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Meet the Bride: Kristy, Brisbane
Summer heat, sunflowers, city views and an earlier-than-expected date change, Kristy and Brad’s Brisbane wedding was as spectacular as it was memorable. Having planned the entire wedding themselves, Kristy shares her insider tips for sticking to the budget, choosing your vendors and much more.
Advice and Inspiration
from The Busy Bride community
The Basics:
- Kristy & Brad
- 5 December 2020
- Brisbane, QLD
- Small wedding (30-50 people)
- 12-18 months spent planning
Wedding Planning Experience
What was the most enjoyable aspect in planning your wedding?
The most enjoyable part was definitely making the choices of flowers, dresses, how I wanted my hair etc.
What was the biggest challenge in planning your wedding?
We had to bring our wedding forward 6 months when I fell pregnant. So, our wedding went from being an autumn wedding to during summer. We had booked our date a year out, and thankfully the venue and vendors were all able to move dates with ease. It was so wonderful.
First 3 vendors booked...
- Venue
- Photographer
- Celebrant
Top 3 priorities when choosing vendors...
- Price
- Location
- Reviews/ word-of-mouth
How did you keep costs down?
- Our budget blew out slightly, but I had anticipated it.
- Just prioritise. We caught a taxi to the wedding instead of spending hundreds on cars which we wouldn’t have seen anyway from where the wedding was.
- There are definitely things you can DIY. For example, we did our own lolly bar.
Wedding planning advice, from one bride to another...
Kristy says, “choose well-established businesses due to the timeframes and keep in touch with them over the time. Keep to your budget, even if it means having to choose a different vendor”.
Wedding Day Details
On the morning of my wedding, I...
- Relaxed
- Got my hair and makeup done
- Was with my bridal party and family
In my bag, I packed...
- A different dress for the reception
I wish I had packed...
- A hairdryer and straightener as I got so sweaty
Kristy's top tip for the day is...
“Have a clear time for guests to arrive at wedding and for you to walk down. I was on time and some guests were not.”
Honeymoon & Post-Wedding
Honeymoon Destination
At home, in Brisbane (a staycation)
Factors that affected our honeymoon decisions...
- Budget/ cost
- Convenience
What we did post-wedding was...
- Opened gifts and cards
- Sent thank you notes
- Created our own wedding album
- Wrote reviews of our wedding vendors
- Sent photos to our guests
- Posted photos to social media
Vendors
A special shout-out goes to...
Suzanne Riley
Kristy says, “Our celebrant was truly remarkable. She was so good at making sure I was okay on the day. It was 36 degrees, and I was pregnant, so she made sure I stayed hydrated and kept Brad calm ahead of my arrival”.
- Venue: Riverlife
- Photographer: Gemima Harvey Photography
- Florist: Kate Dawes Flower Design
- Celebrant: Suzanne Riley
- Hair Styling: Bec Delaney
- Make-up Artist: Sasha Hicks (now located in Yeppoon, QLD)
- Bridal Gown: Rosa and Mary’s Bridal
Despite being in attendance at Brad and Kristy’s wedding, it’s been great reading about their planning experience.
Thank you for joining The Busy Bride community and being a part of our new profile series. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness together.
With warm wedding regards,
Kimberley xx
