CHERIE X DANIEL

cherie and daniel | to the aisle byron bay

wedding date 17 november 2023

80 wedding guests

"Our love story began when we crossed paths at a remote project up in Weipa, Far North Queensland.

Daniel caught Cherie's attention by declining her request to assist with an employee, which as we all know, no one tells Cherie "no". Cherie caught Daniel's attention later that evening in the dining hall, with her beauty and uncomfortable smile after a co-worker had announced that he was available.

It wasn't until a few months later after an awards night in Brisbane, that the romance truly started to blossom. Tempted by the forbidden fruit, Cherie finally agreed to a date with Daniel, where they shared a nice cold beer and saucy pizza together at the Charming Squire in the heart of Southbank.

Persistence was key in ensuring the relationship blossomed in the early stages where their love has continued to grow.

"I had an idea that Daniel was going to propose in 2023 however I didn’t know when. We had a trip planned around Europe - visiting Denmark, Norway and Austria and of course this was the obvious choice, however I still had my doubts as I didn’t think he would take the ring overseas, so when he did propose I was still really surprised.

We had just spent the day exploring the small town of Hallstatt and had just made it back to our accommodation which had a timber balcony with fairy lights overseeing a lake, surrounded by snow capped fjords - an absolutely magical setting. He had organised a cheese platter and champagne but I really didn’t think much of it until he came back out onto the balcony and got down on one knee - of course I said ‘yes’!

It was intimate and perfect just to have the two of us there. The best thing was we had another 2 weeks of our Europe trip to go and we got to enjoy our engagement travelling and exploring. It’s a trip I will remember forever.

We searched high and low for the perfect wedding venue, we were looking for a venue that showcased our personalities and catered for our lifestyle. We love adventure and the outdoors and wanted to ensure we picked a venue where we could have our ceremony outside and have our photos taken amongst nature and a beautiful backdrop.

We were also looking for somewhere where we could self-cater our own wine, Daniel’s parents own Paradox wines and import amazing wine from overseas and we wanted to have their beautiful wine on our wedding day. We stumbled across the Orchard Estate and their wonderful host Anton located in the Byron Bay hinterland. This was the most perfect venue with rows of macadamia trees and a beautiful barn with high ceilings and large windows which could be styled to our liking.

It also had a separate barn house which the bridal party stayed in the night prior to the wedding. It was so much fun waking up at the farmhouse and having a stress free morning getting makeup and hair done with my girls - we even got a sneeky bottle of sparkling and coffee made for us by Anton. When getting ready we snuck into the orchards for some photos which were absolutely magical.

Theme wise I really wanted to create an earthy, elegant feel with neutral tones. We had a canvas wedding venue so had the luxury of hand picking a lot of elements which contributed to the overall theme. Although it was lots of fun choosing everything from plates through to lights and install decorations - you do get decision fatigue - so make sure you rely on you bride tribe to help you out with those last minute decisions.

It was super exciting on the wedding day to see all our style and theme decisions come together, the team did an excellent job pulling it all together and making the venue look absolutely stunning - it was exactly what we wanted. My most fave moment was walking towards Daniel and seeing him smiling at the end of the isle. It was also looking around and seeing the most important people to us all in the same place at the same time, people travelled from my hometown of Tasmania and from overseas to be there to witness us say ‘I do’.

I can’t describe the overwhelming feeling of having all the people you love witness you marry your best friend - it’s an incredible moment. Let’s also not forget the party - another favourite moment was walking through the sparkler entry to get our dance floor started. Our wedding day was everything we wanted and was such a blast!

There are so many details about our wedding that I loved! It is so hard to choose. The flowers from Pikt Florist were stunning, at the last minute I decided to place a few orchards in my bouquet and in a couple of the flower arrangements and I am so glad I did, they really made the venue and photos have an elegant feel. The flowers were so stunning that they even brought a tear to my mum’s eye when they arrived.

Another favourite wedding detail was the transport for our guests – when we sent out the wedding invitations, we stated that guests would be transported in style to a secret wedding location. We wanted to choose something to create a great vibe from the very beginning, picture a bright colourful bus picking guests up in style and setting the scene with some upbeat tunes. This was a great way to get our guests excited on the way to our secret wedding venue location.

Dress shopping was so much fun! It is the moment in your engagement that you get all giddy and excited about the fact that it is all really happening. I was lucky enough to have my mum fly up from Tasmania to come dress shopping as well as my bridesmaids and we found my dress on Mother’s Day which made the experience so special.

We visited a number of boutiques across Brisbane and the Gold Coast to find the perfect dress. I had no idea what kind of dress I wanted so I was trying on a lot of different styles and shapes, at first I was leaning more towards an A-line dress however it didn’t feel quite right. I wanted something special and unique - I walked into Made with Love Boutique and was served by Hayley. She was so amazing and attentive and answered any queries I had.

All the dresses in the boutique were amazing - there were two in particular - Kendall and Harlow that I couldn’t choose between, with Hayley’s guidance I came to the decision to combine the two dresses - Harlow with Kendall lace. I was a little bit nervous as I ordered the dress without knowing what the final product would look like. However when the MWL box arrived and I tried her on - I was in love! The low cut back of the dress and pearly sparkly lace was the special and unique aspect I was looking for.

orchard estate wedding sean reefman photography

Marriage to me is a commitment to your best friend. It is a promise that you will stick by each other in good times and bad and love each other unconditionally. It is important for Daniel and myself to ensure we continue to challenge and inspire each other and live a life full of adventure and fun. Marriage is something that you need to continually work at as a team and always remember why you stood at the end of the aisle and said ‘I do’.

The advice that helped us the most when planning our wedding was to pick vendors that complement your style and have your best interests at heart. Your vendors can make or break your wedding day so it is so important that you pick vendors that you vibe with - don’t just settle. We may be biased but we loved our vendors, they were super accommodating and showed genuine care.

Take the time to get to know your vendors especially your musician, celebrant, photographer and videographer - these are the people that are up close and personal with you on your special day, you need to feel comfortable around them. A special shout out to Sean, our amazing and truly talented photographer.

It is so important that you choose a photographer that is going to capture all the moments of your special day; the moments of just the two of you, your friends and family, the laughs, the smiles, the tears and of course the moments you miss. Sean captured all these memories and so much more.

Your wedding day goes by so fast so make sure you choose the vendors that capture the emotions and memories of the day so that you can look back on and remember your special day for a lifetime to come.