Modern Elegance Wedding at Marriott Gold Coast

An asymmetrical gown, a pearl-encrusted veil, white seasonal blooms, and a celebration deeply rooted in faith – Chris and Ruedelle’s Gold Coast wedding was the perfect blend of modern and timeless. Photographer Kirk Willcox and cinematographer White Wedding Film Co. brought their vision to life, documenting every elegant detail with his signature dreamy style.

Chris and Ruedelle met in a classic scenario: the boy sees the girl across the room and instantly knows he has to talk to her. “Boy then stalks the girl’s Instagram. The boy finally gets an opportunity to meet the girl. The boy slides into the girl’s DMs the next day. And well, now the girl is filling out a questionnaire post-wedding,” Ruedelle shares.

Ruedelle was getting ready for her and Chris’s usual Sunday church service when she received a strange text from the man of the hour. “The day before, he said we should go for a picnic after church tomorrow. I am getting ready for church, and as usual, he sends me a good morning message, but this message includes a disclaimer ‘Dress nice’. Which 1. I always dress nice; and 2. He never tells me how to dress. But anyway, I continued getting ready and decided to dress extra cute that morning. We went to church like normal, and after church, we started driving to our usual spot for picnics, but I asked him what we would eat, and he said he had it all sorted. I thought, ‘Oh, wow, he is organised today.’ We arrive at our spot, and we go to the boot to grab the blanket, and everything was packed in a cute picnic blanket,” she explains.

“And I thought to myself, ‘omg is this it?’ But I quickly brushed that thought away, cause I didn’t want to be one of those girls, always hoping, only to get disappointed. I proceeded to help get the stuff out of the car and started walking to our spot. As I arrive, he opens up the blanket and says, ‘I forgot something in the car,’ so we start walking back to the car. I continued to pull things out of the basket. I notice he is walking from the corner of my eye, holding a large bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne. I looked at him like ‘omg this is not just a regular picnic, and like he could read my mind, he said ‘ this isn’t like our regular picnics’ and then went down on one knee and popped the question.”

For Ruedelle, there was no this is the one moment when it came to finding her dress. She found this stunning, structured Luv Bridal gown with the asymmetrical neckline and flared overskirt. The real star of the show, however? Her incredible pearl-encrusted veil! “I didn’t know if I wanted a big princess dress or a straight cut dress. I had managed to find one that gave me both. I went shopping with my mum, sister and cousin, so that was special for me.”

Chris picked out a classic black tux from Connor, with a deep black, almost green bow tie, and black and gold cufflinks.

The one thing Ruedelle always knew she wanted for their wedding was for the reception to be held inside and traditional, but for their ceremony to be a bit more modern – and the Marriott on the Gold Coast was the perfect blend of both worlds. “The venue was stunning and I fell in love the moment I visited,” she shared.

When it came to the blooms of the day, Ruedelle wasn’t fussed on the type of flowers themselves – just that they were all white and in season, and that’s exactly what Harper Arrow created.

She walked down the aisle with her dad as their violinist played “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”.

Their ceremony was exactly as they had dreamed. With an emphasis on God, the simple ceremony was the perfect showcase of their love for each other.

Of their love for each other.

The five things that really stood out to Ruedelle and Chris from their modern wedding were:

“1. I got to marry my favourite person,

2. My dad walking me down the aisle,

3. My mum and sister getting ready with me,

4. My pastor marrying us,

5. Family reunion.”

Kirk Willcox was the perfect photographer to capture this elegant wedding, with his magical ability to infuse his work with a dream-like quality. “He was absolutely amazing to work with, made us so comfortable and just easy going.”

When it comes to building a marriage that lasts, Ruedelle and Chris believe it’s not about perfect balance, but about presence and persistence: “Marriage is never 50/50. There will be days you can only offer 5% and vice versa, you just always have to keep showing up for the other person.”

For their first dance, “I Choose You” by Ryann Darling was the perfect choice. “We had choreographed it ourselves by watching a few YouTube videos; we wanted to look like we had prepared something, but also not like we were professional dancers.”