In just eight short months this couple managed to pull off an epic DIY wedding at Maleny Retreat – one of the most picturesque Sunshine Coast wedding venues.

“Maleny Retreat not only gave us the backdrop we envisioned, but it gave us the freedom to create the wedding of our dreams. We got to bring in the vendors that we wanted and literally choose everything” said Nyssa, who added that having a wedding planner was a God-send. We’ll also add that her oversized floral crown was something holy too.

Check out the entire celebration captured by BXCSMITH below.

In a nutshell, how would you describe your wedding day?

The fastest day of my life! Can we do it all over again without paying for it all over again?

Nah, in all seriousness, you know how good it feels when you pop bubble wrap? Well, times that by about a million and that’s how great of a day it was! It was the best party and an absolute celebration of mine and Mitchum’s love for one another. And to have all our favourite people come from near and far to support us as a couple – it was the most amazing feeling!

What did you expect was going to be your favourite part in the lead-up? What did it end up being?

A special moment that sticks out in my mind was the moment Mitchum first saw me when we had our first look. He turned and was genuinely shocked and just said, “Aww babe…”. It was so authentic and I’m thankful that our cinematographer, Aiden, was able to capture it in motion.

Another favourite moment of mine was when our MC was reading out the intros for our wedding party. Mitchum and I came up with them together… and what we wrote about each person was only half true. Our guests however, thought it was all true and the look on their faces during the introductions was priceless! We were laughing so hard and Mitchum and I just looked at each other and bumped fists.

Did you write your own vows? If so, what made you decide to do that?

Not writing our own vows was actually never a thought that even crossed our minds. You have this incredible love for someone and you get to sappily profess it all in front of your closest friends and family and they have no choice but to sit there and listen to it all. How fun is that?

What was it about your wedding venue that made you book?

We wanted to get married somewhere where when people look at photos, it can’t be mistaken for any other location in the world. The Glass House Mountains are a huge part of the Sunshine Coast, you can see them from pretty much anywhere, even when out in the ocean at Kings Beach. We knew we wanted the view of them as our backdrop because that’s where we’ve built a life together. Sunshine Coast is home for us.

Maleny Retreat not only gave us the backdrop we envisioned, but it gave us the freedom to create the wedding of our dreams. We got to bring in the vendors that we wanted and literally chose everything – marquee, chairs, tables, even down to what colour plate we wanted. And that’s what made the day even more special, that it was truly a reflection of us.

What’s your best piece of wedding-related advice?

If you like something and it feels right, go with it! There are a million different options out there for everything – dress, hair, makeup, wedding colours, wedding themes, etc. The list is long and can be exhausting. Don’t overthink things – if you like it, go with it!

Also, don’t let anyone ever tell you what is the “right” or “wrong” way to do things. Make it personal and do what works best for you two. I chose my brothers as my bridesmen because they are two of my best friends. Mitchum and I had a first look before the ceremony and people were trying to tell us how doing that would “take away” from the magic of the ceremony. But I can tell ya right now, the ceremony was still hella magical! I know this is said all the time but it’s your day so do what you want!

If you had your time again, is there anything you’d do differently?

We would’ve started doing things a lot earlier – writing our vows instead of doing them the night before/morning of, building our welcome sign or donut wall, creating our guestbook, etc. We started projects early but kind of left them to finish later and I wish we just had it done months ahead because things don’t always work out as planned.

Finish these sentences…

My partner is… the most unexpected and precious gift from the universe. He is actually the most gorgeous person inside and out and I don’t know what I did to deserve him. He’s the love of my life and has shown me a love that I didn’t know existed. Love has taken on a whole new meaning because of him.

The best thing we did at our wedding was… hire a wedding coordinator. We had Latoya from A Touch of Deep Love and it was the best decision of my life. She was with us during our whole planning process and I am forever grateful to have had her. She not only helped me organise my thoughts, but she organised all of our vendors which was essential being a DIY wedding. We had a short engagement – only eight months – and because we knew we had her by our side, we got to enjoy that time more instead of stressing about little things.

We splurged on… our photographer and cinematographer and it was 3000% worth it. You can’t put a price on the smiles, the laughs, or the feelings that were captured, especially the way Beccy and Aiden captured it all. These memories are forever.

We saved on… wedding favours. The last handful of weddings we’d been to didn’t have any and to be honest, they were not something that was missed! Instead, we had an open bar with beer, wine, and spirits and a dessert table/donut wall with Krispy Kreme donuts and bulk Tim Tams. Everyone was pretty happy with that!

CREDITS: Photos BXCSMXTH // Videography Aiden Lovett // Ceremony and reception Maleny Retreat // Planning, styling and grazing table A Touch of Deep Love // Marquee Sperry Tents // Decor hire Berry Vintage Hire // Catering Penfolds Catering // Cake TOME // Cake topper Fun Bobble Head // Grooms suit George & King // Groomsmen suits Bell & Barnett // Bridal gown Chosen by One Day Bridal // Bridesmens suits EPH Apparel // Brides shoes Miss Shop via Myer // Veil Marilyn Crystelle Bridal // Headpiece, bouquet and buttonholes Heavenly Blooms // Hair Evalyn Parsons Hair // Makeup Hannah Mills Makeup Artist // Nails Nails By Kaibee // Rings McLean and Co Jewellers // Celebrant Say ‘I Do’ with Drew // Music Jake Hill Music and Reece Freeman // Games Sunshine Coast Novelty Game Hire.

+++++

Check out more of Australia’s best blank canvas wedding venues here.

Wedding stylists: what they do and why you might want one.