We’re welcoming the chilly Wintery weather today with Elizabeth and Michael’s romantic Winter wedding at Maleny Manor. Beautifully captured by Ell of Green & Wandering Photography, their wedding day was full of romantic and heartfelt moments and special memories for the couple. In the words of bride, Elizabeth,

“The entire day was magic, everyone was filled with love and joy. It’s difficult to pin down any point moment!”

Thank you to both Elizabeth and Michael for sharing your story on Polka Dot You!

We met through mutual friends at a party when we were in our early twenties back in 2019 and were close friends from the beginning. Throughout the years we remained good friends, supporting each other through life and heartbreak. It wasn’t until 2018 when we finally realized we wanted more and took the next step together.

Michael is a pilot currently working towards his commercial pilots license and Elizabeth and him would often hire a single engine Cessna from the Redcliffe Airport to take around Queensland and build up his flight hours.

This is a big part of his life and Elizabeth has always been a huge support, always pushing him to follow his dreams. From the special moments they have shared on these flights, Michael knew this was when he wanted to propose. During the flight prep, Elizabeth was tasked with unfastening the ropes holding the plane to the ground which Michael used as an opportunity to hide the ring near his seat for easy access later. Everything for this flight was set up perfectly, the weather was great, and Elizabeth was none the wiser.

The route Michael had mapped out would take them from Redcliffe to Maryborough, through to Fraser Island and then back to Redcliffe. Once they had flown to a pit stop in Maryborough, Michael checked the ring was in place and messaged his mother and Elizabeth’s twin sister that everything was going to plan.

They got back into the plane and headed for Fraser Island. While Elizabeth and Michael flew to the tip of Fraser Island, Michael had her take a photo out of her window as a distraction and then called her attention once he had the ring out of its hiding spot. It was then he asked Elizabeth to marry him.

Elizabeth was so shocked it took seconds before she was able to say “yes.” Michael had his Mum and Elizabeth’s twin sister tracking the plane through Flight Radar and he took the plane through a planned loop once we’d reached the other side of the island to indicate to them that Elizabeth had said yes.

The style of our wedding matched the venue and the style we have in our own home, modern Hamptons. The colour theme we chose were navy blues, light pinks, and white. Soft romantic whimsical styling with an outdoor ceremony and a breathtaking backdrop with rolling hills.

Elizabeth went to Angelic Bridal with her mother, two sisters and mother in law to choose a dress. During the appointment everyone went around to look at options and suggest dresses they thought she’d like and would suit her.

Between her family, herself, and the bridal stylist there were a handful of dresses to start the process with! Elizabeth only had an idea of things she liked about wedding dresses: fitted top, big skirt and something that sparkled. In the end she went with a dress that had small straps, a sweetheart neckline, beads, and lace throughout the fitted top and a skirt that billowed out. There was also a glitter underline that was added to the dress for extra shine. Pair that with a white, cropped, fake fur jacket after the ceremony and it was the style she’d always wanted.

Finding the perfect wedding dress was easy and the experience was one to remember with lots of laughter.

Michael’s suit was a dark navy colour, a shade or two darker than his groomsman’s, in an English cut with an off-white tie. Michael has always loved the colour blue, and it suited well with the colour themes within the wedding.

Michael’s wedding party included his best man, Surya and his groomsman, Kevin. All three of them were dressed in similar suits, dark navy blue in an English cut.

The groomsman had blush pink ties to match the bridesmaids and Michael wore an off white tie. A special addition to their suits was each man wore a New England Patriots cufflink’s as they’re all big fans of the NFL.

Elizabeth’s wedding party included her maid of honour, her twin sister, Cheryl and her bridesmaid, Crystal, her best friend. Cheryl and Crystal were both dressed in blush pink, cocktail length dresses with v necklines, and a cinched waistline with the dress flaring out at the end.

We chose to have our wedding and reception at Maleny Manor, we loved the location and style of the Manor. It was a great decision. We would recommend it to anyone. The staff at Maleny Manor were wonderful from the very beginning! We didn’t know anything about planning a wedding and having them there to support us through each step made a big difference to our stress levels both on the day and in the lead up. All our guests had nothing but good things to say on the day. Everything ran smoothly, and the staff were quick to assist if anything that was required.

The main flowers for our wedding were organized through Mondo Floral Designs. They were very easy to deal with and created a tailed concept according to the style and colour themes Elizabeth and Michael were opting for. The flowers were a rustic romance style with a white, pale pink and sage colour palette.

The bridal bouquet, bridesmaid’s flowers and groomsman’s boutonnieres were sourced through Flowers Forever After. These were silk flowers ordered online and fit in perfectly with the other flowers on the day.

They originally had the idea of getting dried or silk flowers because Elizabeth has allergies and didn’t want to risk having live flowers close to her all day. It turned out to be a great idea as they ended up with a beautiful mix of different flower types of the same colour palette. It all came together so well, as they kept the silk flowers.

The ceremony was located outside overlooking the beautiful mountainside views.

Brisbane City Celebrants set up a Hamptons styled four post arbour with white draping, decorated with soft pink dried flowers atop the arbour and in vases below, with candles beside them. The decorations for the ceremony were wonderfully done; everything worked well together to create a romantic atmosphere.

The signage at the wedding was created using Canva, printed at Officeworks and then glued onto cardboard for stability. This helped to cut down the costs as welcome signs, seating charts, and place cards were costly.

We were both filled with nervous excitement right before the ceremony! We had been building to this for so long now that when it finally came time, it was a bit nerve wracking to be doing this with everyone watching.
Elizabeth was very worried she would trip when walking down the steps to the alter located outside. Once the music started and Elizabeth was in view of the aisle, everything else fell away. Elizabeth and Michael only had eyes for each other.

Elizabeth’s father was able to be at the wedding and walk her down the aisle without his wheelchair. He had been ill, and no one was sure if he would make it to the wedding, let alone be able to walk her down the aisle unassisted. Graham pushed through and was able to complete one of his final wishes. That memory is very special.

Elizabeth walked down the aisle with her father to the song “You And Me” by Lifehouse.

The wedding with celebrant Jamie was sweet, meaningful, and heartfelt. This was the third (and last) of the three sisters to get married and Jamie was lucky enough to be the celebrant for each of the sisters. So, it was a particularly special wedding to us having become the family’s celebrant.

At the alter Elizabeth noticed the New England Patriots cufflinks that Michael and his groomsman were wearing; this was a funny surprise for her that Michael kept as he wanted to see her laugh when she noticed. It was a small moment just between us during the ceremony.

The entire day was magic, everyone was filled with love and joy. It’s difficult to pin down any point moment!

One of the funny moments we both remember was directly after the ceremony. It has to do with our walk back up the aisle. For this part of the ceremony, we had our guests’ blowing bubbles at us as we walked back up the aisle with the music playing and this proved to be so much fun for our guests. By the time we walked up to the end and turned back around they were too distracted and continued to blow bubbles to come and congratulate us!

We had to tell them “You can come over now” to get their attention as more than one of them were happily blowing bubbles like they were kids all over again! It was a funny moment we like to remember.

Ell at Green & Wandering Photography was our photographer, we booked her 12 months in advance.

Looking for a photographer who we liked was a bit tricky as we had a style in mind and needed to connect with someone who aligned with that and could also bring the best out of two people who aren’t the biggest fans of getting their photos taken!

Ell was fantastic. From the first meeting we knew she was the right fit. Her enthusiasm and obvious passion for what she does and the location we had was exactly what we wanted. Ell is very good at making you feel comfortable, she has somehow taken two people who are so awkward in front of a camera and easily loosened us up and made us laugh, it was to the point that we forgot about the camera and simply lived in the moment. She has produced amazing photos that perfectly captured the joy and love of the day.

Hard to choose a favourite photograph! Top three photos of the two of us would be: one with us in front of the Manor, one with our families together, and one after we walked back up the aisle with our guests’ blowing bubbles.

The reception was our favourite part of wedding planning. It was a time for us to relax and take it all in. We had the best time surrounded by those we love, chatting, laughing, and dancing the night away.

Don’t stress about the things you cannot control for your wedding!

You will likely have people who can’t make it and let you know last minute. You might forget something on the day, the weather may not be how you wanted it, someone may say or do something inappropriate after a few drinks. Whatever it might be, guarantee there will be something. Don’t stress about the possibilities and try to concentrate enjoying the day; take it all in, because you’ve worked hard to get to that point.

Also, advice to brides – bring a comfortable pair of shoes for the reception! I had a pair of warm boots that I changed into once all the photos were done and it was a relief to switch shoes after a few hours.

 

Some sound advice there. A good reminder there to soak it all in and simply enjoy the time you have with yourselves and your loved ones. Thank you again to Elizabeth and Michael for sharing your wonderful wedding celebration.