The Engagement

After being with Jeromy for 3 years I had decided that was that we needed to get engaged. We had talked about it and decided to go ring shopping.  We didn’t want to get married straight away so had a fabulous engagement party then set to work focusing on our careers, deciding that we would set a date or discuss setting a date in a year or so.

Descending the stairs at Maleny Manor

Setting the date…The discovery of Maleny Manor

Now setting the date wasn’t easy for us but it had to be the first thing. How was I going to begin themeing my wedding when I didn’t even have a venue and a date? Jeromy had fallen in love with the Maleny and Montville area and after a quick research on the internet I came across the gorgeous Maleny Manor and rang immediately to make an appointment.  I decided to visit the venue with some close friends to give me an honest opinion on what they thought. Jeromy was away on business so me and “The Team” (as Marlene calls us) made the trip up to Maleny Manor.

We were greeted by the gorgeous Marlene who just made me feel so at ease and I could ask her anything. My friends and I carried on - running from room to room, from level to level, posing on chairs or pressing ourselves with our backs to the walls screaming “look at me- I’m having my wedding here”! It was unanimous in about 5 seconds that I had to set a date. “Take me to your booking diary” I announced to Marlene and a year later to the day- we set our wedding for the 10^th of January 2009.

One Year to the big day- The planning

I had always loved vintage clothes and art deco design and after seeing and falling in love with Maleny Manor I decided to theme the wedding with a 1920s feel.  Our packaged included floral decorations from Mondo Flowers (the beautiful Terrianne) and after meeting with her in her divine studio I knew Terrianne had to do my wedding flowers. I had now met two people who were not only experts in their fields but it was evident extremely passionate about their jobs.  Both Terrianne and Marlene put up with my emails and phone calls and were so flexible and honest in developing my ideas of what we wanted our wedding to look like.

The dress, the hair and the makeup came together- with so many things I just knew it was meant to be. I did my research and spoke with different vendors and suppliers and realized it was best to set a budget and go with what I felt would work. If I ever needed advice I had my special bridal party girls and friends that could give me an honest answer (particularly if I wasn’t sure if I should order another hundred ostrich feathers or not). Again with our makeup (Trish from TF make up )and hair (Sandi from Rolling Scissors) I went with recommendations from Marlene from Sunshine coast locals and couldn’t be more pleased.

The actual big day

Believe it or not (being the calm organized person I am) I was pretty nervous. I never skip a meal and I couldn’t even eat that morning. Lucky for me my gorgeous bridesmaids and special friends met me at home (or stayed over the night before) and escorted me in a limo from Brisbane to Maleny. It was so much fun- I had dressing gowns made for us with “Bride” and “Bridesmaid” and we drank champagne and listened to 80s songs really loud in the limo (Can’t touch this nah nah nah nah na). We had to pull in to a servo on the way as nerves just go the better of me and I felt really ill all of a sudden (lucky Robbie and the Team force fed me cheese and crackers because I knew if I didn’t eat them  Lucy would)…I was getting married today!!!! I never thought the realization of being the center of attention for a whole day would be so overwhelming!!

On arrival to Maleny Manor our driver laid out the red carpet and we were all met by the very gorgeous Marlene and her team. I just knew that everything was going to be ok! All the hard work that had gone in to the planning of our wedding the past year was going to come to fruition all in the next 24 hours.

Unfortunately during our trip up to MM the twin helicopters I had booked (and kept a massive secret for a year!) had to be canceled due to weather conditions. I had decided that as I was already at the manor that I wanted Jeromy and his groomsmen to arrive in style and for him to have a special moment where he would be the centre of attention and arrive by two helicopters. Oh well it wasn’t meant to be and he arrived feeling just as nervous as I was at the time. Not long now….

I remember standing inside the door at the top of the spiral staircase- the flower girls and bridesmaids had gone- the music was playing and everyone was waiting…for me! All of a sudden I couldn’t breathe I didn’t know if I could walk down the stairs in my dress and Marlene was there- she has obviously done this before and after a spot of counseling I was on my way down the stairs.

I had had so much advice from friends and family and I really made a conscious effort to remind myself to stop and take a moment every now and then- breath and look around. I didn’t want everything to become to a blur and regret not enjoying my day.

The weather was perfect- over cast and misty- very romantic. Just how we had imagined.  After the speedy but long enough ceremony (one of my work colleagues is a celebrant which was very cool) we had photos then went for a drive in my dad’s 1912 vintage car he restored for photos near Mary Cairncross Park (which turned out amazing - what a view!).”We’re married!”

The guests had a fabulous time and in between the ceremony and reception we had arranged entertainment such as a cartoonist to draw out guests and a fortune teller- all activities accompanied by a beautiful string quartet.

I had decided to have a reception dress so after returning from the photos I did a quick change and was ready for our entrance.

The reception was fabulous; I was in love with my cake and wedding cupcakes. The speeches were great and I ended up giving my own speech which turned out to be a hit. The Jazz band was a lot of fun and fitted out theme well.

We had decided on two special friends to share the role of MC which was such a great idea as it turned out to be just like the Academy Awards with a gorgeous male and female presenter.

Jeromy and I moved around most of the evening, talking to everyone bar one or two tables. We loved having the mini bus to drop our guest’s home and the fact that it allowed them to enjoy themselves throughout the night.

After everyone had left we had our bridal party staying with us at the Manor and we enjoyed our last few bottles of Moet up in the loft- going around in a circle talking about our highlights of the day/ event, the boys loosened their ties and the girls kicked off their shoes.

It wasn’t until this point (which was about 12.30am) that I decided that I was hungry as I had hardly eaten all day! Mental note- don’t forget to eat on your wedding day!!

The Day after

The next morning we were hosting an informal breakfast for our bridal party and friends and family who had traveled for the wedding from interstate at Maleny Manor. I had decided I would make another entrance and walked down the stairs with my brand new “Mrs. Moore” singlet which was a hit. The breakfast was gorgeous and gave us some more time with our guests.

We had an absolutely fabulous day and was so glad that it had become a wedding weekend up in Maleny.