As Carrie and I stepped out of our accommodation overlooking Coolangatta Beach, to a brisk 6.00am, we couldn’t believe our luck – clear skies! After a week of rainy dreary days on the Gold Coast, nothing would dampen our spirits now…

Many of our vendors had worked tirelessly the night before setting up their displays and the rest would follow later that morning. Our minds were racing and our hearts were pumping as we arrived at The Abbey– with our amazing line up of wedding professionals and supportive sponsors, The Gold Coast Wedding Fair promised to be our greatest event to date.

We set about our various tasks in the morning, with the assistance of our sweet helpers – coordinating fashion parade contributors, assisting stall holders, directing traffic, and watching it all come together. The venue was decked out with florals courtesy of Julia Rose and her team, directional signage was poised and waiting courtesy of Fox and Fallow, and our sponsors presented a fantastic welcome to our crowds in the entry courtesy of the styling by Fresh Honey, the kitchen was humming, and our models were prepped and primped and ready to gown-up. As 10am rocked around we didn’t even have time to worry about whether the patrons would arrive, as groups of eager brides were ready and waiting outside the doors.

We kicked off the days events and the whole day went off without a hitch!

The day that followed consisted of temporary tattooing (Pepper Ink), the sprinkling of floral wreaths across the heads of the crowd (Blossom & Twine, and Julia Rose), photo booth shenanigans (KissStudio), piñata bash (Party Pony), live music (Jess & Ryan, Tim Stokes), fashion parades (featuring Grace Loves Lace & Begitta), open-air lunch – and an all-round fabulous event.

Here are a few snaps courtesy of Dear & Tine Photography of the day for those of you who missed it! And you can head here to watch a video that sums up the day just perfectly, courtesy of Mode Photography.

Thank you to EVERYONE who made the day so amazing. We cannot wait for the loveliness that awaits at our Sunshine Coast Event!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Carrie & Em xxx

We just love Ann. She is very loving and sweet and we can’t wait for you to meet her at The Gold Coast Wedding Fair, June 22nd at The Abbey.

Ann really has a passion for her role as a celebrant and her eyes just lights up when she talks about the the last wedding that she was able to be involved in.

Ann is our guest blogger today and is here explaining what goes into making good meaningful vows and not the run of the mill “till death do we part” ones.

“Today couples are really looking for an awesome ceremony, nothing boring that has their guests nodding off to sleep. They want something that has the “wow” factor, that “special magic”, and something that is memorable for all the right reasons. Without doubt, it is the biggest day in a couple’s life, so the ceremony has to be perfect!

I always tell my brides and grooms that the ceremony is the most important part of their day. It needs to “kick start” the entire wedding day on a high, leaving everyone happy and ready to celebrate.

I explain that no-one remembers the fancy wedding cars, the flowers, the wedding cake, the shoes, the speeches, etc. – but everyone will remember the ceremony. They will remember it was sensational or just dead boring like too many others.

Couples need to read testimonials and do their homework when choosing their celebrant. Nowadays everyone knows someone who is a celebrant, but couples need to research and find out that the celebrant they choose has a great reputation for delivering the best ceremony possible.

I encourage my brides and grooms to include some lovely or funny things that have happened during their journey so far; how they met; how he proposed; their love story. It should include lots of love, fun and laughter.

The Vows, which are said quite early in the ceremony, are the most important part; most brides and grooms are not aware that once they have actually said their vows to one another they are legally married – they don’t have to wait to be declared “Husband and Wife” by their celebrant – that’s just a “thing” out of the movies – and is not a legal component of a ceremony, although it’s what every couples waits to hear.

In essence the Vows should be beautiful and memorable and need lots of thought, but they can have a touch of light-hearted humour if they wish. A good celebrant will help their couples create the ceremony of their dreams.

Wishing every bride and groom preparing for their big day – all the very best for a sensational wedding day!

Warmest wishes,

Ann Dally – Civil Marriage Celebrant

Don’t forget to pre-purchase your tickets for the special 2 for 1 deal – bring a friend/groom for FREE! Offer ends Friday 14th June: https://adarlingaffair.com/tickets/

We are always so impressed with make up artists at our fairs. They always amaze us how they can transform a clear face into a  beautiful glowing woman.

I get shivers down my spine and smile with glee when i see our fashion parades and the models walk past one by one.

Make up artists are people that you shouldn’t leave to chance and are the ones that make or break your wedding photo’s. Know your “style”. Choose your “trend”.

We are going to make it easy for you and help you choose your “style” with a few different make up artists to choose from at The Gold Coast Wedding Fair!

Elina Valttila Hair and Make Up

Gold Coast Makeup Artist

A.T. Beauty

Kirsty Anya Hair Artistry

Come watch these talented women transform some beauties for the Fashion Parades.

Remember online ticket sales end this Friday 14th June for the 2 for 1 deal.

https://adarlingaffair.com/tickets/

We can’t wait to see you all there xxx

Photo credits: Enigma visions, Strawberry Blonde Studio, Rachael Michelle photography

My Name is Ange and I am the girl behind Love Note Personalised Song Writing, singer/songwriter and let’s face it, absolute hopeless romantic.

Being a reader of this blog it may be safe for me to assume that you want your day to be popping with personality. You are all about creating a wedding day that is uniquely yours, a day that reflects you; your love, your tastes, your style, your individuality and most importantly your hearts. Yay for you! I say because we too are passionate advocates for the personal touch.

We can’t help but believe it is those thoughtful details we remember most, the things that leave us smiling when everything else fades away. Your wedding, your proposal these are occasions in your life that will stay with you forever and we love working closely with our clients to keep the memory of that feeling alive forever.  It’s true what they say about music: we never forget a melody that touches our hearts – the feeling of that song stays with us forever.

We write, produce and sing YOUR song, which can also be a gift/bonbonniere for your guests to keep forever in the form of a beautifully designed cd.

Shanna and Darren are also passionate advocates for the personal touch. We met these two love bird’s at ‘A Darling Affair’ last year when they were searching for unique and sentimental inspiration for their wedding day.

Alex and I were invited to write, record and travel to their STUNNING wedding on Heron Island to perform the original song we composed for their wedding day and provide the entertainment for their reception.

In creating a song for you we like to get you to write about your love in a questionare.

Shanna & Darren’s song “These Two Hands” was the result.

The inspiration for the songs concept and structure came mostly from Darren (quite ironically as he had very little in the way of answers in his questionnaire;).

I soon came to realise that Darren was not the type to make a fuss with words, his love was a love of action, etched in all the things they  ‘do’ for each other, and especially the lengths Darren would go for his “Little Yanna”.

Darren’s ‘two hands’ became the personification of this concept.

Meeting Darren and reading about him in Shanna’s answers, painted a picture of a man with the integrity to act on his love, to step up and show his feelings and do everything he could possibly do to make her feel like she was the only one in the world for him.

What I loved about these two is that they never seem to take each other for granted. Their love was so easy. Shanna feels like they were meant to be but you would not see either of them leaving anything to ‘the stars’ as the last two line’s of their song explains…

Some words from Shanna and Darren Menwaring

  ‘Our Song’ a moment and memory we will both never forget.  Listening to our song for the first time with our family and friends brought so much excitement to our day and will always be a favorite memory of ours.  There were many things that made our day special but this was by far the highlight.

When I started planning our wedding day, I was constantly searching for that something different.  I’m one for uniqueness and I like to be different so the concept of having a song written about our own love story really stood out for me.

I was in complete awe by the way Ange was able to so perfectly capture our love story and interpret it so wonderfully, she really understood us. 

I couldn’t believe that she could write such beautiful words about the love two people have for each other from a set of interview questions and bring it all together in such a beautiful song.  A song that we will always be grateful for, an amazing reminder that we can listen to at any time to take us back to our wedding day and reminisce of the best day of our lives. 

“These Two Hands “

There’s nothing I could say
Take those silly words away
Cause you know how much I love you

See it in everything I do

Everything I do …

Our romantic nights, a sneaky sweet surprise

When I hold your pretty eyes by candlelight

Cause you deserve the very best
So with these two hands I’ll pass this test

Everything I do …

There’s nothing more to say
I don’t keep no pretty words as trade
You’ll never need to wait for hints and clues

I’ll do everything I can for you

Everything for you

Your infectious smiles make me feel so free
You love keeps me grounded yet so upbeat
A more gentle heart I’ll never find
Thank god your two hands found their home in mine

Everything we’ll do …

My little Yanna we’re finally together (everyday you’ll know) Cause I’ll do what ever it takes to see you smiling forever

There’s so much I could say,
Your love beats Vegas any day
Cause you two hands are all I’ll ever need

To be the best I can be

Everything you do …

There’s nothing else to say
I live my love for you each day

Never any need to complicate

Our love is so easy that way

Everything we do …

Words could always say that we’re meant to be
But it’s with our four hands that we’ll build our dreams.

A special thank you to Shanna and Darren for allowing me to sharing their words, photos and love song.

Ange xx

To hear the sweet sounds of our dear Angela we will have a delightful recording playing at the Gold Coast Wedding Fair to keep your feet light and cheery.

Angela will be playing LIVE at the Sunshine Coast Wedding Fair August 1Oth.

We can’t wait to hear her voice all over again.

Photography by Emma Nally

www.emepic.com.au

All the details for our Gold Coast Wedding Fair are featured under our events tab along with details of our giveaways and a list of our darling vendors and sponsors.

It’s this Saturday darlings – 10am to 4pm at The Abbey, Cobaki Lakes.

Check it out.

We are pleased to welcome our newest sponsor The Village Markets. We love everything about this local stomping ground for all things Fashion, Arts & Creative on the Gold Coast.

The crowd it draws is design savvy and sassy, and we love trawling through their style snaps (taking mental notes for our own fashion inspiration). The markets are the local go-to for fresh designers and businesses from the region to showcase their talents and wares; the first boutique, creative market to grace the Gold Coast region.

We love everything about these markets, especially the co-founders Sarah & Marissa. This fabulously clever and stylish duo saw a gap in the local community and not only filled it, but flooded the nation, receiving attention from all directions for the market’s innovation and inspiration in fashion and design.

We are so pleased to have their support for our event, as we too try to fill a gap in the Gold Coast region by way of our more creative wedding fair; similarly inspired by all things vintage, bespoke, designer and alternate.

Tickets for our Fair are now available online. Much like The Village Markets we aim to inspire by presenting the most creative and up-coming wedding and event designers and professionals the region has to offer. Buy your ticket online and you can bring your groom/bestie for FREE.