As we sat in the Crown Casino Penthouse preparing Courtney and her unofficial maid of honour, her sister Simonetta, and friends, we all dodged the elephant in the room.. There was a severe weather warning of rain, dangerous winds and giant hailstones about to hit the Gold Coast at the very same time Courtney was being led down the aisle by her first love, her son Ayden, to marry the love of her life Matt! Courtney was calm, generous with her kindness, excited, nervous and happy all rolled into one! The love and bond between her sister and her was heartwarming and special.
We knew that no matter how much hair lacquer we throw at her Do, Courtney was going to be windswept and wet BUT she didn’t care and nor did anyone else, Love is Love and what better way to start your married life on Halloween with all the elements being thrown at you and still gleaming with tears of love they said I DO!
My brides come to me from varying different places but one thing is for sure, if we are meant to be the team to help create the magic of the day then we will be.. I was so honoured and happy to be asked to be the MUAH on this very special Halloween wedding.
Here’s Courtney and Matts journey to the aisle.
How did you meet?
Matt and I met at a New Years Party six years ago. We had mutual friends through playing roller derby. We were pretty much inseparable since.
Who Proposed to Who and how?
Matt proposed on Halloween, he carved out will you marry me on pumpkins. I love pumpkins and Halloween so much, it made sense to us to have the wedding on Halloween.
What theme did you envision your wedding to be?
We went for Halloween, vintage inspired, autumn coloured wedding.
Tell us about your wedding dress?
I wore the Tilly prom dress from the pretty dress company. It was really affordable and created the perfect shape! I wore sparkly orange shoes from irregular choice and really fun pumpkin earrings from doodad and fandango. Matt wore a red jacket as it’s his favourite colour. All the colours and little details looked perfect when it was all put together.
You have a very special inclusion in your wedding, tell us about that?
Ayden (my son) is the first love of my life. We have grown up together and everything we have done, we have done together. Him walking me down the aisle was perfect. We have a very special relationship and it was one of the best parts of the day. Matt did ask Ayden for his permission before we were engaged. So it was perfect, such a special moment.
Simonetta (my Sister) was my “unofficial maid of honour”, Matt and opted not to do formal bridal parties as we both have such great siblings and friends. Having bridal parties really made the wedding and planning process feel bigger and more daunting than we wanted it to be.
How was your wedding prep day?
Simonette is my older sister and has literally watched out for me my entire life. It was so nice to spend the extra time together, get ready together etc. She took really good care of me, made sure I was snacked up and calm – she also brought my comfortable shoes to the reception. What a dream!
What was the most stressful part?
The most stressful part about wedding planning was Covid! Many weddings were cancelled or rescheduled. We really wanted to get married on our date and for a long time with Covid, we weren’t even sure we could have our wedding. Matt is a dream groom, so helpful! We really dream teamed the wedding and made it happen!
How did you find The Lindy Charm School?
I knew what I wanted to look like of the day, but I had no idea where to start looking for the perfect HMUA. I asked for a recommendations on a Wedding planning Facebook group and the Lindy Charm School was one of the recommendations. After a lot of website and social media research, I felt like the Lindy Charm School had the right look for me. I contacted Chrissy and she was an absolute dream! I loved how I looked on the day, I felt so beautiful. My hair and make up was perfect. I was impressed with how warm and funny Chrissy was. It was a joy to get ready with her.
Any final words of advice for other brides?
My words of wisdom would be… find vendors that appreciate your style and vision, if they are excited to work with you, you’ll make magic! Make your day all about you and your partner and what makes you happy!
Also – be prepared, you can’t control the weather and you might get rain, hail and sunshine all in one day!
