Held at Gabbinbar Homestead – a historic QLD wedding venue just out Brisbane – Ash and Andrea’s wedding was everything they wanted. It was sophisticated, timeless and fun and along with a roaming magician, included a guest appearance from their fur-baby, Macy. “Gabbinbar were so accommodating and provided a water bowl and some doggy treats for her”, says Andrea who was overwhelmed with the venue’s attention to detail.

“We are both fairly particular so loved that we felt like we could trust the team at Gabbinbar to ensure everything would be seamless on the day”. Captured by Leah Cruikshank Photography, you can see the entire day below.

Can you tell us a bit about your proposal?

Ash surprised me with the ring on the first night of a weekend away at the coast – we were getting ready to go out for a nice dinner and when I had finished getting ready, he was waiting on the balcony with two glasses of champagne before he popped the question. It was a complete surprise!

In a few sentences, how would you describe your wedding?

Our wedding was an absolute dream – everything ran perfectly and turned out better than we could have imagined. Looking back on it, we wouldn’t change a thing.

Was your wedding in your home town or was it a destination wedding?

We live in Brisbane and our wedding was in Toowoomba, so it was a destination wedding in a way, but also close enough to home so that guests could go home after if they didn’t want to stay.

How did you decide on the location of your wedding and the venue itself?

We weren’t really set on any particular locations… but after going to see Gabbinbar Homestead for the first time we knew that was where we wanted to get married. Choosing Gabbinbar as our venue was an easy decision – we could tell from the first time we set foot on the grounds that the service, quality and attention to detail was second to none. We are both fairly particular so loved that we felt like we could trust the team at Gabbinbar to ensure everything would be seamless on the day. The gardens were beautiful by day and with all the fairy lights we knew it would be magical by night as well.

Another reason for choosing Gabbinbar was that we wanted to make sure that our venue had a wet weather ceremony option that we loved in case we had to use this on the day. We loved the Pavilion so much that we wanted to use this for our ceremony location regardless of the weather.

How many guests did you have?

75.

Were you inspired by a particular wedding style or vibe when bringing your day to life?

We wanted our wedding to be sophisticated and timeless and mostly just for everyone to have a chance to dress up and have fun. We used a lot of flowers to decorate the ceremony and reception and this gave it a really special feel.

Finish this sentence. The best (or most unique) thing we did at our wedding was…

Adding a roving magician (at the time we were not allowed to have a dance floor due to COVID restrictions so we hired the magician as reception entertainment). This was something that we are so glad we did. He was so great at engaging our guests and blew their minds with his amazing tricks during the reception while people were mingling. It was also a great conversation starter between guests on the night and everyone is still raving about the magician months later.

What are some of the most memorable and special moments of your wedding?

It’s hard to pick just one moment – the whole thing was amazing! One of our favourite parts was getting to see all of our family and friends straight after the ceremony for their congratulations as a newly married couple, especially as it was the first time in a long time that we had seen many of our guests due to COVID. I also loved walking into the conservatory for a sneak peek of the reception just after the candles had all been lit, it was so magical.

Any funny elements that just made the day or lead up even more amazing?

Not so much funny, but something that just helped make the day even more amazing was being able to bring our cocker spaniel Macy along. It was so great to have her there in the bridal retreat with the bridesmaids in the morning while we got ready (and Gabbinbar were so accommodating and provided a water bowl and some doggy treats for her). She also came to the ceremony and stayed for some photos after. It wouldn’t have been the same without her there!

Do you have any standout suppliers that you would recommend in a heartbeat? 

Bec from Poppies for Willow looked after the florals and styling for our wedding – she did such an amazing job of bringing our ideas to life in a way that was better than we ever imagined!

Now that you’re married, what’s the best piece of advice you can give other couples in the middle of planning their own weddings?

Make sure you lock in your creative vendors as soon as possible (photographer, videographer, florist). There would be nothing worse than having your heart set on a particular vendor’s style only to find out that they are not available on your date.

Tell us about your outfits, how did you find them? What did you love about them?

Ash’s suit was a classic black tailored Mitchell Ogilvie suit with a double-breasted waistcoat and bow tie. He had it custom made especially for the occasion.

The wedding dress was an Oksana Mukha gown which was tailored by my own seamstress to personalise the dress further and make it my own.

What are you most looking forward to now that you’re married?

Whilst our mini-honeymoon on Hayman Island was great, we are looking forward to eventually going on our honeymoon to Mexico which we had to cancel due to the pandemic.

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CREDITS: Photos Leah Cruikshank Photography // Video Luke Bickley // Venue Gabbinbar Homestead // Celebrant Moore Celebrations // Flowers Poppies for Willow // Cake Abbolou Cakes // Stationery and signage Flourish Ink Calligraphy and Wooden It Be Nice // Bridal gown Oksana Mukha // Brides shoes Valentino // Bridesmaid dresses BHLDN // Grooms suit and bow ties Mitchell Ogilvie // Groomsmen suits M.J. Bale // Rings AG Designer Jeweller // Hair Saburi Hair Studio // Makeup Stephanie Goldsworthy // Entertainment Mike Tyler Magic // Favours Personalised Cookies