Kristy & Ashley – Sheraton Wedding
The Proposal:
This was to be our 3rd Christmas together and I had been hinting that I would really like some jewellery this year.
I returned home from work on Christmas Eve to find my present under the tree. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise (and slight disappointment) to see that my present was the size of a shoe box.
Christmas morning came and as my present was obviously not jewellery, I let Ashley open his present first. All was good here.
Now it’s my turn. Ashley all excited, hands me my present. I place the present on my lap and peel just the corner of the wrapping open and just as I thought…..yep, it’s a shoe box!!!
As I unwrap the rest of the present and go to open the lid of the box, to my complete surprise the box has not got shoes in it. The box is filled with Red Rose Petals and in the centre, a white jewellery box with the words ‘I LOVE YOU’ on it. Completely surprised I go to look inside this jewellery box, and, there was nothing in it. At this stage I look up to Ash and think to myself ‘is this for real or is he just tricking me?’ Ash then says “close your eyes while I’ll go get the other part of your present” now my heart is really starting to flutter!! I close my eyes and hear him come back. “Open your eyes” he says. I do and there he stands in front of me. He gets down onto one knee and says “Kristy I love you, will you marry me?” and without a second of hesitation and tears in my eyes, I said “YES!!!”
How we met:
In 2008 I was working in the Motor Industry for Holden when this guy came in looking at the new V8 Utes.
As the performance vehicle specialist, lucky Ash got to deal with me.
I sold him the vehicle and we continued to keep in touch for the next few months when he finally asked me out on our first date which was on the 6/5/08.
Little did we both know, exactly 4 years later we would be walking down the aisle to commit to each other for life.
Wedding Ceremony:
We chose to have our ceremony in the architecturally perfect chapel at the Hyatt Regency in Sanctuary Cove.
This stunning chapel has the most amazing floor to ceiling glass windows which over looked the water and gave us some of the most beautiful wedding photos ever!!
Wedding Music:
Ashley and I decided to go with live music for our ceremony and that was one of the best choices we made.
Simply Strings (string quartet) were who we arranged to play at the ceremony and the sound they created was just magical. We had a mix of classical and modern pieces which everyone commented on how fantastic they were.
Wedding Reception:
After looking at many venues, Ash and I decided on the Horizons Room at the Sheraton Resort Marina Mirage.
This venue, just like the Hyatt Chapel has beautiful floor to ceiling glass windows giving you a fantastic view over the resorts stunning pools, landscaped gardens and premium ocean views.
At the end of the evening and as a gift to our guests, we had arranged a fireworks display. This venue allowed all of us to stand on the over water bridges and have primo position for this magnificent display.
The food and staff were definitely a 10/10!!!
Wedding Styling:
Our theme for the wedding was black and white with all things that sparkled.
A very classic yet modern feel throughout was what we envisioned, and thanks to our AMAZING wedding planner Lee (A Fabulous Event) she was able to arrange everything our hearts desired.
We had beautiful glass candelabras with lights shining up through the middle as our centre pieces which gave an elegant and sophisticated feel throughout. With black organza overlay and scattered crystals accompanied by diamante buckles for napkins and chair covers our theme was complete.
Wedding Flowers:
With a close family friend Karen (Tugan Florist) looking after us we had decided on White roses.
My beautiful bouquet of 40 white roses was also finished off with 20 scattered diamante stems to keep with our theme of sparkles.
My 3 bridesmaids and 3 flower girls also carried white rose bouquets to keep everything classic and elegant.
Wedding Cake:
Mary from Mary Brown Cakes on the Sunshine Coast is who we chose to do our cake.
We had a 3 tier mud cake consisting of a Chocolate base, Caramel middle and White Chocolate top. This weighed a tonne let me add.
The 1st and 3rd tier were finished with a black ribbon around the bottom and finished off with square diamante wrap.
2nd tier was quilted with Silver sugar balls placed in the cross sections of the quilting.
Ashley and I decided to go with our initials as the cake topper. This, just like everything else had to sparkle, so we ended up with some glistening Swarovski Crystal covered initials which made our fabulous cake even more fabulous!!
Wedding Gown:
As all brides to be do, I looked through what feels like hundreds of magazines to find my dress. One day (while at work, shhhhh) I was flicking through Brides magazine when BOOM….there it was.
A Sophia Tolli A line dress in Diamond White with a chapel length train, beaded with Swarovski Crystal and gathered ever so elegantly to one side.
This was the one!!! I stopped looking from that moment.
I called Brides of Brisbane and they informed me they had one dress there. It was not the right size or the right colour but off I went to try it anyway.
It was my dress!!!! It was the only dress I tried on and I ordered it there and then. It was going to take 8 months to make, but to have the perfect dress this was not an issue. When I finally got the call to say my dress was there, I went in, tried it on with my mother and once she saw me, we both cried tears of joy.
“You look just perfect” my mother said as she gave me a big hug.
Shoes & Accessories:
This was so going to be soooo much fun!!!
To compliment my incredible Diamonds International engagement ring I figured it was only right to accessorise with more diamonds.
Our wedding bands were both custom made through Diamonds International and I also got my beautiful diamond earring from them just to finish it all off.
The necklace I wore on the day was my Great Grandmothers African Diamond set into a star like pendent. This was to also be my something borrowed.
Now the shoes! A peep toe pump covered in rhinestones, these were just as sparkly as the diamonds!!!!
Wedding hair & makeup:
All weddings are special events for the bride and the bridal party, but I really wanted to share this with my mum, Ash’s mum and the flower girls mum as well.
This being the case, I needed an army to get all 10 of us ready on the day.
Allure Hair and Make up artist are who we chose and my goodness…..they were just AMAZING!!!!! We started at 5am and I think we were all ready to go by around 11am. These girls know their stuff and from now on, whenever an event arises, I will be calling upon the make up gurus Allure.
They made all of us feel like a million dollars and the experience is one that we will all remember for a very long time.
Wedding Transport:
I have been waiting ever so patiently to get to this topic!!!
We had a ball with all of our transport on our wedding day.
From the late model Rolls Royce Phantom (which I am in love with), the late model Crysler 300C Super stretch, to the 2 Helicopters we had to take us from the ceremony to the Coolangatta Airport so we could have our photos at Snapper Rocks (Greenmount) this would definitely be a day that everyone would remember.
We lifted off from the Hyatt and the day was so picture perfect that we all had magnificent views of the entire Surfers Paradise coast line. Once we had landed the bridal party thanked us and said that that was one of the best experiences they have had.
After driving around in our Rolls Royce and the bridal party in the 300C SS to all of our different locations we had a most enjoyable drive back up the coast to the Sheraton at Marina Mirage. After our evening had come to an end, we had hired a BMW 7 Series to take Ash and I back to the Hyatt.
We really did feel like movie stars and all of the drivers were just great. Having all of these expensive cars and choppers, Ash and I will definitely look back and enjoy the memories of our Super Star Day.
Wedding Photography:
The images we have in our memories are great, but, they are nothing compared to the wedding images that the BRILLIANT Photographic Art captured for us on the day.
We had an absolute BLAST with these guys and they just made our wedding day complete. We laughed, joked and even shed a little tear throughout the day. We couldn’t have asked for a better team and Ashley and I extend our many many thanks to Photographic Art. You guys have provided us with exceptional wedding images which will be looked at for many years to come in our family and they will remain absolutely timeless!!!
Honeymoon:
The destination for our honeymoon was kept a secret from me all the way up until we arrived by sea plane to the exclusive Likuliku Resort in Fiji.
2 years ago I had won a trip to Fiji with work and Ash and I went for a hike up to the Jonah’s lookout where we saw these magical over water bures. I remember mentioning to Ashley that it would be awesome to go there one day, and being the romantic he is, our one day had come and there we were.
We had the most relaxing and romantic honeymoon, watching the sunset over the oceans horizon, eating like royalty at the 5 star restaurant and just enjoying the first week of our married lives together. This place is like a hidden island and there could be no better place in the world to spend quality time with the person you love more than anything else.
Advice:
- Get a wedding planner! A Fabulous Event will turn your dreams into reality!
- Book an AMAZING wedding photographer! Photographic Art will capture moments that you will forever look at and cherish!
- Secure the best hair and make up artist available! Allure Hair & Make up will make you and all your party feel like movie stars
- Just have fun and enjoy the most wonderful day of your life!!!!!
