Jess & Jan
There is something truly beautiful about Jess and Jan’s romantic beach side wedding. The couple hired a house on the weekend and spent most of their wedding barefoot in the sand. They said their vows under an arbour made out of driftwood just before the ceremony, they danced in the sand with their favourite people under fairy lights as the stars shone and they chose White Images to capture it all.
Jess tells the tale of how they came to be. “We met at the hospital where I work. I’m an ED Nurse and Jan’s a Paramedic. Jan proposed on my 30th birthday, which also happened to be the day we moved into the house that we had built together. He proposed using my nan’s ring as it would be a while until we could get the engagement and wedding rings from South Africa. They arrived the day before the wedding!”
Flowers by Serena created beautiful floral arrangements for the day in tones of white, blush pink and sweet apricot.
Jess wore a wedding gown from Wedding Dress Wonderland, telling, “I got my dress from ‘Wedding Dress Wonderland’ located on the Gold Coast. When looking for a dress I knew I wanted something different… I was lucky enough to find exactly what I wanted on the first day of looking! They had just designed and made the dress and no one had yet purchased one. My measurements were taken and my dress arrived shortly after – it was perfect! Although it wasn’t a “beachy” design to match the wedding, I loved how comfortable and simple it was and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
The wedding was planned together with Stradbroke Island Events which was held on the beach in front of Beach Willo’s, Amity Point Stradbroke Island.
Jess walked down the aisle to Ben Harper – Forever.
Jess remembers, “My friends made our arbour about an hour before the ceremony out of driftwood on the beach – I absolutely loved it!”
Sheryl Gotje officiated the ceremony.
“The day was amazing. I was a little nervous as I had no back up plan. If it rained – we were all going to get drenched! We have a similar outlook on life… Life is too short! We want to spend the rest of our lives being happy, healthy and exploring new and wonderful things.”
Of their photographer, Jess remembers, “She was amazing! We are so happy with our photos and she was fantastic to work with. We wanted the photos to be quite natural and they are just that.”
Jess tells, “All I wanted was fairy lights, candles and flowers. We had all that and it was absolutely perfect.”
A friend catered the wedding, which was held on the sand, Jess noting, “The food, wine and cocktails… We were so lucky to be able to choose every single thing we wanted for the wedding. Everyone was so full from all the amazing food! We also had a variety of delicious cocktails to drink made by the bar staff. Having the flexibility to do what we wanted with the food and drinks made everything wonderfully economical.”
Guests danced the night away on the sand to Shag Rock.
Congratulations on your marriage Jess and Jan! Thank you for sharing your day with us. Thank you also to White Images for sharing this wedding with us!
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