With 90 of their closest friends and family, a romantic outdoor courtyard ceremony and a lively reception, Tim and Lucy celebrated their marriage. St Lucia was the perfect backdrop for their spring wedding. So Rosie Photography captured all the photography, and Mika Video captured videography for the couple throughout the day, creating a time capsule of all the wonderful, romantic memories.

Even though Lucy and Tim worked at the same hospital in Brisbane in 2018, it took them matching on Tinder to finally cross paths. “On our third date, we visited the 100-acre bar at Hillstone St Lucia, so this venue has always been a special spot for us. It was on this date that we both knew we had met someone special. We were smitten with each other.”

By 2022, Tim had been planning to propose to Lucy for a while, but it was only when they had booked a trip to Italy that everything fell into place. “After we booked the trip, five weeks out, he organised a ring and decided to pop the question in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. He hired a sunset boat and proposed on the water overlooking the beautiful Positano coastline.”

Within her wedding party, Lucy had her sister Laura as her Maid of Honour, her best friends Bridget and Sarah, and her childhood best friend Max. Laura, Bridget and Sarah wore these romantic, cornflower blue dresses from Showpo. Max wore a black suit from MJ Bale to match the groomsmen and a cornflower blue bowtie and pocket square to match the bridesmaid’s dresses.

Tim’s wedding party included Alex, Tim, Alex and Kevin. And yes, you read that right – there were two Tims and two Alexs! They all wore matching black suits and bow ties from MJ Bale. Only two hours before the ceremony, Tim’s dad had to rush out to the shops to purchase two more bowties as two groomsmen forgot to pick theirs up. “I had no idea until the day after – we had a good laugh,” explained Lucy.

Lucy’s gown was Handmade in Brisbane by Paddington Weddings. With the shoestring straps, low back and full circle cut skirt and leg slit, this romantic number even had pockets! The Italian Jacquard silk provided a light fabric for breathability, movability and incredible comfort – allowing her to dance all night.

A special addition to her final look was a pendant charm Lucy’s Aunt Jenny had purchased for her that included a photo of her dad, Bruce. “I attached this to my bouquet so Dad was with me while I walked down the aisle. It was incredibly touching and a very special keepsake.”

Hillstone St Lucia was the beautiful venue for the day, for the photos, the ceremony and the reception – reducing the stress of travel and creating a smoother transition. “It’s a stunning venue in inner city Brisbane. The courtyard garden is uniquely beautiful with its tall green hedges and wooden gazebo. The Rosewood room for our reception gave us an intimate, relaxed feeling. It is an old Queenslander with lots of character. Fabulous Wedding coordinator and team at Hillstone who went above and beyond to help us plan and have our perfect day.”

She walked down the aisle with her brother Michael to an acoustic version of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis. “Our musicians, Josh and Naomi, were from Nick Trovas’s Band. My mum Marguerite and my Uncle Graham (my dad’s brother) walked down the aisle in front of me. My dad sadly passed away in 2020, and in his last few days with us, he asked my brother and uncle to walk me down the aisle (and my sister as well). It was incredibly heartwarming to have my closest family by my side as I walked down the aisle. My sister Laura and nephew Carter also walked down the aisle. Carter is the pager boy, and Laura is the maid of honour.”

They had a Catholic Marriage ceremony, with Fr Tonini from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Coorparoo leading. “He has been a very special part of my family’s life over the last few years. It was important to Tim and I that someone we knew well and knew our family married us. We had one reading – Love is patient, love is kind, from the Corinthians,” explained Lucy. “To join the James and Haydock families together, our parents (Marguerite Lucy’s mum) and (Samantha and Paul – Tim’s parents) each lit family candles during our ceremony to symbolise the joining of our two families.”

Some of Lucy and Tim’s favourite photos were the ones of them walking back down the aisle after their ceremony, cheesy smiles and all. “I was smiling the entire day and felt so unbelievably happy,” recalled Tim.

Rosie from So Rosie Photography was the photographer for the day. “I first met Rosie and Mika at a wedding showcase last year. They were super friendly, showcased their excellent wedding portfolio and seemed like lots of fun, so we decided to book them for photography and videography! And we are so glad we did – Rosie was super responsive to emails/phone calls, and her whole team was lots of fun on the day. They made us all feel at ease. They were very professional and got all the right shots. MikaVideo did such an awesome job on our wedding video. We love looking at this footage to remember our day.”

Gloriosa Floral created flowers found throughout the day. “Sarah owns the business and was incredibly helpful in helping us get inspiration and bring our dream florals to life. The bouquets and table arrangements were soft creams, baby blues, soft pinks and apricots with a smidge of greenery,” Lucy described. “My auntie, uncle, and their children arranged for my bouquet to be preserved and made into artwork! I am still waiting for it to be delivered. The flower preservation is being done by @createdwithjoyart. Her work is stunning! I never realised how much time and effort goes into preserving flowers and making such beautiful art.”

For the reception, Lucy and Tim decided to dip their toes into the world of DIYs, designing and creating their wedding signs, seating chat and menus themselves.

Petite Crumb created this beautiful cake, and it was one of Lucy and Tim’s favourite parts about planning their wedding. “Tim had organised cake samples from Jen, who owns Petite Crumb. We were able to sample flavours to choose our cake flavours. We went with a chocolate salted caramel, buttercream, and a red velvet 2-tier cake. It was stunning and tasted amazing! We have kept a small amount in our freezer, but we are finding it very difficult and tempting to keep it for our first anniversary.”

Their first dance was a choreographed routine set to an acoustic version of “Hold My Girl” by George Ezra. “We had six lessons with Kylie from WeddingDanceDiva in Brisbane,” they explained. “Learning a dance was our favourite part of wedding planning. We were both first-time dancers, so it was a completely new experience for us both – and to our surprise, it was so much fun! We loved taking a few minutes each night to dance around our house!”

Tim’s childhood best friend, Timmy, was the MC and entertained guests throughout the night. At 10 pm, he was joined by the Nick Trovas Band, who turned into a DJ at that point in the night. “Everyone got on a dance floor, including Tim’s grandparents Brian and Carol! It was such a rave and lots of fun!”

A huge congratulations to Lucy and Tim on your romantic spring wedding – and cheers to many more memories! Thanks to So Rosie Photography as well for capturing and submitting this beautiful event for us to share.