2012 – 2013 Bride of The Year

Jenna Marries Jared

It was 10th February 2012 and a glorious day for a wedding at An Island Hideaway -  South Stradbroke Island.

After 8 months of planning, Jenna & Jared’s Wedding Day had finally arrived.

The young couple, both 21 had met in high school and a beautiful friendship had blossomed. It was only in their senior year that Jared had asked Jenna out on a date and Jenna nervously said yes in the hope it wouldn’t ruin their friendship and well, as the saying goes – ‘They never looked back’.

The Proposal

“Well, prior to me knowing anything, Jared asked my Dad to join him at a local cafe because there was something he needed to talk to dad about. I now know, this was the day Jared asked for my Fathers permission to marry his daughter.I also found out, that neither of them actually ordered anything to eat or drink at the café, Jared says, he simply forgot to with all the nerves inside. I had just finished my final exams for the semester.

Jared picked me up and took me to one of our favourite spots at Burleigh for breakkie. After a morning of lazing around at the markets and on the beach Jared said he wanted to hike up to the Burleigh Heads lookout. Feeling exhausted I refused and after a fairly tense back and forth conversation Jared eventually notioned that he’d packed a fresh fruit and chocolate fondu picnic for us. Feeling rather bad about my tired stubbornness, I finally agreed and we took a walk…

Nearing the top, we ventured off the path and Jared took me to this absolutely breathtaking spot. Under a large droopy tree, he put out a blanket on some rocks overlooking the endless ocean horizon. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I began to eat the chocolate in a rather un-elegant manner, when Jared decided to throw his arms around me, pull a note from his pocket and look at me smiling.

All of  a sudden I knew… and my heart literally jumped and twisted and sang all at once. I made him stop as I couldn’t let myself go through this moment with a mouthful of food. He then proceeded to read a beautiful two page song he’d written to me, about our friendship, our God, our love and …our future. He asked me to marry him… and of course…. In a spluttering mess of tears, I forgot he needed an answer. Eventually I whispered a most certain “YESSSSSSSssS”!

On the way back down I just wanted to tell everyone we passed what had happened. We rang mine and Jared’s family on the way home and they were all absolutely over the moon for us. When we turned into my street, it was lined with balloons my sister put up. And when we walked inside, both our family’s were there to greet us with champagne and a beautiful dinner.

The Planning

We were fortunate enough to come across an incredible venue with an equally incredible Wedding Coordinator, Michele Del-Bianco. Whilst, Jared and I did most of the planning together, with the help of my sister and both our mothers and my gorgeous bridesmaids, our wedding coordinator oversaw everything and gave help and guidance whenever and wherever I needed.

The Location: Why Did You Choose An Island Hideaway?

My mum stumbled across An Island Hideaway website and immediately emailed it to me, knowing it looked like everything I’d imagined my dream wedding would entail. We’re not from the area, however, after seeing the venue on an ‘inspection cruise’ we were sold. It was the first and last location we looked for, everything about it was just raw, elegant, relaxing, and just beautiful.

Colours & Theme for the Day

The island sort of sets its own theme.. swaying palm trees, the gorgeous white, open-air chapel, the airy, rustic reception area, the lazy tropical gardens and a dance floor lined with fairy lights. Our idea was to leave it as untouched as possible, we saw it and loved it just as it was, seemingly perfect for us. We kept to whites and nudes, including in the use of white lilies for flowers, and for a splash of colour, we chose turquoise. Perhaps a key theme that we wanted to run throughout the day was simply our love for each other, for each person at our wedding, and our love for our God who brought us together.

The Ceremony

The chapel stands effortlessly amongst the large palm trees and surrounding greenery. The quaint white chapel, is open – air and exudes a sense of timelessness and beauty, it is lined with wooden pews, each pew dressed with shells on their ends. The floor is modern white tiling, and the backing of the chapel is a dark wood wall with gorgeous stain glass windows. On of my favourite features of the chapel is a large brass bell which I couldn’t wait to ring proudly and loudly. On the day, the late afternoon sun, shone mottled through the trees and down upon us. I remember seeing the fire lanterns all lit up alongside the smooth broad water beach, the gorgeous gardens enclosing around us as the guests huddled in the shade of the chapel.

The Reception

During daylight hours the reception area was elegantly dressed in whites; with an open, airy, relaxed feel to it. The décor was just beautifully raw with; shells, sand scattered white lilies and centerpiece candles wrapped in vine.

The white ceiling drapes gave the area a warm welcoming feel, and the gifts table was dressed with a big wooden treasure chest and white lilies. As dusk arrived the area seemed to transform to something quite magical.

The tealights, candles and fairy lights which lined the white chiffon backdrop seemed to create a somewhat magical atmosphere. The area became cosy as the beautiful aroma of chefs amazing buffet dinner filled the room.

The food was a hit with everyone, the process of a relaxed, served buffet worked perfectly, with plentiful and varied food which the guests all loved. The evening had a seeming natural flow about it, guests wandered out to the beautiful wooden dance floor, some sitting back in the benches in surrounding gardens, others, dancing the night away. The dance area was lit with hundreds of fairy lights, and the band, ‘Nuthin Betta’ created the perfect atmosphere for us all to completely lose track of time. 

Cocktail Hour

I almost didn’t want to leave for our photography session as the cocktails and canapés rolled out. The band played beautiful acoustic music as the guests wandered into the gardens and relaxed before the evening ahead. The canapés were a huge hit with all of our guests, particularly the pastry prawn packages! The colourful sunset was absolutely beautiful and I truly felt like I was on a tropical island miles and miles away from home.

 The Menu

We picked the traditional menu and swapped the battered fish for the macadamia and lime grilled fish. The menu was perfect to meet everyone’s dietary requirements and needs. I couldn’t help but try a bit of everything! Chef did a wonderful job!

The Wedding Cake

Jared’s Aunty Ange made our wedding cake as a gift. It was a four tier cake with alternating layers of caramel and chocolate mud cake – absolutely delicious. The cake was iced with white sugar icing and each layer had a string of pearls around it’s base. The cake was dressed with lilies at the bottom and wooden-carved figuring, cake-topper that Jared and I picked. The cake was served up with fresh berries and ice-cream!

Entertainment

I can’t say enough about Nuthin Betta, our band. They have the experience and skill level to deliver an atmosphere that is just perfect for the island. During the canapés they played acoustic classics like, Jack Johnson and Ben Harper. As the evening went on they doubled as DJ’s to provide a killer dance floor.

Why Jenna is AIH Bride of the Year:

As always, we love all of our Bride’s & Groom’s. However, Jenna & Jared were so beautiful. Their persona’s right through their planning, they way they sat on the meeting couch holding each other’s hands, not an inch between them, their softly spoken comments, their natural and down-to-earth attitudes and the fact that they never missed why they were getting married, because of their love for one another.

They are just so unbelievably in love, it’s the kind of love which when in the presence of, it makes you blush just being witness to it.

Jenna & Jared’s Wedding Details at a Glance:

Ceremony Venue: Beachside Chapel – An Island Hideaway

Signing of the Registar – Bali Hut

Wedding Coordinator – Michele Del-Bianco

Ceremony Time – 4:30pm

Jenna’s Gown By: Bella Donna – Bridal designed by Wendy Makin

Bridesmaid Dress – Dresses purchased from DinoDirect

Groom & Groomsmen – Pants, Vests & Tie – YD / Shirts – Myers

Photographer: Naomi V Photography (AIH’S – Recommended Photographer)

Band: Nuthin Betta Live Band (AIH’s House Band)

Flowers: Wedding Flowers by Keren (AIH’s Recommended Florist)

Bonbonniere 

When guests first arrived at the venue they received personalised water bottles which said a thankyou for sharing our day. And when the guests left, they received a small jar of turquoise, hard lollies. Each lolly said ‘Jared and Jenna’ on it.

Click here to download Jenna’s Ingredients List