Renae & Albert were married on 10.10.10 in Australia. Their 5 minute ceremony took place on Renae’s parent’s porch and their reception was held in a renovented old pub in Caboolture Historical Village, Australia. They were supposed to be married at a secluded park and creek at Rocksberg but due to torrential rains, it got flooded so had to be moved. “We could not even get to the suburb let alone the park,” Renae told me. “Many tears were had the day before the wedding but my parents stepped up and offered their place. They actually had a friend’s wedding there the day before ours.”
“We wrote our own vows which included Albert accepting he may come second to our dogs (on occasions) and me promising to look interested when he starts talking about tranestification of lipid analysis of fatty acids. Everyone had a laugh and it really did summarised us and our relationship.”
The bride wore a custom-made dress, made for her my a friend of her Mother. She explains “The first day I got engaged I googled ‘1950 wedding dresses’ and the first picture was the dress I wanted. It was in the UK and there was no way I could get it to Australia. A friend’s Mum offered to make it for me (along with the changes I needed) I think by the end she was not a fan of all the petticoats! I was a bit sick the week before the wedding (it was not the hen night I swear) and lost quite a bit of weight. I tried hard to put it back on (thanks hun for the pop tarts) but the dress still did not fit me as perfect as it once had. I still loved the dress and would not have changed it.” With her perfect gown she added a handmade headpiece, made for her by her sister Lucy and made from an antique brooch she brought in the Barossa Valley SA Australia.
It was important to Ranae that her bridesmaid’s were happy and comfortable. They even got to carry the cutest accessory going – Renae’s doggies! “The girls had a variety of shapes and sizes and I was stressing to get one that suited all. I found a dress I loved and that was it. They came from a random outlet shops and I brought one for myself. One of my bridesmaids was not keen on the dress or the sizing. I called the supplier and all the stores that stocked the dresses but they were all sold out, so we were going to get them tailored. Luckily the same store had the dresses 6 months later and it was all sorted out. While on honeymoon we were in Laos and we saw another traveller wearing the same dress! The necklaces were from an amazing artist Kurt Halsey and I used some of his art around my wedding (table decorations, order of service, invites etc). I also have a tattoo of his work on my arm.”
The couple put a lot of effort into their reception details, DIYing most of it. Renae explained, “I made personalised nametags for everyone that included conversation starters eg. Hi my name is Renae and I am the bride. If I was a camel would I rather eat ice cream of yoghurt? Albert is a forensic chemist so we had old chemistry glassware on the tables filled with coloured water and assorted beans. We also had a giant 20L beaker that held the order of service memos. We tried to keep it an eco green wedding wherever possible. I did not buy anything that could not be used again. My invitations were made out of recycled beer labels and we gave rosemary seedlings as wedding favours. I hand made hundreds of origami paper cranes to scatter down the isle and hang from the trees. Because of the weather we ended up handing them out and filling assorted glassware with them. We had a Photobooth! It was so awesome and it made the best guestbook.”
“We made a gag prop box and we have the funniest photos. Albert loves tequila and we had a tequila toast. Even our fathers got in on it. Lolly table! Everyone loved it. I had little bags and everyone got to take some home (except us). The wishing well. I have a small collection of vintage containers and wanted to incorporate them. I decided to use my four pack (flour, sugar, tea and salt) and label them. As Albert and myself have been living together for some time we have everything you could need. We thought it would be better for everyone to see where the cash goes so we had: Mortgage, House and Garden, Honeymoon and Shits and Giggles.”
Huge love to Renae & Albert for sharing their gorgeous DIY wedding with us today, and to their photographer Samantha for sharing the gorgeous images
The Gallery
Photography Credit: Shuttersnap
Ceremony Venue: Renae’s parent’s porch
Reception Venue: Old renovated pub, Caboolture Historical Village, Caboolture QLD Australia
Bride’s Dress: Custom-made
Bride’s Shoes: TUK antipops
Bride’s Headpiece: DIY
Flowers: DIY (Friend)
Reception Décor: All DIY
Cake: DIY (Mother of the bride)
Bridesmaid Dresses: DFO (Outlet)
Bridesmaid Necklaces: Kurt Halsey