SARAH & TIM - MALENY RETREAT SUNSHINE COAST

When they met back in high school they had no idea the love story they would end up beginning together. Their journey led to them to planning the intimate wedding of their dreams, surrounded by friends and family on the beautiful Sunshine Coast. 

Their big day took place overlooking the Glasshouse Mountains at the stunning Maleny Retreat. To help celebrate, our mobile cocktail bartenders served guests from our vintage Caravan Bar which was the perfect fit for Sarah and Tim's wedding. Guests were also treated to lawn games hire and Espresso Martini cocktails for something extra special. 

How and when did you both meet?

We first met in High School when I was being the messenger for my friend who had a huge crush on him. She was too shy to actually speak to him though. A lot of time passed & a lot of messages were passed on. He developed a crush on someone else. She moved on. School finished & we bumped into each other again & again. It wasn’t until I needed a hair dryer that the universe really pushed us together though. He sold me a sassoon, he was a real baboon & knew way too much about hair dryers. It was very amusing. He nearly chickened out & didn’t serve me that day. The moment I walked in he turned to his friend & asked him to help him hide because his high school crush had just walked in the door. His friend pushed him to serve me, we ended up going on a date & honestly no one else’s company has ever compared since.

What type of vibe were you looking to create for your wedding?

We wanted a relaxed, fun, outdoorsy vibe with an intimate feel. Gathering Events definitely helped us create this. Their cute little caravan bar & lawn games really set the scene & their happy & friendly faces made the day so much more special too. They really are beautiful people! They go above & beyond to make sure everything runs smoothly. You may even see them on their knees picking up confetti off the ground! No task too big or too small for these guys.

How and why did you choose your wedding venue?

We talked about hiking The Glasshouse Mountains on our first date & have talked about it many times since. We still haven't done it. Something always gets in the way!! The view of the Glasshouse Mountains at our wedding venue reminds us to do the things we talk about & live the life we dream of together. It's also just very, very beautiful!

Ceremony song? "Dare you to move" by Switchfoot & "Home"by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero

First dance song? Angus & Julia Stone - The Wedding Song

Tell us about some of the special little details and special touches you made or planned?

We got two doors, painted & sanded them back & created an archway for our ceremony. We wanted to create an intimate feel as people walked into our ceremony despite it being a huge outdoor space & it really did create that feel. We also got some garden sleep timber from our hardware store, stained it & used a router to align two pieces of wood to create a cross for our ceremony. Our friend who is a carpenter was a huge help with this! Tim’s Dad was also a huge help! We used some of the timber to make signs for the wedding too. Painting in cursive was difficult but we got it done with the help of family & friends. Tim also created this amazing LED illuminated sign for his brother’s band who played on the day. I got some glass jars from my work, recycled them & created cute little vases. My sister & I also bought some vases & lined them with hessian & lace then filled them with fake flowers & foliage. It was really nice doing that together. Tim & I also got some old picture frames from the tip, took the pictures out & got some rope to hang the frames & create a backdrop for our photo booth. One of the pictures was too good to take out though. We’ve kept that, revamped the frame & hung it in our lounge room. We bought an old ladder & Tim turned it into a feature light with foliage wrapped around it too. Tim’s dream is to create a business doing this one day so having his feature light as the centrepiece in our marquee added a really special, personal touch to the day. We bought a letterbox & wrote “Osborne” in gold paint & sat it in front of a house shaped frame to create our wishing well space. We bought a house just after our wedding & now that letterbox sits in front of our REAL house. Doing all of these little projects together helped us create some beautiful memories with family & friends, we honestly cherish them just as much as our wedding day.

Any funny/ memorable/ silly/ unexpected stories you can share from the day?

Before the ceremony I moved my engagement ring to my other hand to make room for my wedding ring. This confused Tim a bit. I gave him my left hand during the ring ceremony & he pushed it out of the way & went for the hand that had the engagement ring on it. Everyone had a good laugh! We didn’t rehearse our first dance & hadn’t even really talked to our bridal party about when we wanted them to make an entrance on the dance floor. So they decided to just blast on to the dance floor mid the slowest song ever & dance like they had Saturday night fever. Definitely one of our fave memories!!

Why did you choose to work with Gathering Events, and was tell us what inspired your bar menu?

We just knew Gathering Events would help us create the fun, relaxed vibe we were going for! Beer, wine & CHAMPAGNE was on the menu at our wedding but we wanted to give our guests something a little special too so we did a round of espresso martini's. Gathering Events make THE best ones!

Any wise advice you would offer other couples leading up to their wedding?

Enjoy every single moment leading up to the wedding & don't get too caught up in all the little details. It will all come together in the end!! One more thing - your wedding is something your parents have dreamed about too so if there’s someone that they feel should be there on your wedding day, just consider it. You don’t want to remember getting cranky at your parents for insisting someone be invited! It puts a dampener on things! Trust me ;)

With your wedding (and wedding planning) all wrapped up, how do you feel?

We didn’t get to spend much time with family & friends in the lead up to our wedding because all the planning consumed us a bit so it’s definitely a relief! It was the best feeling seeing everything come together on our wedding day. Together with our family & friends, vendors & ofcourse, Gathering Events we created something really special & not much in life will ever surpass that sense of joy we felt when it all came together. There’s definitely sadness that it’s over but we’re also very excited for the future!

What was the most unforgettable part of the day?

Tim: Laying in the grass together & enjoying our first alone time as husband & wife!

Sarah: The end of the night when we walked back to the house together hand in hand, looking up at the (gazillion) stars & talking about how excited we are for our future together.

CREDITS

Photography: ASH & STONE 

Event Co-Ordinator + Caravan Bar: Gathering Events

Catering: The Van Fine Street Foods

Venue: Maleny Retreat

Furniture & Marquee Hire: Fairytale Events & Equipment for Hire

Celebrant: David Webber Marriage Celebrant

Flowers: Floraccasions

Hair: Dot & Birdie

Makeup: Lauren Brook

Cake: Petite Crumb

Invites: Jonquille Creative

DJ + Music: Sundown Jury