Shannon + Mark by Film by Marty - Together Journal

We originally planned to get married the year before but COVID had other plans. Looking back we are so glad we postponed and were able to have everyone we wanted there.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
(MS) I own Mikes Bikes on the Gold Coast, a family business operating since 1979. Shannon works in Disability services. We both love to travel and eat out however we also love staying in enjoying a good red at home on the couch with our bulldog Conrad.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
(MS) We met in 2008 at a local pub in Parkwood on the Gold Coast. I was instantly attracted to Shannon and thus took steps to spend as much time with her. That time spent fostered Shannon in feeling the same way.
(SC) I loved how easy it was talking with Mark and his ability to make me laugh which he still does on an almost daily basis.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
(MS) We shopped for the ring together. Shannon is very particular and is very attentive to detail. Shane from 10Ants made jewellery for both my mum and sister so it was nice to have that connection and someone we could trust. Once the ring was ready it was on Shannon’s finger very quickly! There was no big grand proposal as that’s just not us.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
(SC) Once we decided on the Calile it was really easy to put everything together. The venue itself is so aesthetically pleasing that we didn’t want to overdo it on the styling. I love colour so I really wanted that to come through in the florals. I wanted deep moody colours of different textures. Nicole from Stem Design was great at interpreting my ideas. We really wanted the focus to be on everyone having a great time with good food, wine and music and less of the typical wedding traditions.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
(SC) I don’t think we really splurged on anything, although Mark would definitely say my shoes! We were very careful to choose vendors that aligned with us and felt right. This was evident when we had to postpone due to COVID. All our vendors were so accommodating and supportive and we were really lucky to be able to find another date that they could all be available.
(MS) It was really important for us to pick the right celebrant. Ben married my sister and he was genuine and authentic and took the time to get to know them both which was evident in the ceremony. We knew straight away we wanted Ben and didn’t even look for anyone else.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
(MS) Shannon couldn’t hear the song playing before walking down the aisle so wasn’t sure when the cue was to enter but she nailed it perfectly.
(SC) We were both really chilled and relaxed so nothing was stressful. We didn’t have an overly structured itinerary as we just wanted everything to flow which we felt like it did. This was due to Kate and her team who were amazing to work with, so many of our guests commented on how great the staff were on the night. We originally planned to get married the year before but COVID had other plans. Looking back we are so glad we postponed and were able to have everyone we wanted there.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
(SC) I think everything about our outfits was unique. We both love green and was able to find the perfect green velvet suit jacket for Mark. I was never going to be a traditional bride. I’d always loved Toni Maticevski’s style so it was always going to be one of his designs. I also love a good suit and found the Ginger and Smart oversized suit which I wore to the reception. It took a while to decide on the shoes. I was worried about the Manolo Blahnik’s being too cliché but figured it would be ok as they were green not blue.