Love & Family Filled Wedding At The Rocks Yandina

Today’s wedding is a beauty! Kelly & Mel’s love & family-filled wedding at The Rocks Yandina was exactly how the couple envisioned it to be – held outside in a rustic setting, surrounded by their beautiful family and friends. Captured by Lindy Yewen Photography, this wedding was definitely a family affair – their wedding party consisted of their children and niece. Kelly tells us how she and Mel came to be, and about their wedding day…

I was in Sydney for a work trip in 2019 and we met by chance. A quick swipe right on Tinder and we started chatting. Mel and I really got to know each other before we met in person and before long she booked a trip to the Sunshine Coast. That first weekend in the rainforest was beautiful. I had a few more Sydney trips for work and she wined and dined me the way only Mel can. There were many long chats on her bean bag in her Sydney apartment. Mel is such an interesting clever woman I was completely drawn in. She actually asked me to be her girlfriend a few months later. She is so sweet like that. I hadn’t dated a woman before. Mel just immediately put me at ease. She knew I was a little shy about sharing our relationship at first so she was very patient whilst I figured out how to navigate sharing this news with my kids (who were great of course).

The proposal was an intimate moment together in our home where Mel proposed to me with the most beautiful Sapphire ring I have ever seen (My birthstone).

We went together to Luvbridal and each chose our dresses! We didn’t peek but we did get ready together on the day!

Lindy Yewen was our photographer. Lindy was so calm and went with the flow. It was really lovely to catch up with her ahead of the day for a trial shoot so we know what to expect.

We held our wedding at The Rocks Yandina. It’s a one-stop shop which was so important for us to not have our guests travelling too much so everyone could just chill on the day.

The venue really took care of every need. I made up some flower petal throws for our guests and even the kids loved it. Our children – two daughters Gabby and Charlotte and two sons Xaivier and Ty were our wedding party. Also our niece Azura was the flower girl. There are so many photos we loved from the day! I like the candid ones of Mel and I and one of my children heading back to the reception and walking in a line. I loved that we were all there throughout the morning getting ready together and we all went home that night they are all so supportive.

The ride with Birti the Bentley to the venue with Mel was my favourite part of the day. It really was the first time we had been alone together all day. We were both so excited to be taking this next step as a couple and the driver was so lovely and calming.

We walked down the aisle together as The Famos sang “You Are So Beautiful To Me” and it was just perfect. Mel’s mother and father had passed away two years ago and so they could not be there. Mel wore one of her mother’s most treasured ruby necklaces and she looked stunning.

It was pouring with rain throughout the morning and weather warnings were in place so our dream of our outdoor ceremony seemed impossible. We were in the Bentley on our way to the venue and one of our guests had shared a picture of the ceremony set up outside so that got us very excited. I hadn’t realised this but 30 mins before our ceremony the venue saw a break in the clouds and moved the whole set up from indoors to outdoors which would have been no mean feat but they went above and beyond to ensure we had our dream realised. As soon as the Bentley door opened I had tears welling I was so overcome with emotions at that moment – seeing our children and family waiting for us to arrive. There was so much love in the air it’s hard to put into words. Our vows were so special – they were so beautiful and full of love straight from the heart.

It was a cocktail reception under the stars The Rocks Yandina. We loved the idea of our friends and family not being constrained to sitting in one spot and it meant everyone could find their people at the wedding. It also meant that everyone was moving around chatting with everyone and mingling.

We could not have chosen a more beautiful group of vendors. The Rocks is such a wonderful venue, and nothing was too difficult for the team there. The fact they moved the ceremony outdoors moments before we arrived speaks volumes to the level of love they show for their couples to make our day super special.

Zoe Clark Cakes was also amazing. We very much enjoyed our cake tasting for breakfast!

We had a special show for our guests to get the party started. We had two drag queens perform at the reception which no one was expecting – it was a hoot! We had children at our wedding so one of our other vendors was a balloon lady Miss Donna which the kids (and parents) seemed to enjoy!

The Famos did an acoustic version of “A Thousand Years” that Mel and I waltzed to. Our first dance was magical. Templeton Dance School at Eumundi did a wonderful job with us and we recommend taking the opportunity to do dance lessons together – it made a difference and was a lot of fun leading up to the big day!