Here is Part One of a little heartwarming double feature for you. This time 5 years ago, Carrie had just returned home from her honeymoon, following her wedding on the 23rd of June; and I was just gearing up for my own wedding on July 14th. So we figured, why not give you a little glimpse into our own special days, and the events and planning that lead up to them? So here is Carrie’s story – and you’ll have to wait until my anniversary for Part Two.

Carrie and Alex – A Dress, a Mountain, and a Dance in the Street.

I met Alex in Perth, 6 months later we re-met in Sydney at an event held at Luna Park (we visit there every time we go back to Sydney). We dated long distance – between Sydney and the Sunshine Coast – every 2nd weekend we would fly back and forth.

Things were going great with Alex and I and I knew he was “THE ONE”; even so much that two weeks before he proposed Mum and I thought we should go look at wedding dresses (just in case). The first shop we went into I found one off the rack for $250 dollars! Mum and I drove away that day giggling with a wedding dress in my old hatch back Corolla. Some alterations were needed, but two dress fittings later, the total cost of the dress came to $500, BARGAIN!

The proposal: Alex took me up to the top of Mt Beerwah. A good lesson learnt that day was that “good things are worth working for” – I really got a work out. The climb was so exciting because I knew what was coming at the top (to this day we can’t hide suprises from each other). He proposed and I said yes before he could finish. The clouds went away and a glorious circle rainbow appeared and a lady bug flew on my shoulder. A proposal never to forget. Oh yes and a hot guy that wanted me to be his wife!

So we dated for 3 months for and then in another 3 months we were married. Yes that’s right, a 6 month relationship in total!

Our wedding venue was a newly opened hall in North Ryde. Probably the best moment of the wedding planning process was Mum and Dad finding the beautiful hall for our venue and presenting it to me, each with a look glee on their face. It had beautiful wooden floors, a blank canvas for my Mum and I to work with and make it my own. It looked just like an old wedding chapel.

I love food buffets (who doesn’t?), so of course we had one of those. I also love handmade details, we had handmade place cards, and Mum made table cloths – I still use them to this day. I even put together my own wedding bouquet the night before, after my husband and I headed to the markets together to hand pick the right flowers. I included Camillia leaves from a bush in my Grandma’s garden, that I used to spend hours playing in when I was a little girl.

Although I only had 3 months to plan and organise the day, Alex was impressed by all the details of the day; because I lived in Sydney and he on the Sunshine Coast, it was pretty much all left up to me. I had no bridesmaids. I am sort of like a tom-boy, which is not surprising having grown up with  4 brothers and being the only girl. Well, my younger brother drove us around for the day, so I guess he was my bridesmaid.  In hindsight I think it was so much easier just the two of us in the wedding party anyway.

Knowing that I am a tom-boy, it might not surprise you that the most difficult thing when planning my wedding was finding SHOES. I’m not a heel wearer and it was a week before the wedding…my bridesmaid brother was with me and I found a $20 white low heel peep toe shoe! I even wiggled the bow on top of the shoe in the store when the assistant wasn’t looking to see if i could remove it! Bingo!

Oh! Our favours were Clinkers in a chinese box….so much fun for people to eat and play guessing games. My Nephew liked the ribbon on top and made it to be a super hero mask. Classic.

Our wedding song was “Just the way you look tonight”, from the Father of the Bride…and funnily enough as we finished our 5 year anniversary date in Brisbane the other week it was playing in a fancy cocktail party and so we had a little dance in the street below.

And the rest is history.

P.S. I love Alex even more than I did 5 years ago!

We are currently taking applications for stall holders for our September fair. If you are interested, pop onto our Contact Us page and fill in the form and we’ll send you all of the details for our vendor package. But be quick! Positions are limited, and we aim to have only a select few of any one particular type of service/product.

Not a Bride-to-be? A Darling Affair is for all kinds of party people!

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been guilty of trawling through lovely images of vintage weddings, complete with garlands, wild flowers, up-cycled glass jars and the rest – and thinking, “if only I were planning a wedding”.

Never fear! For vintage and lovely are not only for Brides-to-be. You may have seen the growing trend for styled birthday parties, baby showers, graduation celebrations, or any other excuse to party. We sure have, and we are jumping right on that band wagon. Our fair is for the Not-to-be-Brides too. At A Darling Affair, we believe everyone has a right and reason to celebrate in a darling way.

One of the places we love to find our party inspiration is Pinterest, if you’re a keen pinner, feel free to follow our Pinterest account to see what styling trends we’re loving right now.

Grab your diary, flick to Saturday, September 8th, 2012 and pen down: A Darling Affair, the Sunshine Coast’s very first Wedding and Events Fair.

You will find us at The Big Pineapple, in the recently revamped Plantation Room, along with an abundance of darling vendors.

Specialising in all things vintage, alternate, bespoke, handmade and beautifully unique, A Darling Affair will present everything you need to create a truly special event.

Be sure to stay tuned here, or via our Facebook page, for more details as the date draws closer. We hope you’re as excited as we are!