From the start, I always thought I wanted all white with greenery and black detail.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
In the funniest way, Brandon and I could not be more opposite. I’ve lived in Queensland my whole life, and Brandon moved here from Victoria. I’m a teacher, and he’s a Podiatrist. I’m a musical theatre performer, and he’s an AFL player. Brandon had never owned a pet before and now my dog sleeps on the end of our bed every night. However, what we both do love are plenty of laughs, red wine, board games and a Sunday spent together on the couch.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Most connections are made through those made with friends and family; however, seeing as our friends were pretty useless in that department, we ended up relying on the internet to bring us together. It was, however, a bit of a miracle that we even met in person, as Brandon’s online profile only consisted of five photos of him eating meat pies. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised when I met him in person that he did not, in fact, catfish me, and we absolutely hit it off from there.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
It was always so easy with Brandon. When, on our first date, he was asking me what my go-to drink was, where I saw myself in five years and also ended up saving the dog from drowning in the ocean, I already thought that this guy was the real deal.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).
From the start, I always thought I wanted all white with greenery and black detail. However, this all changed when I went wedding dress shopping for the first time. We realized how difficult it was possibly going to be to match different whites, as I wanted my bridesmaids in white as well. We then had a styling meeting at our venue, which was already a very white venue. My sister actually had the idea, which changed the mood completely, opting for bright pinks/oranges/reds/yellows to pop against the white background of our venue. In a funny way, though, this all ended up not mattering as with the events that occurred just two days before the wedding, we had a complete venue change anyway! Our stylist/florist still managed to make our original vision look incredible, though.
What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).
It was really important to me to, I guess, ‘sprinkle’ us as a couple throughout the entire wedding. Things like the personalized newspapers, pictures of our dog everywhere, guests signing decks of cards, and our giant puzzle really helped to make the day feel special, celebrating us.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
Something that Brandon will always joke about this whole experience is that he loves to say, ‘I don’t know what took you 12 months to plan the original wedding, I planned another one in only 24 hours’. What this completely unexpected, traumatic and yet still incredible experience taught us is that at the end of the day, all that really matters is getting to marry the person you love. Brandon was the one who got me through everything, and while dress shopping and creating wedding newspapers and picking out flower inspo pictures is fun, it’s the feeling of your guests cheering you down the aisle and everyone circling around you and your new husband during your favourite song on the dance floor that you will never forget about a wedding – these are the moments that really count, and you will be talking about forever!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?
I panic-bought the veil about two weeks before the wedding, and I honestly believe it made the dress! I had always liked the idea of two dresses as well; however, Brandon was really big on wanting to remember me in THE dress. The dress that I ended up falling in love with had ‘two looks’ that I had never seen before. The train ended up tying back up to the halter neck, making a beautiful bow! No other dress could compare with this in my eyes. Add a hair change; it was a new reception look while still wearing the same dress.
What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).
Photography/videography! There is nothing quite like being able to re-live your wedding day over and over again. I’ll never forget when Steph and Elliot turned up to our accommodation, my maid of honour asked if I already knew them – they just fit in with us and brought the vibe so well!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
It’s quite funny looking back now because on Wednesday morning, I definitely had a bit of a ‘stress moment’ when I found out it was probably going to rain on our wedding day, and I also developed a pimple on my cheek the size of a planet. If only I knew what was coming for me!
It was Wednesday night, and my bridal party was over at our accommodation getting our fake tans. Brandon had ducked off quickly to get some food when he then came running back in the door only five minutes later. Now Brandon is the kind of guy who is always joking and having a laugh, however the way he held me I just knew he wasn’t joking when he looked me in the eyes and said, ‘The Lussh is on fire.’ We then turned on the TV to watch our beautiful, dream wedding venue burning to the ground only two nights before our wedding day.
While I was basically rocking back and forth in the corner, experiencing shock for the first time, Brandon came to the rescue. If there is anything that the next 24 hours taught me, it is that my god, did I marry the right man? He answered every phone call and spoke to every vendor, letting me process and feel whatever I needed to feel.
We woke up on Thursday morning, the day before the wedding, and instead of meeting our guests as they arrived, then heading to the rehearsal and having welcome cocktails with our bridal party, we were racing around Brisbane City trying to find a wedding venue for the next day. Our celebrant Annie came to the rescue, calling us to tell us that another venue in Brisbane was free and available – The Smoked Garage. These absolute legends pulled through, and with the help of ALL our original vendors, plus our original stylist, Katelyn from The Lussh, we managed to put another whole wedding together.
While the new venue wasn’t the original ‘dream’, our vendors and The Smoked Garage created absolute magic with our original styling, creating a stunning and infectious vibe for our day.
In a crazy and traumatic way, I would do it all again to have the wedding we ended up with. Our guests rallied behind us, cheering us down the aisle and drinking the entire bar, making sure that even with the craziest circumstances, we had a wedding day that we will never forget!
BRIDE Maddison Worner, @maddiworner_ GROOM Brandon Worner, @bsworner VENUE The Smoked Garage, Brisbane City, @smokedgaragebrisbane PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER Lovers and Legends, @loversandlegends STYLIST The Lussh, @thelussh FLORIST Beautiful Wedding Blooms, @beautifulweddingblooms CELEBRANT Annie from Celebrant Lady Love, @celebrantladylove ENTERTAINMENT DJ – Annie from Celebrant Lady Love, @celebrantladylove HIRE The Lussh, @thelussh CATERING Pizzantica, @pizzantica_aus CAKE Brooki Bakehouse, @brookibakehouse STATIONERY & SIGNAGE The Lussh, @thelussh RINGS Kavalri Jewellery, @kavalri BRIDAL DRESS & VEIL Grace Loves Lace, @grace_loves_lace BRIDE’S SHOE Billini, @billinishoes BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Earrings – The Traveller Series, @thetravellerseries MAKEUP Kate Devlin, @katedevlin HAIR Hair by Talen, @hairbytalen BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Mademoiselle – Chanel, @chanelofficial SUIT Stewarts Rockhampton, @stewerts_rockhampton BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES Isabella Longginou, @isabella.longgnou GROOMSMEN SUIT Stewarts Rockhampton, @stewerts_rockhampton CHAMPAGNE TOWER Bubble Over Champagne Towers, @bubbleover_champagnetowers LIGHTING Out of The Dark, @outofthedarkeventlighting
