[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Vintage wedding at the homestead
Thank you Jessica and Joel for your inspiration, and congratulations on your marriage. Where does one start with such a delightful vintage style wedding?
Kenilworth Homestead
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39667″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Shall I begin with the choice of venue?
Kenilworth Homestead provides a classic farmyard or vintage wedding, with rolling paddocks of horses and animals, a classic barn, a huge tree for the ceremony, a relaxed river for guests camping ground, cabins to stay in, and plenty of vintage farm relics for photo opportunities galore.
Kenilworth Homestead
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39685″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
DIY vintage wedding elements
Or does one begin with the vintage wedding DIY components; hours of shopping, sourcing, and making with aunties and mums and friends?
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39691″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
Handfasting wedding ritual
Or does one concentrate on a unique handfasting ritual which was part of their wedding ceremony?
It is simply not possible to cover everything in one story. So today I’ll lead you into the tale with a look at where we found ourselves the day after the storm the night before, on a glorious sunny day out in the country.
Setting the stage for a wedding retreat weekend, we begin at Kenilworth Homestead, by the Mary River, on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, a gorgeous farm setting for a wedding.
Jessica had spent hours with Mum and aunties and friends, sourcing country style fabrics and making bunting. Bunting was strung up around the old barn and garden verandas. Then there were blackboards with handwritten menus, directions for the guests, an enticing cocktail list, and lawn games.
Then a wander inside the rustic barn itself brought oohs and aahs. Hours had been spent sourcing vintage crockery for the table settings, and old enamel teapots for the flower arrangements on the tables. Each table was named for the colour of its teapot! Outside were lawn games; croquet, badminton…and an old enamel bath! And of course the horses. The yard was a playground full of delights, and the stage complete for the entry of a bride.
Photos by Kari with a couple from Elleni Toumpas
[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1714442880624-c2cd1b8c-75fe-0″ include=”39665,39666,39667,39668,39669,39670,39671,39672,39673,39674,39675,39676,39677,39678,39679,39680″][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]And the story continues with more photos in the next chapter[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”39811″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]
Arrive with panache to your wedding
…just like Jo and Len did to their wedding ceremony along the riverfront at Noosaville.
Congratulations to newly weds, Jo and Len, your wedding was such fun.
Here is how their wedding began….
Before the wedding began, guests were a little surprised when the Groom unbuttoned his shirt. Dressed in just singlet and rolled up pants, he wandered away from the wedding canopy (by Splash Events) set up by the banks of the Noosa River. His purple shirt hung on the canopy and he disappeared!
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39807″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]
How the groom arrived to the wedding
To our surprise he returned a little while later from the water, paddling a canoe with energetic young Best Man, Ben. Cheers greeted them as they beached the canoe and redressed in their handsome finery. Was purple going to be a colour theme today?[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39810″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]
How the bride arrived to the wedding
But where was the bride?
Guests were invited to step this way and wander over to the roadside. Bemused looks, puzzled questions ensued.
It all became clear when the bride arrived on the arm of her dashing son, Max, and with her bridesmaids. Several girls stepped onto the zebra crossing and held up all traffic for the bridal party to cross over.
Abbey Road
Reminiscences of Abbey Road, more cheers ….. and tears, and laughter. And the ceremony had not begun yet![/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”39802″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Back to the wedding
Returning to the bridal canopy, the guests were in for another surprise, as indeed was the bride. Len took up a microphone and sung to his bride as she walked down the aisle. We forgave her tears. We all cried. It was too beautiful.
That was simply the beginning to a delightful wedding ceremony by the river, …..
and finishing as the sun was sinking over the still water, on the top deck of the Boathouse floating restaurant.
Ah …. it doesn’t get better than this!
Photos by Andrea Thompson.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1714442880624-c2cd1b8c-75fe-0″ include=”39806,39805,39804,39808,39803,39807,39802,39811,39812,39815,39814,39816,39813,39817″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”40030″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
~ with Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant Kari ~
Congratulations to Fanny & Tommi married in both French and English at Flaxton Gardens in brilliant sunshine.
Fanny contacted me to request a marriage ceremony on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Range, that both her family and Tommi’s family could understand. In fact they wanted the entire ceremony in both languages! Now there’s a challenge I love.
I always offer to create bespoke ceremonies to suit each couple, so that part was not difficult. For Fanny and Tommi, I simply had to translate the custom ceremony into French as well. Now whilst I converse in passable French, I will admit to seeking guidance from my dear French friends, to ensure the grammar was all correct.
The outcome was a delightful ceremony ….read twice, as French & English took turn about during the ceremony! On top of the usual wedding day nerves, both bride and groom made their promises to each other, first in their love’s language, then in their own. It is not an easy task when one of those languages is not your mother tongue. The guests were particularly encouraging, and warmly congratulated them for their efforts. It made for amusing times as half the guests would laugh then moments later the other half got the joke! As long as everyone understood, in the long run.
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”40021″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
Fanny surprised us all arriving in a retro red Kombi with her two beautiful sisters and her charming father, all of whom had travelled from France to be here for Fanny’s day. She walked down the aisle on the arm of her Dad, under brilliant blue skies to her waiting groom, Tommi. Their ceremony was not complicated; simple and chic, elegant yet relaxed, with some laughs and I noticed some tears of emotion too.
Tommi and Fanny I wish you well in your future lives together and congratulate on including both your mother tongues in your wedding ceremony. Thank you for the opportunity to use your poetic and musical sounding language.
One of the specialities I can offer couples, is a ceremony with other languages. Some of the requests I have fulfilled are a French poem, a prayer in Afrikaans, and a blessing in Sanskrit, to name a few. My background as a musician means I have a trained ear for catching sounds. So even when I do not speak the language, I will learn something in your tongue for you. I’ll try anything, and with a bit of practice I have delivered so far.
However two languages are my specialty. I speak fluent Indonesian, having lived there for years in my youth, and Fanny says my French was perfect. Well at least her family who flew out from France for the wedding day could understand the whole ceremony, and not feel at all left out.
It simply helps to know that a wedding in Australia can encompass whatever tradition or culture you wish to include. Languages are no barrier, and I welcome customs from other traditions.
Photos by Alan Hughes
“Thanks Kari for everything you have done. We had a great day and the ceremony was amazing; your french was perfect 😉 Thanks again” Fanny
[/vc_column_text][vc_masonry_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1714442880624-c2cd1b8c-75fe-0″ include=”40021,40017,40018,40015,40016,40022,40023,40029,40019,40020,40024,40025,40026,40027,40028,40030,40031,40032,40014″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
~ with Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant – Kari.
“You are thought and I am sound.
I am the words and you are the melody.
I am the melody and you are the words.”
Congratulations Belinda & Biju, married in an Australian Hindu wedding ceremony on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
Belinda and Biju came to me requesting an unusual wedding ceremony. Biju comes from India and wished to include several Hindu elements into the ceremony. Belinda is Australian and wanted a wedding ceremony that reflected this land and the traditions of Australia. And so we wove a truly multicultural ceremony, an occasion to honour both cultures.
The Golden statue was centre of the setting; an altar to Ganesha. Around the statue were placed several ceremonial objects; a candle, flowers and fruit in offering to Ganesh. The theme colours were vibrant and alive; deep pink, bold red, fragrant yellow and burnt orange. Gerberas in all these flame colours were placed around Ganesh.
And for the fun of colour and festive atmosphere, paper lanterns in deep orange and pink were hung in the branches of the centuries old fig tree; an ancient witness to the sacredness of the celebration.
Biju was very confident when he asked me, the celebrant, to sing the essential incantations in the Sanskrit language. For who else would do it, he asked. And so I did! His trust helped me to learn the appropriate blessings, and the role they played in the ceremony. And I sang for this lovely couple, to bless their married lives.
Photos by Darren Frankish of Kish Photography
In any culture marriage is a sacred and treasured union. According to Hinduism, marriage between two persons is a sacred relationship that is not limited to this life alone. It extends across seven or more lives, during which the couple help each other progress spiritually. The adage that marriages are made in heaven is very much true in the case of Hinduism. Two souls come together and marry because their karmas are intertwined and they have to resolve many things together upon earth in order to ensure their mutual salvation.
In an ancient Hindu text it is said that when the one man loves the one woman and the one woman loves the one man, the angels abandon heaven and go sit with the couple and sing for joy. Just looking around the guests we could see the angels present.
In Hinduism every auspicious occasion begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha. Blessings are sought for a ceremony that will be free from impediments and for a marriage free from all hardships and obstacles. Ganesha’s grace is invoked for the health, happiness, prosperity, and peace of the bride and groom and their families. The offerings included flowers for beauty, coconut for fertility, rice for sustenance, and sweets to ensure a sweet life!
The ceremony included many traditions and customs from a Hindu Wedding in India, involving the family, water and fire, and song and walking circles around Ganesha and the altar.
A special moment is when the bride and groom take seven steps; steps towards their lives together, a set of wedding vows,
On the first step; Together we shall cherish each other in sickness and health, in happiness and sorrow
On the second step; Together we shall be lifelong friends
On the third step; Together we shall share each other’s ideals
On the fourth step; Together we shall nurture each other’s strengths, talents, and aspirations
On the fifth step; Together we shall make each other happy
On the sixth step; Together we shall love, provide and care for our children and our families
On the seventh step; Together we will look forward to the mysteries of the future with awe, open-mindedness, and inspiration
We have taken the seven steps. You have become mine forever. Yes, we have become partners. I have become yours. Hereafter, I cannot live without you. Do not live without me. Let us share the joys. We are word and meaning, united. You are thought and I am sound. I am the words and you are the melody. I am the melody and you are the words.
These vows are poignant and poetic. They are not dissimilar to vows from an Australian ceremony. Walking around the altar added an extra poetry to the steps of marriage they undertook. I congratulate Belinda and Biju on blending their two cultures seemlessly and with great love and patience.
As a marriage celebrant I am often requested to accommodate the unusual. This is my specialty. I have sung in sanskrit, read in Afrikaans, waxed poetic in French, and played my wooden flute or lap harp. Just ask me, you never know what I will agree to!
~ with Sunshine Coast wedding celebrant – Kari.
Wedding decorations can be fun. They can really make your reception reflect your style, AND invite your guests into a playful world for your wedding day. Ideas for theming and decorating your wedding reception abound. Possibly you want to design something unique and different, something to make your wedding guests say “wow”.
Perhaps you want some cheeky fun, or to stimulate a creative atmosphere at your wedding. Personally I love the hand made look, the creative spirit that only one person can achieve. You.
Here are some fabulous creative decorative ideas, ranging from the sweet to the sublime, the crazy to the ridiculous, but always the fun. There’s bides shoes and wedding jewelry, even a unique green wedding ring. There’s flower arrangements with a twist, recycled containers for the decorations, living table settings, green ideas, and unusual candles. Find family portraits, unusual lighting effects, green themes, and other wonderful creative touches. Let me know if you use any of these ideas on your wedding day.
