then all put into jars and labelled as Candy and Brandy’s Favourite Things.”

“We were so glad Brando’s family could make it! ” says Candice, “With COVID and border closures, the plan changed about four times to make sure they could take part in the day without being there but they arrived from QLD the day before!”

The cake tasting, and the dessert table by The Sugar Chef Patisserie, remain one of Brandon and Candice’s favourite parts of wedding planning. “Holy, it was incredible. We wish we had more of our wedding cake. We had so much fun, the day wasn’t as stressful as we had heard it would be (the week leading up… different story haha).”

The couple chose “Tennessee Whiskey” by Stan Walker dancing a number choreographed by Kristie from Wedding N Bridal Dance Lessons Perth. “We nailed the dip to our first dance. There were some concerns on the timing haha” laughs Candice.

Congratulations to you both Candice and Brandon! We so loved sharing the stories of your day, Thank you to you both and Jypsea for sharing today’s wedding with us.