Is there a better wedding for the Pink Issue than today’s bright wedding?! A pink dress, a piñata full of fireball shots, and two grandmothers as flower girls? Liz and Andy’s South Australian celebration was the very definition of fun meets heartfelt. With photography by the ever-talented Dani Bartlett and cinematography by Rhiannon Miller Video, it’s the kind of wedding that makes you want to hug your loved ones and dance barefoot all at once!

Sometimes, all it takes is one bold message to change everything! When Andrew moved to the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, for a teaching job, he probably didn’t expect to meet his future bride not long after. But thanks to mutual friends and shared social circles, fate (and Instagram DMs) worked its magic.

“We had mutual friends through social groups and began chatting after I slid into his Insta DMs with a very smooth ‘thanks for the follow, do I know you?’ message!” Liz shared.

Four years later, Andrew planned a day of memories to mark their anniversary – and to mark the beginning of their next chapter. “He planned a day of adventures including kayaking and lunch,” Liz explained.

What she didn’t know was that a custom-designed ring, made in collaboration with their jeweller, was waiting for its perfect moment. Andy got down on one knee at a lookout over Goolwa Beach, a quiet, breathtaking spot to ask the biggest question of all.

Andy opted for a classic navy-toned suit from Peter Jackson, paired with a crisp white bow tie and shirt to, in his words, match Liz. His wedding party was filled with his childhood best friends, all wearing matching navy suits with black bow ties.

When Liz started her dress journey, she felt something was missing. With every white gown she tried, the feeling just kept growing. She had bought the hot pink Aje gown with stunning puff sleeves second-hand, but wasn’t entirely sure if she would wear it. “In my day-to-day life, I wear a lot of colour and pattern, so I thought that being in a white dress for my wedding day would be special, but it turned out it just wasn’t me! I kept the colour of the dress a surprise for the wedding, with only my parents and bridesmaids knowing prior to the day that I was wearing pink. In a way, I think it helped me to keep my nerves in check on the day as I was more worried about people seeing my pink dress before walking down the aisle, so I wasn’t worrying about anything else!”

To complete her look, Liz wore a handmade headband crafted by Penny at Adelaide Hatters, made from material from her mother’s own veil. “I initially wanted to wear her veil, but it didn’t look quite right with the dress, so she let me use the material and turn it into something special of my own to wear,” she explained.

“I also wore my Great Nan’s engagement ring, Andy’s Great Grandma’s brooch and a bracelet that my Dad had given to my Mum when they were dating.”

Within her own wedding party, Liz had her old sister as her Maid of Honour, two of her cousins and her best friend. Instead of picking out a dress for them all to wear, she asked each of them to choose any dress they wanted with a blue and white floral pattern. “I wanted them all to feel comfortable, so let them choose their own dress in the colour scheme,” she shared.

“Also when we were getting ready for the ceremony, my sister and I found out that Dad had been telling some of our guests the wrong start time for the wedding! We had to send a few messages and call the front bar of the local pub to let everyone know! Luckily, everyone arrived on time and the ceremony went ahead without a hitch!”

When it came down to their wedding florals, Liz and Andy knew they wanted one thing: bright colours! “I knew that I wanted my flowers to be bright and bold. We had Sunday Blooms create the bouquets for me and the bridesmaids, as well as the small arrangements for the altar. For our reception venue, my Gran, Granny and parents let us raid their gardens so we had a variety of beautiful flowers grown with love! My Gran and Granny also dried their rose petals in the lead up to the wedding day for our guests to toss when we walked back down the aisle after being married.”

They had their ceremony in a small garden overlooking the Stansbury Jetty. “This was a special spot for the both of us, being where I grew up and where we spent a lot of our time together and created many memories over holidays, family events and regular getaways.”

Liz’s Gran and Granny were the flower girls for the ceremony, tossing rose petals they had dried themselves. “They, as well as my parents, also grew flowers to be used to decorate the reception space,” She explained.

With her parents on either arm, Liz began her walk down the aisle towards Andy and their Vizsla, Moe, as “Rest” by Dean Lewis played.

Their ceremony was personal, relaxed and full of love and laughter. Marry Me Lorri was the perfect celebrant to tell Liz and Andy’s love story, and Andy’s dad finished out the proceedings with a reading. “We both found writing our vows a special part of planning. We also enjoyed spending time together and sharing our excitement with our family and friends throughout the planning process.”

To celebrate the first part of this bright wedding, Liz and Andy set up a piñata and handed out Fireball shots! “Liz made a heart-shaped piñata and I had filled all of the mini fireball shots to celebrate our ‘just married’ announcement at the ceremony!” Andy shared.

The five things that made Liz and Andy’s bright brewery wedding so special to them included:

“1. The location and the laid-back atmosphere that a country wedding brought,

2. The dress, colour and joy that the day was filled with,

3. Having all of the people that we love the most together – friends, family (and dog!),

4. The band – The Swamp Donkeys!

5. Personal touches that made our wedding day’ us’ (as listed in ‘special details’).

As a huge lover of fun and colourful photography, there was no better photographer than Dani Bartlett for this bright brewery wedding! “Dani was amazing, she captured all of the love, fun and colour of our day perfectly. She even walked up quite a steep hill, while pregnant, to help us get the most incredible shots! She moved to Melbourne after we had our initial meeting, but she flew back to SA to capture our wedding. We will be forever thankful for the photos and memories that she captured of our wedding!”

Their reception was at the vibrant Watsacowie Brewing Company in Minlaton South Australia. “We wanted a venue that was relaxed, had a good atmosphere, drinks and space for a band and dance floor. We always knew we wanted a cocktail-style wedding, rather than a sit-down, so that we could spend our time mingling and dancing with our guests,” they explained.

The best piece of advice Liz and Andy want to leave for other couples is this: “Try not to get too caught up in trends and traditions, plan a day that represents you as a couple and stick to what is important to you. At the end of the day, your wedding is spent celebrating with all of the people that you love the most, so enjoy the process and don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Their wedding day actually fell on Liz’s grandparents’ wedding anniversary and her Pa’s birthday, as well as falling on the same month as her parents and her other grandparents’ wedding anniversaries!!). To honour her Pa’s birthday, everyone sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him at the reception.

To kick off the dance floor for the night, Liz and Andy had their first dance to “Jackie Wilson Says (I’m In Heaven)” by Van Morrison, played live by their band, The Swamp Donkeys. “The Swamp Donkeys are a local band who bring a lot of energy and fun with their blues covers! We made up a few simple moves in a routine; it was short and sweet, but lifted the mood and got everyone dancing.”

Liz and Andy finished off the night sneaking off to eat the best cake of their lives – made by her Aunty Sharee! “Andrew and I also snuck away, just the two of us, to cut and eat the cake so that we had a special moment, just the two of us.”

A big thank you to the talented Dani Bartlett for capturing every colourful, joy-filled moment of Liz and Andy’s celebration so beautifully. And a huge congratulations to Liz and Andy for creating this incredible celebration!