Real Weddings

Real Weddings

Belinda & Steve

By Lindsey Bidwell

A lucky click led Belinda, a registered nurse at Lismore Base Hospital, and Steve, a primary school teacher at Coorabell Public School to this magical day. You see, they initially met via a dating app. Steve was planning a move back from Broken Hill to the Northern Rivers for a lifestyle change after many years of teaching in Western NSW. And fortunate he did, as he moved here, met Belinda, and well, the rest is history. This wonderful couple shares their journey leading to their special day with our readers.

THE PROPOSAL

A surprise proposal took place at the Lennox lookout in June of 2017. Steve arranged for the grandparents to look after our baby girl for a date/ lunch. He arranged a beautiful hamper and a bottle of Moet champagne from Harvest café in Newrybar. Belinda jokingly remarked that she would be happy with a Burger Ring… and this is what she got for the proposal. Burger Ring aside, we then proceeded to get an amazing engagement ring of her dreams by Andy at DJM.

THE PLANNING

Planning was relatively easy with everything on track… until COVID hit. Our 2020 wedding then got delayed to March 2021. We both set our hearts on a local venue close to our home in Alstonville that would cater for children, have lush tropical grounds and amazing food. After meeting Molly at Summerland Farm, we immediately knew they could cater for all our wishes. The hardest part to deal with was the cloud of COVID and all the restrictions associated… and not to mention a last-minute North Coast flood to add to our stresses.

THE DRESS

I couldn’t decide on a dress I wanted for the big day. I still didn’t have a dress eight weeks out. I found the dress at My Tailoress in Lismore. It was an ivory lace with not too much fuss! Simple and elegant, which ticked all my boxes. The talented Julia at My Tailoress wove her magic wand and made a few alterations, so it became my dream dress. I took my mum for each fitting. She cried on the first viewing when I walked out wearing it, and she said, “that’s the dress darling”.

THE BRIDESMAIDS & GROOMSMEN

Our bridal party consisted of family members and a close friend. Steve wore a navy suit and tanned shoes. Steve’s best man from London couldn’t attend due to COVID, so he asked his father to fill the spot, which was a beautiful memory to have forever. Belinda had her best friend and fellow nurse as maid of honour, her niece as junior bridesmaid and our daughter as flower girl. All the girls wore navy dresses and rose gold accessories to compliment the groom and best man.

THE WEDDING DAY

With 700mm of rain resulting in flooding conditions just days before the wedding, we needed to have a wet weather option ready. We had to cancel our initial plans for the ceremony at the fig tree. It was quite stressful for the days leading into the wedding, planning for options A, B and C. The Sun Gods were on our side for the day, which allowed us to have beautiful blue skies at the rotunda. Our cocktail style reception on the deck went ahead under the festoon lights where drinks were flowing, and dance moves were on display. It was very important for us to have a party to celebrate our commitment with our family and friends.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

The whole day was amazing, from start to finish. The most exciting thing for us was being able to call each other husband and wife.

THE HONEYMOON

We snuck away to Pethers Rainforest Retreat at Mount Tamborine for a few nights away. Time was spent relaxing, having massages, exploring the area and eating AMAZING food at the in-house restaurant. We then came home and quickly left again, this time with our daughter Olivia for a ‘family-moon’ to the Gold Coast. We enjoyed swimming, theme parks and each-others company.

ADVICE FOR COUPLES

The most important piece of advice we could give is to do what makes you as a couple happy… remember it is your day.