After bonding over their love of alternative music and good coffee, Nicola and Carl married in January 2022 at The Refinery in Brisbane. “I had to do a big search on Pinterest to figure out what styles I liked,” Nicola told us, “After saving a little bit of everything, I started to narrow in on nice bright pinks and reds.”

“There was a very subtle dinosaur element to the wedding too. I’m a bit of a fan of dinosaurs (with a couple of tattoos to prove my commitment) and after seeing a wedding on Pinterest with dinosaur candle holders, I spoke with our planner Danielle at Til Death Events about maybe including some just subtly snuck in on the tables.”

When it came to choosing her dress, the mood board that Danielle had sent through was a big deciding factor in which gown she went with. Ultimately, the Brooklyn 2.0 gown from & For Love won. “I was definitely hoping to get a dress with sequins, and I got bonus tassels too,” Nicola continued. “Paired with custom Converse, I was in peak comfort all day.”

Their ceremony was a dreamy little set up located at the rear of The Refinery. “We were watching the weather change from sunny to rainy to sunny to rainy all morning, so we were a little bit on edge. However, we did do a first look before the ceremony, so we were happy to have at least received those photos if the weather turned bad.”

With a lovely, vibrant display of flowers by Florasaura Flowers and custom lightning bolt neon by Neon Republic was waiting for the couple at the altar. Being fans of the more alternative music, they wanted an entrance song that reflected them. After a lot of searching on Carl’s part, they ended up going with an extended version of If I’m Lucky by State Champs.

Rain didn’t stop play, with their celebrant stepping in with an emergency umbrella on occasion throughout their ceremony. “Paul was the most fantastic celebrant you could ever hope to have (the wedding date was chosen around his availability)! The way he was able to introduce us as a couple and fully encapsulate our last six years together was truly unforgettable. We also had Carl’s daughter, Amity, read a little speech for us before we did our vows to help fill out the ceremony a bit. Carl and I kept our vows completely secret from one another so it was great to read and hear what we both love about each other. We couldn’t help but squeeze, and giggle, and smile while we were up there; the world seemed to carry on without us as we were kept in our own little love bubble. And we finished the ceremony with a confetti exit to really add to the fun and excitement!”

Relaxed and easy was the game plan for their reception. They entered to Europe’s Danger on the Track playing because it’s just so fun and sets the mood. “We went with the feasting option for catering as it felt less formal and a really great way for people to interact with those sitting around them. Our favourite part was probably walking in and seeing our three-tiered cake – OMG! There were even some sneaky dinosaurs hidden on there that I didn’t notice until later.”

“Invest in good vendors and they will do everything in their power to guarantee you a magical and stress-free day,” Nicola concluded. “Enjoy every moment because it will absolutely fly past you and you’ll be leaving wondering how time went so fast. Don’t sweat the small stuff (weather, bridal party, etc.) because at the end of the day you still get to marry the love of your life and it’ll still be the happiest day of your life.”