Nicola and Joel held their wedding reception in the Garden Marquee at Victoria Park with ceremony on-site in The Courtyard. Recently the pair sat down to discuss their big day with the Victoria Park team.

Tell us about your journey together, from how you met, to what the proposal was like!

We met during Grade 8 at school, and even dated for a couple of weeks in Grade 9! After this, we decided that we were better off as friends, and continued to be so for many years. It wasn’t until a few years after school that our romance rekindled, and we have been happily together ever since! For the proposal, Joel took me to several locations that were very special to us – the place where we first said “I love you”, the café where we had our first coffee date, and ultimately to the top of Mt-Cootha where Joel had originally asked me to be his girlfriend. Joel had even organised one of my best friends to be hiding in the background to take pictures!

What (besides the obvious ‘I do’) was your favourite part of your wedding?

We really wanted to go for the traditional romantic feel – lots of flowers and lights! Our standout decorative piece for our ceremony was a beautiful arbour installation by our incredible florist Sarah from Gwen Floral Co. It had lots of lush greenery surrounding beautiful cream/blush tone roses, orchids and other spectacular flowers. Roses and orchids were especially significant to us, and they were the favourite flowers of the bride’s Nanna and Grandma. This piece was then reconstructed for use as a bridal table piece for the reception, whilst guest tables also had beautiful floral centerpieces surrounded by tealights. A special thing that our florist recommended was for us to gift our centerpieces to special guests at the end of the night. For wedding entertainment we had DJ Matthew from Decibel Entertainment, who took requests on the night from our guests.

What’s the best piece of advice you can give other brides to be?

I know so many people say this – but honestly just enjoy every moment because it goes so incredibly fast! I think another important this is to try find a moment with your groom to just take a moment and look around the room at all the people you love, and really just be present together in that moment.

Would you recommend Victoria Park to other people getting married?

Absolutely! The venues we had were absolutely gorgeous, and it was such a peace of mind knowing that if the weather had of turned bad, that there were options. Our wedding coordinator Jenae was always quick to respond to our emails and questions, and our function manager on the day Sue was so lovely and made sure we were all looked after! The food was also incredible!

Please list your major suppliers below for crediting purposes:

• Photographer: Matthew Gillam Photography
• Videography: Michael Kelly Films
• Hair & Makeup: KM Makeup Studio
• Florist: Gwen Floral Co.
• Cake: Angel Mama’s Cakes
• DJ: Decibel Entertainment

Find out more about Victoria Park’s wedding venues for 30 to 400 guests.

Real Wedding Stories: The wedding of Michaela and Mitchell

Tell us a bit about when and how you first met?

We met through a mutual friend who Michaela took to her high school formal. From that night we became good friends and later started dating during our first year of university. We have been together since 2007.

What was the proposal like?

It was the last day of the school term and I was driving back from Dalby as I had taken a year contract teaching in Toowoomba Catholic Education. As I was driving home, a friend of mine said you don’t think he would propose out at dinner tonight. I replied with I hope not because I dislike public attention and would want it to be memorable. As the night went on, Mitch and I went out to dinner… no proposal.

He then started driving to see my family, but took the longest way home. Little did I know that he had been texting Tim (mutual friend who had set us up) to ask if the spot for the proposal was ready. We drove past the park where we had our first date and I asked why there were witches hats there, but they were actually white lateens lit leading to the gazebo. It was decorated with flowers, candles, champagne and of course cookies and cream ice-cream (desert from first date).

As we sat down drinking champagne and eating cookies and cream ice-cream, Mitch bent down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Mitch and the boys (who were hiding until it was clear -Tim, Tom and Kieran) did a fantastic job executing a magical proposal not to be forgotten. They even managed to hide the ring on the ledge of the picnic table so that Mitch wouldn’t be caught out.

Why would you recommend Victoria Park to other people getting married?

I would recommend Victoria Park to other people getting married because our Wedding co-ordinater at Victoria Park was so helpful in keeping us informed and up-to-date with everything that needed to be done. I did not need to buy extra things as Victoria Park had their own styling package that suited both Mitch’s taste and myself. They also recommended suppliers to add extra touches to the day. Without the staff at Victoria Park, the day would not of been a huge success and so we thank you very much for everything that you did for us.