Real Wedding – Elaine & Josh, Toowoomba QLD
Elaine and Josh had a vision of soft florals, long candlelit tables and a beautiful, fun celebration with their friends and family. Their one non-negotiable? That their dog, Niko, could be in attendance.
The lush gardens and light-filled interiors of Gabbinar provided the ideal setting, accented by pastel hues of florals by Maddie Jayde.
We especially love the bee motif subtly woven in to complement the garden party aesthetic, but we’ll leave you to discover how in Elaine and Josh’s celebration round-up below.
And don’t miss Elaine’s heroic recovery from an accident that almost left her in a moon boot on her dream day – determination and support got her into her bridal shoes, and the moon boot didn’t reappear until after Kyra, the photographer, had exited.
Enjoy every detail of this darling day through the indomitable artistry of Kyra Boyer Photography.
The meeting.
It was a Tuesday at Church In 2016. I think it was sometime in February.
The one.
I thought Josh was the one pretty early on, maybe after the first few dates.
Josh knew when we were on a date together in Southbank, while we were playing around on the slides in a playground!
The proposal.
Josh’s plan was to propose on the Sunday at Sono, a Japanese restaurant he had booked, before I flew to Copenhagen for my exchange program the following Friday. However, the ring did not arrive on time. So we went to the restaurant on Sunday, and it was beautiful.
Then on Tuesday morning, the ring arrived. I was in bed, and he came bursting through the door and tossed the ring at me – like it’s nothing (I am blurry-eyed, having just woken up), and I am trying to catch this box, and he yells “Surprise!”. I open up this box and see a ring and say, “So, are you supposed to ask me something?” then he gets down on his knees next to the bed and asks me “Will you marry me?” of course I say yes.
But what is shocking is he does this on a random Tuesday morning before I go to work, with me waking up all blurry-eyed, morning breath and bed hair! And he tosses it to me like it’s just a random object, and he gawks at me like I am meant to say something and not him! Very romantic, very casual, very Josh. I spent the next eight hours at work smiling like an idiot and staring at my ring.
Planning process.
We got engaged in 2019 but didn’t start planning until 2024. Because COVID stalled our plans, we got busy with life – moving into our new home, getting a puppy, new job – but when we finally did plan, we knew it was a good time as all our family from overseas and interstate, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, could come to our wedding.
Style inspiration.
We wanted a venue where our friends and family could celebrate, and we could relax and not worry about travelling between the ceremony and the reception. When we found Gabbinbar we knew it was the one, it was so beautiful and it fit in with our aesthetic, I really wanted something to be beautiful, with soft flowers, outdoor ceremony, long candlelit tables for dinner and more importantly where we could also include our beautiful dog, Niko.
For inspiration, we used real weddings, Instagram and Pinterest.
The ceremony.
We decided to do personal vows at the ceremony. I was so nervous beforehand, but being around Josh made me feel so at ease and not nervous at all. We knew we wanted an outdoor ceremony, and we had ours at the beautiful Cedar Lawn at Gabbinbar.
The outfits.
I had no idea what I wanted. Initially, a lot of the dresses I tried, which were more traditional-looking, did not look good on me. I am quite short, and so having a lot of material and layers really drowned me. I finally went to Bloom and tried on a few dresses I had my eye on, but they also did not look good on me. The ladies at Bloom then decided to get some dresses I really had not thought of trying, and when I tried the Vivienne Westwood Galaxy on, I knew that was it, game over!
Josh’s suit had bee prints on it, and Josh was adamant his suit was going to have this print on it as soon as he saw it in the shops. Initially, I thought, no way! But it was so subtle, tied into the garden theme and the honey favours. I actually loved it in the end.
Favourite moment.
There were so many! Seeing all our friends and family together, me walking down the aisle without a limp from my accident (see below in near disasters!), Niko our dog barking on beat to everyone clapping when we entered the reception, Josh’s grandma dancing on the d-floor. The whole day was a big blur of happiness and fun!
Meaning of marriage.
It means growing old with our best friend, experiencing the highs and lows of life with YOUR person by your side. Having a front row seat to the best show, watching your partner grow and change and sharing life with them. Having the best cheerleader and the best coach to also keep you in check and tell you if you are being crazy but also support you in your dreams.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: La Vie En Rose cover by Paul Hankinson and Clara Tietz
Recessional: Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell,
Reception entry: Jump Around by House of Pain
First dance: Lover by Taylor Swift
Funny stories (or near disasters).
We are both rock climbers, and I completely ruptured a ligament in my ankle seven weeks out for my wedding while bouldering. I couldn’t walk and had to have surgery. It was very traumatic, and I was so worried I wouldn’t be able to walk down the aisle on my wedding day, and in the shoes I wanted.
Luckily, I had a great surgeon and was doing rehab like crazy, and the first day I was able to walk without my moonboot or crutches was actually my wedding day – down the aisle! The power of going to the gym everyday after they removed my cast and lots of adrenaline/excitement on the day hahah I did put my moonboot on after our photographer Kyra left and it was much needed on the dancefloor!
Planning surprises.
Decision paralysis, there was so much to decide on, and so many opinions.
Words of wisdom.
Follow your gut! Don’t let other people or the internet influence how you want to do your wedding. There is no right or wrong way; the day is about celebrating your love.
Have fun and enjoy the day, it goes by so fast.
ELAINE & JOSH’S WEDDING VENDORS
We were on Instagram a lot! We booked our venue first. I knew I always wanted Maddie Jayde to be our florist, so she was second.
Kyra, our photographer was the longest to find, we were both very picky with our photographer, we reviewed so many photographers and it took us months of searching and meeting up with different photographers before we finally decided on Kyra and we are so glad we did!
Our DJ, Nathan, was also amazing, so many compliments and our friends commented and said best wedding DJ they’ve ever had. I would hire DJ Nathaniel again for another event just to experience it all again with two good ankles!
The cake also received so many compliments, on the look and the taste!
If we are honest, all our vendors were amazing and so easy to work with; we never had any issues with them, and they were all so responsive.
Ceremony & reception venue: Gabbinbar
Celebrant: Lauren Bridge
Photography: Kyra Boyer
Styling: Myself
Florist: Maddie Jayde
Hair & make-up: Satya Schmitz
The dress: Vivienne Westwood from Bloom
Veil: Kait Grace
Shoes: Bared Footwear
Rings: Rust London
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Silk Laundry – I only had my sister as a bridesmaid.
Suits & bow ties / ties: Montagio
Catering & bar: Gabbinbar
Favours: Honey from my lovely friend’s parents who own Honey Hunters
Cake / Cake topper: Marina Machado
Stationery / Signage: Myself
Entertainment: DJ Nathaniel at Cut a Rug
Décor: Candles and candle holders from Hueseeka
Honeymoon: Queenstown, New Zealand
