Jody & Colin

NUMBER OF GUESTS: 50

Our love story began…

We actually met at high school. Col was the year ahead of me. After school he used to run the office where I’d get my tax done. Then we lost touch. Skip forward 20 years to the year 2016 and the magic of Facebook. I commented on a mutual friend’s post and he friend requested me. We messaged, chatted on the phone and he flew over 1600 klms to take me on our first date. We have been inseparable since.

The proposal was…

Epic! Col was in Tasmania for 6 months so I was flying in to see him once a month. The last month he was there we travelled to Freycinet National Park and climbed Mt Amos. It was really hard going and I complained A LOT!!! Col kept saying it would be worth it once we got to the top and he was right! The view of Wineglass Bay was spectacular and when I turned I around he was on one knee with the most stunning handmade ring by one of our dear friends. Needless to say, I cried a bit, jumped up and down and said yes with no hesitation. He’d even sneakily set up the go pro to film it all 🙂

We wanted our wedding to be…

Fuss free. We’d both been married before and knew we wanted something, small and fun. We wanted to just be together with the people who are present in our lives. We had planned an engagement party but decided at the last minute to have a surprise wedding. We have a beautiful Café called One Block Back at the end of our street and they were amazing helping us pull off our surprise wedding.

My dress was…

Perfect. I didn’t have much time so called into the Maroochydore Luv Bridal store before work one Saturday. I had no idea you were supposed to make an appointment but the ladies were amazing and fitted me in. They suggested a few dresses that I was available to take that day as I didn’t really have time to wait for a dress to arrive. I put on a few dresses and they were pretty. Then I put on the Jordan gown and was blown away. It fitted so well and sparkled under the lights. It was so comfortable and I felt like a princess. I was there on my own seeing as it was a surprise wedding and couldn’t take my friends, but the staff and other brides in the store all gave the dress the thumbs up. Plus, it had pockets!

When Col first saw me in the dress he said it took his breath away. It looked so perfect twinkling under the fairy lights where we said our vows.

The best moment of the day…

The point I felt so lucky was when the celebrant popped out and I came back outside in my dress and everyone was hollering, clapping & cheering, so happy for us that we were getting married. To stand in front of our close family and friends and say our handwritten vows to each other was so special. Col’s brother lives in New Zealand and he’d told us that he couldn’t make it to the party. But then Rex surprised us with our niece Amelia and I cried buckets! I was just so happy that Col’s brother had made such an effort to come and celebrate with us. The whole night was amazing and we had so much fun with our family and friends.

The soundtrack to our big day was…

Fun. We chose music that we’ve loved all our lives. It was a mish mash of songs from every decade. It’s music that we all love and has seen us through different periods of our lives.

We’d like to give a special mention to…

We can’t choose! The ones in on our secret that helped pull it all together were the girls from our local café One Block Back. Our beautiful friends Dave and Judy Smith for creating our one of a kind rings. The great team at Caloundra florist for mine and my daughters bouquets. The team at Luv Bridal Maroochydore. Our celebrant Paula Koda. Lisa J Photography, she had to work with terrible lighting so took us down the beach after we got back from our honeymoon and took some amazing pics in some very trying conditions. My beautiful friend Jodi for a gorgeous cake that she had no idea was for a wedding. Last but not least the only other person in on our secret, my beautiful daughter Kayla. They were all amazing as we only had a month to pull it all together and they all kept it secret 🙂

The love quote that resonates most with us as a couple is…

Finding the right person. You know they’re right if you love to be with them all the time.

One unusual thing about our big day was…

Not having all the formal things like speeches and dances. We just wanted the bare minimum so we could enjoy our night with family and friends.

As a married couple we most look forward to…

Travelling the world together.

The best advice we can give to other couples about to get married is…

Do what you want to do! Don’t let other people’s advice, opinions or expectations deviate you from your perfect day. It’s about you and your partner and how you wish to celebrate your love for each other.

I would not change a thing about our wedding. It was exactly what we wanted.