Marking the start of their marriage with a bang – Mikaela and Ben celebrated with a WedFest! Hosting their wedding on New Year’s Eve, they created a festival wedding with food trucks, tipis, lights and incredible DIY decor.

Bird and Boy Photography took charge of all things camera-related for this couple, capturing photos and videos throughout the day. If you’re unsure if you need a videographer for your wedding, hear what Mikaela has to say about it: “Invest in a videographer! The day goes by so fast, and being able to watch it back (even just once) from a third-person perspective is worth the expense!”

Mikaela and Ben met back in 2012 at the notorious backpacker bar ‘the dunda’ [Down Under Bar] in Brisbane. “Ben made the most of the attention one of his mate’s outlandish dancing was getting from my group of girlfriends to come talk to me. Five months later, we moved in together in London!”

After going through two horrible years long distance, with Mikaela in London and Ben back home in Australia, she finally moved back home. Soon after returning, they went on a holiday to Mexico for Mikaela’s 30th birthday. It was here that Ben proposed on the beach outside their villa before they went out to celebrate with margaritas.

Their venue for the day was the beautiful Gold Coast Farmhouse. The big wins of the venue? The customisations available, and most importantly, the ability to party late into the night [it was New Year’s Eve, after all!]. “We didn’t want an inflexible wedding package or to have our guests go home at 10 pm. Gold Coast Farmhouse allowed us to have full creative control over the events, styling, drinks/food and timing of our wedding weekend. This allowed us to spend lots of time with friends and family across a few days, including a recovery day. We were also able to have camping and glamping which cut costs for our guests and was lots of fun.”

Flowers by Ola created the flowers for the day, which were warm-toned with green and white accents to match the venue’s simple landscape.

Mikaela wore a stunning gown from Karen Willis Holmes with a fitted bodice and flowy layered skirt. Her hair, done by Sarah Kelly Co, was kept simple in a low up-do to complement the simple design of her dress.

Their decor was DIYd, from the bead and macrame chandelier hanging from the tipi to the wooden signs, festival flags, table settings, antique 10m canoe filled with plants and drinks. Also, the banner that their friend did the artwork for [and spelt December wrong – oops!].

Due to the unfortunate nature of international travel restrictions during 2020, two of Mikaela’s bridesmaids from the UK and the US were unable to make it to Australia, so two of her brothers stepped up. Her ‘Bride Bros’ may have joined at the last minute, but they were ready to fill any role needed to help their sister.

As guests waited for the ceremony to begin, they had these beautiful peachy parasols to keep the heat off their backs. They also had a three-piece walking band from Benjam Band to provide tunes.

Ben and his groomsmen wore simple suits from Country Road. Opting for neutral colours, Ben wore a khaki blazer, cream pants and a white shirt with a floral tie. His wedding party wore matching attire, minus the tie and in opposite colour combos [khaki pants and cream blazers.]

Accompanied by her dad, Mikaela walked down the aisle and marked the beginning of their ceremony. Celebrant Lady Love led them through their vows and commitments. “We had so many of our guests comment on how amazing our ceremony was!”

One of Mikaela’s favourite photos is of the whole wedding party moving from the ceremony to the reception space with their walking band to guide them! “I think this was a fun and creative alternative to the stereotypical “all guests” group shot.”

Being the height of the Australian summer, Ben and Mikaela splurged on a gelato truck from Wheel + Spoon for guests to enjoy right after the ceremony. “It was a big hit!”

 

Capturing video and photo content throughout the day, Bird and Boy did an incredible job – and Mikaela and Ben couldn’t have been happier! “Bird and Boy were so lovely to work with on the day and really captured the candid, non-cheesy wedding footage/photos we were after. We were absolutely thrilled with the photos and video!”

One of their favourite parts of the wedding planning process was all of their DIY work. “Putting together DIY ideas for how to style/decorate the space on a budget to maximise the WedFest vibes. So much hard work but worth it to get everything I wanted.”

To bring in the new year, Mikaela and Ben danced under the naked tipi with a full moon lighting up the sky, counting down the second to midnight with their guests and lighting a few fireworks to mark the beginning of a new year and a new chapter for them.

What a way to enter the next chapter in your relationship! Congrats, Mikaela and Ben, on your incredible WedFest. And a huge thanks to Bird and Boy for capturing and submitting this beautiful day for us to share!