Friday, June 18, 2010

the tropical vegan wedding

The reason both sets of parents were visiting Far North Queensland was for our wedding, which has been in the planning stages since August 2008 -- nearly two years.  It feels like we've been engaged *forever*, but it was a good thing because it meant I could plan the things I wanted to plan early (allowing me to focus on my PhD and teaching in the past six months).  I'll share some of the DIY details, and some of the food, in future posts.  For now I will just share some wedding snaps.

I did a bit of searching around and found a hair/makeup duo who use cruelty-free products.  It was fun to be preened by someone else -- it sort of helped make the occasion feel a bit momentous.

The wedding was at the Daintree Eco Lodge, a high-end resort with a very casual attitude.  The wedding package is a really good deal, as it included three nights of (expensive!) accommodation, flowers, celebrant, and a few other little things.  The spa bath on the balcony was a nice touch in the room, as was the gigantic king size bed (especially in comparison to the puny caravan park bed we'd just tried squeezing into).

My dress, made for me out of non-animal fabrics by my good friend and the very talented Ruth Groundwater, was beautiful and so fun to wear.

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Photo by Ali George.
Despite all of the planning, things never go the way they are meant to.  For instance, Andy's dad was scheduled for hip surgery 4 days after the ceremony; we contemplated changing the location but he assured us it was fine, so up we walked to the waterfall at the Daintree Eco Lodge.
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Photo by Ali George.

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Photo by Ali George
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Our 5 wedding guests watching us arrive. Photo by Ali George.
Andy and I wrote the ceremony ourselves, piecing together bits of tradition, things we found on the internet, and other random bits so we ended up with something meaningful for us.  That was sort of the overall goal of the day -- not to blindly go along with tradition just because, but rather to think about all of the details.  Andy's brother (whose Thursday flight was cancelled and ended up arriving the morning of the ceremony) read us A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton.
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Michael reads to us about dinosaurs. Photo by Ali George.

We exchanged titanium rings.
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Our rings and A Lovely Love Story. Photo by Ali George. 

My dad tied our hands together in the style of a handfasting ceremony; we used shell money, traditionally exchanged in wedding ceremonies in PNG, as the ties (and I forgot to take off the daggy hairtie on my wrist!).
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Photo by Ali George. 

It kind of passed in a blur -- fittingly, many of the photos I've gotten from our parents are also blurry thanks to the bright light in the rainforest, and the photographers' preoccupation with the ceremony (or things like hip pain, perhaps).  I remember everything, but surreally.

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Photo by Ali George. 
Luckily, the photographer we hired (Ali George, from Cat's Eye Productions, who I highly recommend) took lots of clear and gorgeous photos, but no less surreal, thanks to the vivid colours of the rainforest and the waterfall.

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Our little wedding in the rainforest. Photo by Ali George.
After the ceremony, we chilled out a bit and then headed down to the Daintree River for a late afternoon cruise on the Solar Whisper.  This was a great way to spend the two hours before dinner.  We drank champagne, spotted crocs, chatted to the boat owner about the wildlife and the history of the area, and in the last ten minutes, got totally poured on by a late-season storm.
Hello, saltie. 
Sunset over Daintree River.

Then it was back to the Eco Lodge for dinner.  There was a three course vegan menu prepared especially for us, but I will leave that for a future post.  Suffice to say that it was delicious, and Andy and I were happy to send everyone off to their accommodation by 9pm.  I highly recommend afternoon weddings for this reason.

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A full set of chronologically ordered photos is available here.
Or, for a highlight reel a bit out of order, click here


19 comments:

cristy said...

Again, Congratulations! The whole thing looks and sounds gorgeous: location, ceremony, you, your dress, Andy...

Cindy said...

Congratulations! Those sneak preview photos are stunning, and it's wonderful that you were able to create a ceremony that was meaningful for you. I'm looking forward to your following posts.

Hannah said...

Congratulations again, a thousand times, Theresa. The colour of the rainforest is exquisite (as were you, your dress, and your now-husband), and truly makes the day seem magical. I've never been one to imagine my own wedding, but I must say, this looks rather perfect.

I think what I love is that it was so clearly a celebration of who you and Andy are and what you mean to each other - not about out-doing someone else's image of The White Wedding.

Thank you for sharing this with us - I honestly feel honoured to be seeing glimpses of this day of yours.

Lucyna Wegankiewiczowa said...

You looked gorgeous! Congratulations, I hope you're insanely happy

Vicki said...

Congratulations!! What a beautiful setting for your wedding & you both look gorgeous & happy.

Soja said...

Congratulations! Everything looks stunning! Just so beautiful! Best wishes for very happy and long future together. :-)

DJ said...

Congratulations- the wedding looks lovely! I wish you and Andy a long and happy life together!

Sarah said...

You looked absolutely amazing. I love the Daintree - what a perfect setting for a wedding.

Funny enough, I also got married this weekend! And I am an American and a vegan living in Australia. :-) Only I live in Perth, so my wedding, though it should have been raining (it is supposedly the rainy season, after all), it was dry as a bone and warm. Odd.

So congratulations! I love the way you incorporated your ethics into your wedding as well. Lovely.

K said...

Congrats, the scenery is just amazing and you look beautiful. So great that you had wedding that represented you guys so well.

jess_fildespages said...

congratulations! Everything looked beautiful, especially your dress.What an amazing way to get married!

Carissa said...

Oh! Congratulations! You look so beautiful and I love your dress! I love how the back is open, that is my favorite part. I love the area that you got married in too! How beautiful! I has barefoot at my wedding too :) How wonderful hun. Congratulations again!

x said...

Congratulations again, Teresa! Your day looks beautiful, I love your dress and your hair and that you made the day what you and Andy wanted :)

Kelly said...

Oh goodness, what a gorgeous, gorgeous location! It sounds like you had a wonderfully personal and meaningful wedding. Congratulations!

shawna said...

congrats! your wedding looks like it was an amazing day. the daintree is a great place for a wedding-- we spent our honeymoon there.
thanks again for the food info for maggie. i can't wait to get up there in the sun and warmth.

BrisVegan said...

Congratulations! It looks like a very beautiful wedding. Hope you have very long and happy lives together!

Vaala ◪ said...

Congratulations!!!

You guys look so beautiful and the location is stunning! The ribbons in your hair are so cool too. Sounds like the day was perfect. Looking forward to reading more about it :)

Tahn said...

Congratulations! Your wedding looked lovely, and your dress!! Beautiful!!

I'll be looking closely at your wedding and reception for ideas as my other half as just proposed to me(!), and he set the date for 5th december! Any words of advice??

Vegan Tv Presenter said...

You look absolutely incredible-what a great place you chose and the photos are perfect. Everything is just so personal and done with such care. Now that really is a wedding that was worth spending 2 years on my lovelyl. I am sure you will both never forget it. Congratluations and Best Wishes to you both! xx

Serena Lewis said...

Belated Congratulations on your wedding! You looked beautiful and the scenery is....AMAZING! I love that you both created your own ceremony...so personal and meaningful. All the very best to both of you!