"We both knew there was something special there and we stayed in touch and decided to be together upon my return to Australia, which was the best decision we made." Carmen & David
how did the two of you meet? We met on Hayman Island where we were both working at the time. We were unofficially together on the Island for 1 month before I left to travel the world for 12 months. We both knew there was something special there and we stayed in touch and decided to be together upon my return to Australia, which was the best decision we made.
 |
How long were you together before your engagement? We were together for 3 years.
Tell us about the proposal: David proposed to me. David had purchased the ring months before and had it stored in our roof, waiting patiently until we went to Newcastle, my home town (he had no idea when we would go, he was just hoping I would organise a trip soon). We were in Newcastle for the weekend visiting family and David and I organised to go to the beach for the day. He was extremely nervous (however I didn’t think anything of it at the time). We went to Blacksmiths Beach which is my favourite place in the whole world as it’s where I grew up and have a lot of great memories. It was a beautiful sunny day, we set up on the beach sunbaking and Dave had packed a few beers and some snacks (which I thought was very strange as usually I have to organise everything for our beach days). It was very casual and relaxed. Out of nowhere Dave turned to me with a ring box and asked me to marry him. I said yes. The ring was absolutely amazing and exactly me. He did a very good job and the proposal was perfect.
What led you to decide on your Wedding venue? We live on the Gold Coast which is the middle point for both of our families to travel to and it was much easier to organise a wedding close to home. We researched venues online and the main thing we really wanted was a nice view for our ceremony, ideally with the ocean in the background. Summergrove was the first venue we visited and the last. Everything about Summergrove is breathtaking and we couldn’t imagine anything better. We love the hinterland setting and they had so many ceremony and reception options that meant we could tailor our day to our budget and style. Another thing that was really attractive was that they took care of everything and have extensive experience running weddings.
What was the inspiration behind your Wedding theme? We wanted our theming to be quite simple and rustic. We were inspired by multiple aspects of our life, firstly we live in a bushland area so we incorporated a lot of greenery and native foliage that we collected from our garden and surrounds. I love lavender and I like the rustic touch that it added to our decorations. It was also my Grans' favourite flower. Another thing we drew inspiration from was David’s surname, Garland. We wanted to stick with a circular (“Garland”) theme for a lot of our decorations. For example our place cards, we made rosemary Garlands and we used round pieces of timber we cut from our backyard for our table numbers. We like to reuse and recycle as much as possible and enjoyed making a lot of things ourselves. Our theming colours were white, lavender and green.
 |  |
Your most favourite moment/s of the day: DAVID: Watching Carmen walk down the aisle. I had a holy shit moment, holy shit she is beautiful, this is actually happening, how lucky am I etc. I also really enjoyed our speeches and partying with everyone.
CARMEN: Walking down the Aisle was quite an overwhelming, emotional experience. The best thing for me was having everyone who we loved and was special to us in the one place for such a happy occasion, we had a great time and felt extremely loved.
One thing that was quite funny was when our 2 yr old niece interrupted the ceremony as she wanted our celebrant’s microphone. It was hilarious and made our ceremony really relaxed and ad hoc.
What was your favourite detail? We loved the reception set up. My Mum and closest friends set up all of our tables while I was getting my makeup done and when I saw it for the first time I had lots of happy tears. The detail was just perfect.
Our wedding favours were a big hit. My Grandma was amazing and made 4x M&M cookies for each guest which is one of her signature creations and everyone raved about them and wanted more.
The veil I wore for our Ceremony was very special to my Mums side of the family as over five generations of women in my family have worn it on their wedding day. Other sentimental touches that we wore was my Grandmothers ring and David had his late brother’s watch. These were special things to us and made our day extra special.
How long did it take for you to find and how was your dress/suit shopping experience overall? Dress (Carmen) – Finding the perfect dress was hard for me. I was really open to lots of different styles and did not have a clear picture in my mind of what I wanted which I think made it a lot harder than I was hoping. In the end I found a beautiful boutique close to home which had some great options. The dress I ended up choosing was not something I thought would suit, however as soon as I tried it on I felt really comfortable and elegant.
Suit (David) – Suit shopping was relatively easy and quite fun as I went with all my groomsmen. I was flexible with colours and wanted something we could all wear again. Joe Black provided a lot of options for a reasonable price. We had a bit of trouble getting the correct sizes, however got there in the end and had to so some alterations.
What does marriage mean to you? It means unconditional love, loyalty and partnership. The dropping of boundaries and acceptance that you are building a life together and becoming a team. It also means that there is always someone to annoy if you’re looking for entertainment.
 |
Any classic stories you want to share from the day? The Eagle Rock display from the boys. Within David’s family it is a ritual that when the song Eagle Rock comes on, all the men stand together with their pants down on the dance floor. Most of the guys at our wedding ended up joining in, however it was very entertaining for all of the guests that had no idea what was going on or hadn’t seen it before.
What advice would you offer to other couples planning a Wedding? Don’t take it too seriously. At the end of the day people don’t pay much attention to the detail. Aim to make it as fun and relaxed as possible and your guests will naturally have a great time. Some things may not go to plan but it’s not the end of the world, don’t let them ruin your experience or mood for the day.
Stay true to what you want and follow your gut as you will get lots of different opinions from people. At the end of the day you need to be happy with everything. The photographer is a big part of your wedding day and you spend a bit of time with them so make sure you chose someone who you gel well with and you can trust. Our photographer made everything effortless. To minimise stress, try and delegate as many things as possible, friends and family are usually really happy to help out.
 |
Any stand out vendors for the day? Photographer – He was amazing. He was so professional and had so much experience with weddings. We were so comfortable around him and his guidance was invaluable.
Videographer – The final product was amazing, Alysha put together 3 different video versions of our day and captured everything beautifully.
Celebrant – Our Celebrant handled all the formalities and guided us through everything so professionally. Lisa made everything personalised and took the time to get to know us so she could create the perfect ceremony.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
HIGHLIGHTS from Fairytale Films on Vimeo.
 |  |
Wedding date: 11th August 2018
100 guests
100 guests
Facebook | Instagram
Wedding Songs:
Aisle song – Tus Pies (Your Feet), by Nahko and Medicine for the People
Other Ceremony Songs
- Follow the Sun, by Xavier Rudd
- Let’s Take the Long Way Home, by The Beautiful Girls
- Gloria, by Van Morrison
Reception Entry Songs
- Hypnotize, by The Notorious B.I.G
- First Date, by Blink 182
First Dance – Every little thing she does is magic, by The Police
Photographer- Mitchell J Carlin @mjcarlin_weddingphotographer
Videographer- Fairy Tale Films @afairytalefilm
Ceremony/Reception and Catering- Summergrove Estate @summergroveestate
Brides Dress- Made With Love Bridal @madewithlovebridal
Celebrant- Ceremonies by Leisa @ceremoniesbyleisa
Brides Hair- The Style Room @thestyleroomgc
Grooms Attire- Joe Black @joeblackofficial
