Maleny Wedding
Congratulations to Karla and Matt. Theirs was a winning Maleny wedding.
This wedding was nominated as one of only five weddings shortlisted for “Wedding of the Year” by Junebug Weddings.
A story
Most importantly, their day appeared as if out of a storybook. It was a fairytale come true at Maleny Retreat, which is one of Australia’s most breath taking wedding locations. Maleny Retreat offers you freedom. That is to say, you get to design your own wedding. You are free to create your own style on a blank canvas. For a wedding in Maleny area, it is delightful choice.
Maleny Retreat is a sumptuous canvas to which you can add your detailing and style.
Looking out over the Glass House Mountains, Karla and Matt’s wedding ceremony looked picture perfect. The vista takes in the serene Tibrogargan, and his family of mountain peeks. Guests arrived to drop their gear in luxury tent style accommodation. The party began before the wedding even started!
A sultry sky provided an awesome and dreamy backdrop for the photos taken by the awesome Bec of Ash and Stone Photography.
Take a peek at the storyboard of their ceremony:
Wedding Rings – a ritual
This is a story of a unique blessing of wedding rings at a Pomodoras wedding.
For as long as we can remember, lovers have exchanged rings as a token of their wedding vows.
Wedding bands are of some value in themselves. Yet they are made so much more precious by our wearing of them, by knowing who placed them on our fingers, on our wedding day.
Kerrie and Andrew’s rings are super special. It began with their engagement… in Florence!
A ring in Florence
The evocative and artisan city of Florence had always held special memories for them. While on holidays wandering down a Florentine street they found a ring created by an artist. It was perfect; a unique design akin to two diamond encrusted bridges crossing over… signifying the crossing over of two lives.
The wedding rings, however, were made locally, by a Maleny artisan Jim Goulton of Maleny Jewellers. Beautifully crafted to their own design.
On their wedding day, we honoured the significance of their wedding rings with a blessing before they were placed on their hands.
There were several elements that contributed to this unique ritual, each one chosen carefully for the meaning.
Ritual Element One : Water
The plan was to use water, the elixir of life, to pour into the bowl.
On the wedding day, as bride, Kerrie was preparing herself up in the cottage room before the wedding ceremony. She looked down over the Obi Obi Creek and had an idea.
Voila! There was the water for their wedding ring ritual, made extra special because it was collected from right behind the ceremony platform.
Ritual Element Two : Vessel
They needed a vessel, a bowl to place rose petals….. Andrew had decided to go the full Scottish, and be married in his family tartan. At the kilt shop, he spied a silver bowl, a celtic quaich (pronounced Kwek). A quaich is a Scottish welcome bowl, crafted by artisans and intricately decorated with celtic curls and swirls. Imagine arriving to a household in Scotland, coming in out of the freezing cold and being offered a silver bowl with a dram of warm Whiskey to warm body and soul. On the wedding day the sliver bowl welcomed the warmth of a wedding promise.
Ritual Element Three : Rose Petals
To celebrate their union, Kerrie and Andrew had planted a Montville Rose in their garden. It was the first thing they had planted together, and held great meaning for them. Recalling that occasion of humble celebration of their union, on their wedding day in honour of that rose and the French tradition of roses in weddings, they added handfuls of petals to the Quaich.
Ritual Element Four : Essential oils
Essential oils have long been used for sacred ceremony. Once more Kerrie and Andrew found their own meaning, as the ring ritual evolved a step further. A special friend is a massage therapist. Her basket of essential oils contained much more than traditional Frankincense and Myrrh; oils for joy and valour, for humility and compassion, for spice and passion….
Ritual Element Five : Friends
Into the bowl went much love and the best wishes of all the guests there. Each guest had previously taken a moment to hold and bless the rings. They arrived at the ring ceremony well warmed with love.
Using this water we blessed the rings, washing them and making them fragrant for ceremony.
It was a truly joyous and fun ceremony.
Thank you Kerrie and Andrew for giving us such inspiration to personalise a wedding ceremony. This is what Kerrie said afterwards:
“A HUGE thank you for your amazing wondrous delightful joyful gentle and experienced handling of our wedding celebration.” Kerrie
Thanks especially to the gorgeous Marion Jonkers Photography for the wedding photos.
Read more about French wedding traditions with champagne and roses.
Married on Mapleton Ridge
Seeking a Mapleton celebrant
Rebecca and Justin didn’t actively look for a celebrant.
They simply picked up a flyer one day and intuitively knew Kari was the right celebrant for them. They were looking for a non-traditional, creative, free-thinking, down to earth, grounded but a lively person for their wedding at Coolabine Ridge Estate.
Coolabine Ridge Estate in Mapleton
This property is magnificent, looking down towards the Kenilworth plateau and the Conondale Mountain Range beyond. And for a wedding it is the perfect outdoor setting.
In fact Coolabine RIdge has many settings. Bec and Justin chose the secluded view peeping through the forest, the outdoor glade, with the trees all around.
But who is getting married?
Guests gathered near the spectacular view at this ridge top retreat. However there was no sight of either bride or groom!
The guests asked me……
….but I didn’t let on.
Instead, I encouraged everyone to have a guess.
There were suggestions of a vintage car or horse drawn cart…..perhaps a vintage bicycle.
Arriving to the wedding by Helicopter
No-one guessed they would arrive by helicopter, especially given the tree cover. An expert pilot, manoeuvred his giant chopper in through a gap in the trees and settled on the grass.
And the harp started to play…. Kim Kirkman strummed his strings and the ceremony began.
Coolabine Ridge Estate
This estate on Mapleton ridge seemed perfect for Bec and Justin, with the relaxed outdoors feel, the incredible bushland surrounding them, and the availability of cabins for guests to stay, a pavilion for a reception dance floor, and plenty of grassy areas for marquees and partying.
A love story for a wedding
We celebrated a unique love story that day. Justin told their story.
When some people meet there are instant sparks, but for Rebecca and Justin, it took 5 years of friendship before the romance was set ablaze.
It begs the question, Is it fate that brings two people together? Do their stars align in such a way that Universal Forces draw one person to another, like a magnet?
Well, one thing is for sure, nothing was going to stop Rebecca and Justin from forming a union, as one. Not even they could stop it!!!
You see, Rebecca and Justin were friends for years before something clicked and the romance began. They met in a meditation class in 2002. A group of friends from the class would regularly meet for brunch and a friendship between the two grew from this.
As fate would have it, sometimes the brunches would end up just being the two of them together, as friends. They found they had much in common and their bond grew strong and heartfelt. It was a close connection that resembled being with your life partner, except….not. Everyone else could see the writing on the wall but them.
Then one night the winds of fate took over. Destiny was knocking at the door, acting very impatiently “if these two can’t wake up and see they are meant to be together, then we will have to wake them up and knock some sense into them!!”
Justin took a brave plunge, bringing us eventually to this happy wedding day.
Thanks to AA Photography for these images. (Sadly AA Photography have closed their doors)
