Just after sunset, we went out to enjoy our meal and he proposed just before we sat down to get our evening started.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Ryan & I own a successful hospitality company on the Sunshine Coast. This consists of 4 businesses, Ohana Dining (offsite Catering), VENU (Our private event space & Chefs table), Lanai (Morden Australian Restaurant by the Noosa River), and Petrifleur (Preserved floral Art Installations).
Our love for food, drinks and styling has led us to create this company. The only thing better than doing what you love is doing it with the person you love.
We live on the Coast with our Great Dane/ German Shepard dog called Gigi, and spend any free time we have taking her mountain climbing or for a big swim to cool her down. We spend a lot of our time working and building our businesses.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
I lived in Fiji and owned a wedding styling company and Ryan worked as a chef on a Super Yacht that did 6 months in Fiji and 6 months in Hawaii. We matched on Tinder but barely had a conversation on the app!! I went to a friend’s farewell party to Ed’s Bar (the local hangout in Fiji) and Ryan was there with his best friend Dean for a night out. I went up to the bar to get myself a beer and recognised him. One too many Jager Bombs later, we had a fake wedding in the middle of the dance floor with the whole club as witnesses and shared our first kiss then too.
We speed dated for the next month as Ryan was leaving for Hawaii and would spend the next 6 months away. There were many DNM’s and we had a lot of similarities and common goals and very quickly grew fond of each other.
Before he left, we committed to each other and flew to Australia that Christmas to meet his family which was amazing!! I then flew to Hawaii and spent a few months working on the Yacht as that was the only way we could spend time together. We seemed to work well together and had lots of time to talk about our future so we decided to move back to Australia and start a company together. Seven years later, we’ve got 2 companies and 4 businesses together.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
We were at dinner at Double Tree by Hilton which was only our second weekend of hanging out together. It was a beautiful table on the sand with a candle lit setting and Ryan opened up and talked about things he hadn’t ever talked about with other people. He felt very comfortable being so vulnerable around me & I felt the same way. We were both at that stage in our lives where we were ready to settle down and felt that we were on the same frequency with most things.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
He booked a private helicopter charter to Orpheus Island and arranged a private degustation dinner on the jetty that afternoon. Just after sunset, we went out to enjoy our meal and he proposed just before we sat down to get our evening started. Baby sharks were swimming and playing at the Jetty when he proposed and hung out there while we enjoyed our dinner which made it extra special. We stayed on the Island for 5 nights and really got to spend that time with each other and take it all in.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
I wanted a monochrome wedding. All the guests were dressed in black, and the styling consisted of black, white and pops of gold elements. Very classic setup, extremely tall tapered candles (which my amazing friend and photographer brought all the way from Australia with her), chandeliers, gold chairs, and gold cutlery with all white florals.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
The Venue. It was an absolute dream location and scenery. It also slept Ryan and I and our entire bridal party which was a massive bonus. Everything was that little bit more on the pricy end as Los doesn’t have too many bigger companies and everything we needed was brought in from the bigger Islands so the transportation cost was up there.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
The Wedding cake!!! Ryan said he wanted Loukoumades (Fried Greek Honey Puffs) and have them arranged like a Croquembouche. It was not at all what I thought it would look like. I saw it at some stage through the evening and said to Ryan “surely that’s not the cake?” to which he said “Yes, do not draw attention to it!! I’m so sorry its not what we pictured, there were lots of parts that didn’t go according to plan” we just laughed about it and went about the rest of our night! I then saw the pictures and died laughing!!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
I wanted a dress that I could wear to the ceremony and enjoy it for the reception part too. This dress was perfect! It was fitted yet had a massive volume trail. I got it custom made so that I could have the trail detached for the first dance and reception part. Ryan got his suit custom fitted and chose a light weight black suit as Greece was going to be hot!!
LOCATION Cycladic Gem, @cycladicgemluxuryvilla / PHOTOGRAPHER Jac Lee, @jacleeweddings / CELEBRANT Timothy Bender, @timothythecelebrant_ios / ENTERTAINMENT @djbrancaofficial / STYLING & PLANNER Calins de Cassie, @calins_de_cassie / FLORA The Ohana Group, @the_ohana_group / CATERING, BEVERAGES & CAKE Harmony Ios, @harmonyios / RENTALS Zazoo, @zazoo_event_rentals / TABLEWARE White Lilac, @white_lilac_rentals / BRIDE’S ATTIRE Jane Hill, @janehillbridal; Sphere Bridal Gallery, @spherebridalgallery / GROOM’S ATTIRE Mitchell Ogilvie, @mitchell_ogilvie / RINGS Cartier, @cartier / SHOES Jimmy Choo, @jimmychoo / MAKEUP Emily Hill Artistry, @emilyhillartistry / HAIR @thehouseofbeautyfiji / FRAGRANCE Hers – Chanel, @chanel; His: Versace, @versace
