I Do Events Whitsundays

Jess is the Wedding Co-Ordinator specialising in Déjà vu and eloping wedding co-ordination. Jess is likely to be your first point of contact and is the one to talk to regarding the styling of your day. From America, Jess fell in love with a Kiwi sailor while working on the Great Barrier Reef (a typical Airlie Beach story) and has taken to the wedding co-ordination role like a duck to water. While you won’t ever see Jess stressed, you can’t miss her 1000 watt smile.

Belinda takes on roles of both office manager and stylist. Belinda is the busy bee who ensures your decorations get to where they need to be, that staff are trained in all aspects of your set-up, and who controls the banking at the end of the week (we are all VERY nice to Belinda).

Katrina and Joyce look after the decoration warehouse and set up weddings on location. Katrina loves pink and is getting married soon herself, so keep an eye out for some hot pink wedding heels for her! Joyce is our sweet Dutch girl who loves animals. When she’s not setting up weddings in all corners of the Whitsundays (something she never would have believed she was doing if you’d asked her 2 years ago!) she’s at home in Bowen with her menagerie of animals.

Nikki and Christina are location decorators, slightly obsessive compulsive, and with a keen eye for detail. Nikki was a bride of I Do Events Whitsundays and loved it so much that she became the unofficial wedding planner for her entire circle of family and friends until she realised she’d better start doing it for a living. Christina sometimes posts on our Facebook page and spends a lot of time poring over our website and blog posts and drooling over all the dreamy wedding photos on there.

We look forward to meeting you!

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“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.” – Edward Steichen

Choosing a photographer for your big day can be one of the most daunting tasks in the wedding planning process. For some, it’s the weight of knowing that all you’ll have after your big day is over (aside from the love of your life) are the memories from the day and the photos that help keep them alive. For others, it is the overload of information and package options. And for most it’s simply, ‘where do I begin?’.

We decided to dedicate the month of March to our talented Whitsunday photographers. This not only will showcase some of their favourite photos but also give you an insight into each photographer’s personality and style while answering some questions you may not have thought to ask.

Our first photographer of the month is Danny Mayson-Kinder from DMK Photography.

How would you describe your style?

I would describe my style as very natural, not intrusive and aiming to capture as much emotion as possible.

In your opinion, what is a photographer’s role on the wedding day? Do you do much direction and/or posing on the day?

I always meet my couple prior to the wedding so I know exactly what they would like and how much involvement they will require from me. Some couples like to be directed to a certain degree but others would like me to stay more in the background and shoot candid rather than posed. I always make sure I know all the bridal party and family names before I begin and try to learn as much history as I can on everyone involved.

What advice can you give to couples when choosing a photographer and planning a wedding?

I think the most important advice I can give is to make sure a couple feels totally at ease with their photographer and can say anything they would like to. Also to remember that I am not only spending time with them but also with their friends and family and therefore the photographer needs to be very approachable and adaptable.

What questions should a couple be asking their photographer?

I think it is always good to ask as many questions as possible, especially to make sure they know exactly what their package includes and what they receive as a finished product.

What type of input do you like from your clients? For example, do you like them to give you photos of different shots and styles they like, just a simple list for group photos, or…?

Some couples say they are happy for me to do what I do, whereas others really want a particular style or certain shot and I am more than happy for them to bring me examples. That way, I know exactly what they have in mind. I always suggest that they do a list for family photographs as it saves so much time on the day and makes sure that they don’t miss any friends/family they wanted a photograph with.

How long have you been a wedding photographer and what are your previous experience and/or qualifications?

I have been shooting weddings for 7 years now. I have been lucky enough to shoot weddings on Hayman Island for a couple of years before setting up on my own company on the mainland in the Whitsundays. I am a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers. I regularly enter photography competitions and constantly take part in online workshops/conferences, which helps ensure my photography develops and keeps me up to date.

What is your favourite place to shoot in the Whitsundays and why?

There are so many incredible places to shoot in the Whitsundays, it is hard to pick a favourite. The diversity is huge, from beach, to bush and everything in between. The light here is always changing and constantly encourages new approaches and angles.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us, and our upcoming couples?

I love being a wedding photographer and am honoured when a couple asks for me to photograph their special day. I give 110% and ensure that my couples have a wonderful photography experience.

Contact Danny

Danny Mayson-Kinder Photography
Phone: 0749483878
Mobile: 0418596278
Website: www.dmkphotography.com.au
Email: info@dmkphotography.com.au

Something a lot of brides don’t think about until quite late, is the timing of their wedding day. There are some important questions to answer. How early do you want your ceremony to take place? When do you want to arrive at your reception? How long do you need for photos? These questions should really be thought about and a rough timing plan made before sending out your invitations; this will ensure you have the most suitable times listed for ceremony and reception start times.

To help you determine the times for your ceremony and reception, the first person to chat to should be your wedding co-ordinator, or the venue’s event planner. You can’t just pull times out of a hat, there are many factors to consider. You can work backwards – find out if your venue has a curfew for noise or music, and what time the event has to conclude. You’ll want to allow yourself at least 1-2 hours for dancing and catching up with all your guests, up to an hour for speeches and formalities like cutting the cake, and 1-2 hours for food. Working backwards from the reception curfew, and in liaison with your wedding coordinator, allocate time to these elements to come up with your ideal reception start time.

A second factor to consider is how much time your photographer recommends, particularly for your bridal party photo tour and how many photographic locations you wish to visit. Again work backwards, from your ideal reception start time allowing ample time for photos and half an hour for your ceremony, to come up with the perfect ceremony start time.

Before setting these times in stone (or in writing ), there are a few other factors to consider;

Should you wish to get sunset photos, you’ll have to work out what time the sun is forecast to set on your wedding day. You can find sun set times for many years in advance from Willy Weather. You’ll have to work out if you have enough time to get your sunset photos, and get to your reception in plenty of time. One idea to get the best of both worlds is to arrive back at your venue before sunset and get your sunset photos at your venue.

If your arrival is going to be quite late, you might like to keep your guests entertained with music, while enjoying canapes and drinks as they wait for your grand entrance.

Do you like the idea of a morning ceremony? Remember you will need at least 3 hours for hair, make-up and getting ready, depending on the numbers in your bridal party, so don’t plan on a 10am ceremony unless you are an early riser!

If you are having a beachfront ceremony or reception, you will also need to take the tide times into consideration. Each location is different, but some work best at low tide, others at high tide. Ask your wedding co-ordinator or venue for guidance about the best tide position at your selected location, and how the tides will affect the timing of your wedding day.

Finally, it’s your special day, so think about what is most important to you. Talk to your photographer, your wedding planner or venue, and unite all of this information to finalise a ceremony and reception time that suits you well.

And don’t forget to invite guests to arrive half an hour before your ceremony arrival, and plenty of time before the reception grand entrance, to ensure no late arrivals!

There are only 52 Saturdays in a year. Saturday weddings are so popular that Saturdays book up quite far in advance, sometimes you can’t get your chosen venue within 2 years of your engagement! There are 208 Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in a year. Why not get married on one of those? You’ll save lots on a midweek wedding, and that money could be put towards your honeymoon, your home, or a really nice eternity ring down the track. Whatever your heart desires.

So if your heart desires a beautiful wedding at a beautiful venue, maybe a midweek wedding on one of those 208 days is the answer.

Whitsunday wedding venue Déjà Vu Restaurant have partnered up with Water’s Edge Resort and I Do Events Whitsundays to create a fabulous wedding package for midweek weddings (Monday – Thursday).

If you book a midweek wedding at Déjà Vu Restaurant in Airlie Beach, we’ve got three wedding gifts to give you*.

Gift number one: FREE WEDDING CEREMONY DECORATIONS. The Bali hut under which you will be pronounced man and wife, will be draped with white chiffon, to create the perfect frame for your intimate destination wedding ceremony. Gift number two: A COMPLIMENTARY DELICIOUS WEDDING CAKE provided for you to put the icing on the cake (pun intended!) of your gourmet wedding feast. Gift number three: enjoy COMPLIMENTARY WEDDING NIGHT ACCOMMODATION on-site at luxurious Water’s Edge Resort.

To help your guests plan and arrange time off to come to beautiful Airlie Beach for your midweek wedding, send out a save the date card as soon as you book. Midweek flight and accommodation specials pop up regularly throughout the year, so the more notice you give your guests, the more chance they have of finding great flights and accommodation to come and celebrate with you at your Whitsunday wedding.

Did you have a midweek wedding? Have you ever been to one? What tips can you give midweek brides to help plan their wedding? Please share with us in the comments below.

*Limited availability of special, for weddings held from Monday to Thursday. Terms and conditions apply. Please CONTACT US for more information about this special offer and availability.

Want to get married on a weekend instead? Find out more about other wedding options at Déjà Vu Restaurant.

There are so many traditions tied up in weddings, that it’d simply be impossible to follow them all. But do you know the origins of some of the more popular traditions?

Many wedding traditions come from the idea that nasty spirits would try to disrupt the wedding and bring bad luck to the bride and groom. This is where the tradition of wearing a veil comes from, the veil was to hide the bride from the spirits. Likewise, the reason why bridesmaids and groomsmen became part of a wedding party was so that the spirits would be confused as to who exactly the bride and groom were! Originally, bridesmaids were dressed the same as the bride. Perhaps that’s why Pippa Middleton wore ivory, the same shade as her sister Kate’s dress, at Kate’s wedding to Prince William!

Have you heard of the phrase “three times a bridesmaid, never a bride”? That’s linked in with this too, as the thought was that if a woman had been a bridesmaid, and therefore an evil spirit decoy, three times, she would have attracted enough spirits to herself that she would never marry.

There are a couple of sweet traditions that are easily done today, whether intentionally or not. It is good luck for the bride to be woken by birdsong. So maybe that cacophony of cockatoos one sometimes wakes up to in the Whitsundays is a good omen! It’s also considered lucky for the bride to travel over water on her way to the wedding. If you elope to Whitehaven by seaplane, it’s not only an amazing location for your ceremony, it’s also good luck.

There are also a couple of traditions we can probably do without. It is said to be good luck for the bride to find a spider in her wedding gown! No thank you! In the common theme of bridesmaids also trying to “land husbands”, old wives tales say that the chief bridesmaid should carry around a piece of the wedding cake in her pocket, for the entire duration of the honeymoon, if she hopes to marry soon. Imagine what that would be like after a 3-month-long European honeymoon! In this day and age, our local Whitsunday wedding cake makers are so fabulous, that we doubt there’d be any of the cake left!

What other traditions have you heard of? Do you have any special family traditions? Are you going to do something completely untraditional? We’d love you to share your thoughts with us below.