For Monique and Kieran, their wedding day vision was clear – a joy-filled celebration that would see their guests leave with sore cheeks from smiling ear to ear, they achieved this and so much more!

This special celebration navigated twists and turns in the lead up, a postponement and some wedding day mishaps – but it didn’t take the shine off a heartfelt and memorable beginning to their marriage. Their best moments include a breathtakingly beautiful ceremony by celebrant superstar Chloe Elliott, a jam-packed dance floor led by The White Tree and some personalised touches to show their loved ones just how much they mean to them.

They had an incredible A-list team of suppliers surrounding them, so it’s little wonder they had the best day ever. From Monique’s incredible Luci Di Bella gown, fabulous fare by Truffleduck, to beautiful blooms by Poppy’s Getting Married and of course, Georgia Verrells who was there capturing every joy-filled moment – they couldn’t have been more grateful for their dream team.

See these stunners and their glorious Terindah Estate wedding day here.

The meeting.

We met on Bumble in January 2020 when we both swiped right!

The ‘one’.

A few months into dating – between COVID-19 lockdowns – we were at a local shop and a random woman mistook us for being a married couple. She said something to me like, “Is he your husband? He’s very good looking”. Kieran shot me a beaming grim and I knew that he was ‘the one’.

The proposal.

We went to Falls Creek for a weekend away and on a walk to check out some huts on Wallaces Heritage Trial, Kieran pulled a ring out of his backpack and popped the question.

The process.

An emotional rollercoaster. We planned our dream day and locked in all the important things – for me it was flowers and for Kieran it was a live band. Then, like a lot of COVID couples, we had to postpone our original wedding date set for October 2021 to January 2022.

We were lucky that we only had a short postponement, and everyone involved in rescheduling the day was incredible. The weeks in the lead up to the revised wedding date were stressful – Omicron threw a real spanner in the works.

We considered postponing again but decided to proceed on the basis of making the wedding as COVID-safe as possible. We gave guests the opportunity to ‘opt out’ if they felt uncomfortable with the risks and also gave people the option to attend just the ceremony or reception, or whatever worked for them. Truffleduck were really accommodating and let us finalise numbers just a week out from the big day.

Style inspiration.

The inspiration behind the wedding was joy and the goal was for people to leave with sore cheeks from a day filled with cheer and smiles from ear to ear!

We really wanted to do some things that were a bit different and that centred our family and friends on the day, and blogs and magazines were where we got the idea to write individual notes to guests (that doubled as place cards), to have a table set up with wedding photos of our parents and grandparents and to include family in different parts of the day – like having my aunty Elizabeth as our official driver and getting our uncles, Mark and John, to sign the wedding register with us.

The ceremony.

Our celebrant – Chloe Elliot – was incredible and delivered a perfect ceremony. My grandmother Sheila really sadly passed away a week before the wedding and Chloe included a tribute to her in the ceremony, that was followed by my sister Julia reading a passage from Winnie the Pooh that includes the passage: If you live to be a 100, I want to live to be a 100 minus one day so I never have to live without you. It was raining outside and there was not a dry eye in the house.

The outfits.

I went with the first dress designer I met – Luci Di Bella. I was looking for something beautiful, modern and comfortable to dance the night away in and was impressed by Luci’s forthright opinions about what would work best. Unsurprisingly, Luci was right about everything and the dress was stunning. I also wore one of my grandmother Sheila’s rings so that there was a little part of her with me all day.

Favourite moments.

There were so many! Aside from marrying the love of my life, one other moment that really sticks out was the speech my dad Ian did (and that he had basically spent the whole engagement preparing). He was first cab off the rank at the reception and welcomed everyone with the perfect speech that was succinct (very important!) and equal parts moving, funny and even included a call to smash the patriarchy which I loved and is so me!

Meaning of marriage.

To us marriage means finding your ‘forever person’ and committing to love them through all of the things – the good times and the bad, pandemics and lockdowns, and all of the adventures to come.

Wedding soundtrack.

Processional: Crazy love by Van Morrison

Signing: Crazy in love by Beyoncé

Recessional: This will be (an everlasting love) by Natalie Cole

First dance: At last by Etta James

Last song: Dancing in the dark by Bruce Springsteen

Funny stories (or near disasters).

So many funny things happened – including the air conditioner at the place we were staying breaking and the repairman basically becoming an additional member of the bridal party for the morning!

Planning surprises. 

We were surprised with how everything just came together on the day – there was really wild weather and we had to make the call to move the ceremony indoors to the beautiful ‘back up’ location in the Barrell Room. This and a lot of other last-minute changes meant we were nervous about the day being a shambles, but everyone was incredible and the day ran like it had been planned that way all along. Many people told us that it would be the best day ever and we were also a little surprised that it really did end up being the very best day.

Words of wisdom.

The weather doesn’t matter. Rain, hail or shine – you’re getting married and wild weather only makes the day more memorable.

We highly recommend planning your wedding as a team! Sharing the work and the stress was the best decision we made.

Ceremony and reception location: Terindah Estate  – Gorgeous venue with gorgeous views on a clear day, and it also turned out to be a great wet weather option with a wide, covered veranda wrapping around part of the venue that allowed guests to be outdoors to witness the wild weather while staying safe and dry! Also has a really terrific wine last, and a ripper Shiraz in particular.

Catering: Truffleduck –  Truffleduck did the catering at my 21^st birthday party AGES ago and it was so nice to have them involved. The food was delicious and the service that Helen and her team offered on the day was terrific.

Dress and veil: Luci Di Bella – Luci is hilarious and a dressmaking genius. If you’re keen to get something custom-made that totally suits you – highly recommend!

Suits: Studio Italia (via David Jones) – Really dapper suits that the boys will hopefully re-wear!

Celebrant: Chloe Elliot – Leading up to the wedding, Chloe was such a calming presence and delivered us a ceremony on the day that exceeded all expectations!

Photography: Georgia Verrells – We think Georgia is absolutely the best in the business. A brilliant photographer and 10/10 person who we shared many laughs with in the rain!

Florist: Poppy’s Getting Married – We were in love with the flowers, which were the MVP of the day – Marnie absolutely nailed exactly what we were looking for.

Hair: Vesna at Sila Salon – Best and most lovely hairdresser in Geelong!

Make Up: Nikizsha Lyons Makeup Artist – Niki did a really terrific job and everyone’s makeup lasted all night, even after we’d spent a chunk of time in the rain!

Rings: Wayne Lynch Master Jeweller – Kieran designed the engagement ring with Wayne, and we went back to him for our wedding bands.

Shoes: Loeffler Randall – Every bride has these shoes for a reason – they’re stunning and comfortable.

Entertainment: The White Tree – Raleigh via The White Tree did a perfect job singing during our ceremony (including some acoustic Beyoncé magic), and then joined the 4-piece band who played a number of bangers that got everyone dancing into the night.

Cake: Jenelle’s Custom Cakes – The cake was gorgeous and had three tiers with different favours – all divine. Kieran picked the penguins for the cake toppers!

Arbour: Kieran’s dad, Peter.

Printing and signage: Kieran’s uncle, Kim.

Hire furniture: Memphis Hire

Earrings: Reliquia Jewellery – Reliquia earrings are my favourite, so it made perfect sense to gift a pair each to the bridesmaids.

Bridesmaid dresses: Torrance, Opia and Palm Noosa. Bridesmaid’s picked their own white midi dresses in whatever style they liked so that they all felt comfortable on the day.

Bridesmaid shoes: Funkis – Might be the best shoes in the world – so comfy and cute!

Bridesmaid pyjamas: Piyama

Buses: Gull