brisbane river wedding - Romana Sae Heng Photography and Elopements

A match made on the frontline

February 6, 2022February 6, 2022
by Romana

When two of our frontline heroes decide to marry during a pandemic…

Written by Cheryl Landsberry Celebrant / Photos and video highlight by Romana Saeheng / Styling by Miss Weddings

award winning australia's best wedding photographer affordable brisbane photographer

Kathleen and Alexander first met in an outback Hospital. Kathleen was a newly hired nurse, and on her first day, an intern wearing a pink dress shirt instantly caught her eye. Kathleen decided that her new job might be pretty interesting.

Not long afterwards, when Alex was relocated to Brisbane, Kathleen followed him, and they set about trying every restaurant on Alex’s rather long short-list.

Too besotted with each other to wait for international borders to be opened, Alex and Kathleen were married in a simple ceremony by the Brisbane River, surrounded by colleagues and friends. Their families overseas watched on via livestreaming. Celebrant Cheryl Landsberry guided the couple through the legal requirements and listened in as the couple exchanged sweet personal vows. Alex said, “You are the story I’ve always strived to write,” and Kathleen replied with, “You have become my best friend and my safe place.”

After cup cakes created by Cakes by Simone, guests made their way to a city restaurant for drinks while Kathleen and Alex made the most of the soft light before dusk with photographer Romana Saeheng.

Brisbane Wedding

Riverlife shines for G + A’s riverside wedding

September 16, 2020September 16, 2020
by Romana

Rain, hail nor Covid were going to stop these high school sweethearts from saying “I do”… so their wedding plans moved full steam ahead with very little change…

Thankfully Gemma and Angus’s wedding venue Riverlife, had a Covid-safe plan in place so their wedding could move forward and allow them to celebrate their marriage just as they wished (with just a few minor adjustments). The adjustments didn’t take away from their incredible day though, in many ways, it made their day all the more epic!!!

After the big day, Gemma posted about her day on a local FB group… sharing her new wisdom with fellow brides – here is what she said…

From Gemma…

My husband and I tied the knot on our ten year anniversary on 27 August 2020.

I wanted to share our sneak peek photos with some of our details to shout out to our suppliers because they were all so AMAZING!

DETAILS:

Venue: Riverlife Weddings & Events (Brisbane)

Transport: Uber premierCelebrant: Natasha Hill (@hillscelebrant)

Photographer: Romana Saeheng (@romanasaeheng)

Videographer: Amy, Times Flies By Videography (@timefliesbyvideography)

Hair & make up: Kendall Jayde HMUA (@kendalljaydehmua)Beauty therapist: Jamie-Lea, Aglo beauty

Cake: Meagan, @mmcakesandcreations

Getting ready and mini moon: Air BnB

Bride’s dress: Alfred Angelo Bridal from FB Marketplace, hoop underneath from an op shop

Bride’s veil: a cape veil from eBay

Bride’s shoes: shoes of prey closing down sale

Bridesmaid’s dresses: the Iconic

Bridesmaid’s robes: eBay

Jewelry: Lovisa

Bouquets: DIY by my mum with a combination of flowers and greenery purchased from kmart, op shops and FB marketplace

Groom’s bow tie and suspenders: Eden, @LilyPinGroom’s suit: POLITIX

Groom’s shirt: Trenery

Groomsmen’s suit pants, shirt and suspenders: no idea??

ADVICE:

First, I felt a lot of pressure to lose weight and be the thinnest I’ve ever been, along with having the nicest skin and hair. I ended up gaining weight, and my skin broke out. I started with a pixie cut and struggled to get enough length for the Hollywood glam curls I wanted. But none of that mattered on the day. I felt absolutely amazing and beautiful. Once I put my dress on, I didn’t think about my weight once! As a curvy girl, my best advice would be to find a dress that you love. If you are insecure about a particular part of your body, there will be a style which flatters it. Also, wait until closer to the day if you can (otherwise set aside some money for alterations). I got mine way too early and my extra weight made it very, very close to not fitting when I tried it on the week before. Second, don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. It’s your wedding! If you don’t do what you and hubby want, you’ll regret it. We were on the fence about writing our own vows, first dances and speeches and received a lot of conflicting advice. In the end, these were the most memorable parts of our wedding and I am sooo happy we did them! According to their guest book, our guests loved those parts and apparently nearly everyone was crying during our personal vows.

Third, drink as much water as you can early in the day! I didn’t have the chance to drink any from 1pm onwards and really felt it the next day. And make sure you eat a proper lunch to carry you through.

COVID-19:

Despite the restrictions, we honestly had the best day ever. Yes, there were adjustments and differences to what we initially wanted and imagined. But life as we know it might be different for a long time to come, so we didn’t want to postpone and wait for a change which might not come. If you are debating whether or not to go ahead in Queensland right now with no dancing except for first dance and parent dance, everyone must be seated, social distancing and limits on numbers etc, my advice would be to just do it.

Budget/DIY:

Our all inclusive wedding and mini moon budget was $7.5k, and I haven’t done the final figures yet but I think we went just slightly over. We DIY’d everything we could (with the help of my family), and if we couldn’t, we shopped around and got it second hand or on sale. We got soo many ideas and advice from this group and others on FB. We went over budget because we decided to spend extra on food and alcohol (which was all a hit, props to Riverlife), a more expensive celebrant and a few extra hours with our photographer (which we don’t regret as Romana was sooo amazing). My biggest budget advice would be to find suppliers who are just starting out in the industry, look into second-hand dresses, and condense your guest list as much as possible (we had 28 including us). Most importantly, START EARLY. First, it gives you time to digest soo many quotes and emails from suppliers and dig beyond Easy Weddings/the biggest hits on Google to find people new to the industry who are actually amazing. Second, we had organised probably 80% in two months after getting engaged. So when COVID-19 hit us hard, it wasn’t a massive shock to the planning or financial timeline. So thank you everyone on this group for sharing everything and giving so much advice!

Brisbane Wedding

Down by the river, where the event is a…

January 19, 2020January 19, 2020
by Romana

I am still so in love with this super sweet wedding at Events on Oxlade (Riverside Receptions)… Kaitlyn and Tom celebrated with ‘something blue’ by the Brisbane River on another perfect Queensland day.

Kaitlyn and Tom’s dream team: @romanasaeheng @sageapartments @eventsonoxlade @tereanamakeup @SteveHillCivilMarriageCelebrant
@HairbyEdie @Decibels Entertainment

Brisbane Wedding

Howard Smith Wharves wedding

December 19, 2019December 19, 2019
by Romana

When it’s just time to take the plunge… at Howard Smith Wharves, where weddings are wonderful!

These two have been together FOREVER! They have a beautiful daughter and have shared an amazing life… but that marriage certificate, that big day with the white dress and diamond ring – it took a little while to get round to lol! But when that day finally came around – I was so privileged to share in it!! Surrounded by amazing friends and family – smiles and laughter everywhere – yay!

Venues: Howard Smith Wharves / The Fantauzzo Hotel Celebrant: Brisbane City Celebrants Music: Jake Hill Cake: Bella and Tortie Flowers: Northside Flower Market Hair: Luke Reynolds

Brisbane Wedding

City high!

July 3, 2019July 21, 2020
by Romana

Brisbane’s Stamford Plaza sets new heights for this couple’s wedding day

The combination of it’s classic good looks and breathtaking greenery at it’s doorstep in the City Botanical Gardens makes Stamford Plaza an ideal wedding destination. One where guests will come for the wedding but stay to enjoy the city! Megan and Ash opted for our Splice Collection – a combination of still photography and videography… check it out!

best fun wedding photographer Brisbane affordable

Brisbane Wedding

Down by the river

June 21, 2019September 16, 2020
by Romana

The Brisbane river and spectacular city views at sunset – that’s where Harp and Justin wanted to seal the deal.

Harp and Justin planned to say their I do’s at dusk… as the sun was setting over the city they call home. So, rather than take their photographs after the ceremony, we helped to create an intimate ‘first look’ and captured it on film. Before all the guests arrived, we blindfolded Justin and then revealed his bride to him by their wedding arbor. His face said it all! LOVE!! We then photographed the two of them along the river. Harp hid before guests arrived and then once the stage was set – she appeared and the ceremony continued as normal. A wedding at dusk is pure magic! Riverlife was the perfect venue, Ketrina Coffey designed a personal ceremony and Cakes by Simone baked and decorated the stunning cake.