According to some, every significant person you meet has a meaningful purpose. This purpose can sometimes take time to become apparent, or, as in the case of bride Courtney, she would soon meet her future husband. Isle Weddings is pleased to introduce the wedding story of Courtney and Shane.

Courtney begins their story by telling how they met. “On the first day at my new job, a work colleague asked me, ‘Are you single? I have a guy for you?’. A friend request on Facebook, followed by a message in the New Year saying ‘Hello!’ and we haven’t looked back since!

Shane proposed in Queensland on the last night of a holiday. I love listening to the sound of the ocean, and Shane knew it was one of my absolute favourite sounds. As we strolled along the beach on the last night of our holiday, he turned me around to see him on one knee and a beautiful diamond ring. The date was February 2020. The world changed drastically in the next few weeks (insert: the ‘C’ word). Covid hit full speed just after Shane proposed.

The lead-up to our day was undoubtedly different from what we had envisaged. Thinking we were allowing heaps of time for the pandemic to pass, we planned for our wedding to occur in November 2021. As we approached our original wedding date, we were dealing with border closures, sickness and everything in between – so we decided to change the date and made the call early. Ironically the revised date that all our amazing vendors were available was two years from the day that Shane proposed!

When it came to our vendor choices, it was a reasonably quick process. I grew up in Tasmania and already had in mind a preferred venue choice, Josef Chromy’s Winery. Next came our photographer/videographer decision. We met with DOXA Visuals (Jon and Jac) and booked them straight away. We were so glad we went with DOXA because they were terrific. After that, the rest of our vendor choices just fell into place.

Choosing my wedding gown was a straightforward but heartwarming process. My Godmother broke into tears when she saw me in Rosa Clara gown. I knew it was the one! I adored it.

Being based in Melbourne at the time, all of our planning was done interstate and virtually. Sometimes I wished we had done some of our planning in person. Not being able to visit the vendors felt like we missed out on some memorable moments. However, we embraced the entire process. We couldn’t choose our wine list at one point, so we ordered the whole range and cooked food during lockdown to try them all out. Make hay whilst the sun shines! We had my best friend buy dessert options from a local market and give a review. You just do what you have to do!

I remember picking up our signage and crying in the car. I did not anticipate feeling overwhelmed when I finally saw our printed menus and table settings. Seeing it all come together in the restaurant made me appreciate every element chosen to make our day what it was. Our colour palette featured extensively throughout our wedding day, and with the help of colour swatches, each vendor nailed their element. We wouldn’t change a thing.

Ash & Brad Bespoke truly captured our initial vision for the florals. Unfortunately, it turned out that unseasonal weather prevented our flowers from being shipped in time for our wedding. However, in true style, the Ash & Brad Bespoke team went above and beyond to source florals locally. We were truly blown away by the result. Ash & Brad Bespoke brought the floral designs to life, providing us with more than we could have imagined.

We were extremely pleased with our desserts by Delicious Little Things. Rae of Delice Little Things is a legend! We wanted something unique, and Rae suggested a grazing board of desserts, along with a strawberry & cream cake. Our guests are still raving about the desserts!

The vendors we worked with were all incredible and went above and beyond the call of duty. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to use all of them again. During the lead-up, on the day and after, the vendors made us feel valued and not just another number. We felt as if we were part of their story just as much as they were part of ours.

Looking back on our wedding and considering the challenges created by the pandemic, we are extremely grateful to have made it down the aisle, along with our closest family and friends. Everyone who travelled made the most of their time in Tasmania, and we appreciated everyone embracing all that Tasmanian had to offer!

One of our favourite wedding day moments was our wedding dance. In the lead-up to our big day, we managed to sneak in a few dance lessons. Our dance wasn’t the typical two-step-sway, and everyone commented afterwards that we clearly knew what we were doing. If only they knew all the practice, we did in the living room, with our cat and dog as our audience! It was definitely worth it, as it turned out to be a real show stopper”.