Dom and Georgia shared how they planned their Moreton Island beach wedding in just over a month in this blog post. But I had to ask them, would they do it again? Was it Madness or Magic? Check out what they had to say below!
"Everyone tells you how quickly the day goes and wow is that true. I’m so happy I have the photos to look back on."
Moreton Island Wedding Inspiration & Decision-making:
What inspired you to choose Moreton Island as your wedding location?
We already had a holiday booked to come to the island so it was an easy decision. Moreton is also super special to us. We have been coming to holiday on the island for years, since we were both children, and now I get to bring my daughter Hailey to the island (she was also at the wedding).
What were the main factors that made you decide to plan your entire wedding in just one month?
We have been together for 10 years and as you can imagine I was eagerly waiting for Dom to pop the question. So once he did it, we discussed getting married quickly. The idea of getting married on Moreton Island came up a couple of times but we always brushed it off thinking it would be too hard to organise. I’m not sure why we left it to just over 4 weeks to finally decide to go ahead with it. When we started discussing the idea with family and friends everyone was so supportive we decided to see if we could book a celebrant and thankfully Kerri was available, that decided it for us, was meant to be. We also didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the wedding day itself. So this was the best option for us, you get a holiday and a wedding, why not?!
"Best thing we ever did. It’s done now. There was no time to overthink anything or worry about money."
Moreton Island Wedding Challenges & Solutions:
What were the biggest challenges you faced while planning your wedding in such a short timeframe?
We wanted our immediate family members there so that was a challenge ensuring they could fly in and get work off. We are just very lucky everyone was able to drop everything and get there. We did wait to confirm that our immediate family could make it before we booked the wedding itself in. We almost cancelled it actually however my sister changed her plans and flew in the day before the wedding and was on the barge the morning of the wedding, so lucky! My brother's wife was also 35 weeks pregnant so she needed a doctor's clearance to confirm they could make it. The other stress factor was the ‘reception’ and where we could host that. As guest numbers grew, the stress grew. However talking with the Moreton Island Wedding team, they all reassured me we could make it work. I just had to adjust my expectations and go with the flow and trust everything would work out.
"I would recommend it to couples that were relaxed and weren’t too concerned about the wedding day."
How did you overcome these challenges?
Constantly reminding myself why we were doing our wedding this way. We wanted to be married, it wasn’t about the actual wedding day. Dom and I are pretty chill happy people so we wanted something that was going to be simple and relatively stress-free to organise (and cheap lol).
Were there any local vendors or resources on Moreton Island that were particularly helpful?
I couldn’t have done it without the local vendors, to be honest. Clare’s picnics and platters and also Kerri our celebrant organised so much and reassured me that everything would come together. We had a run-in with the weather forecast which threw a spanner in the works and I could see it was stressing Clare out. Shout-out to our Airbnb host who offered for us to have our reception in our Airbnb. It worked out better than I could’ve ever planned it. I think that is probably my takeaway from it all, try not to plan it down to every detail because it won’t go to plan and you don’t want to be disappointed.
"Shout-out to our Airbnb host who offered for us to have our reception in our Airbnb."
Moreton Island Beach Wedding Highlight Moments:
What were the most memorable or unexpected moments during your one-month wedding planning process?
Just the response from family and friends. We were both so shocked at how many people were able to make it. Given the short timeframe and the location of the wedding, we really didn’t expect people to come. So we are very grateful we had our closest family and friends there to celebrate with us. Also didn’t realise you had to submit your intent to marry application 4 weeks before your wedding so we are incredibly lucky we met with Kerri just before this and she lodged our forms the day before the cut-off.
Moreton Island Wedding Advice for Other Couples:
If you could give one piece of advice to another couple attempting to plan a quick wedding on Moreton Island (or any destination), what would it be?
Delegate!! There’s so much to organise and you will have help from others so lean on them. I focused on finding a wedding dress and I let everyone else organise probably everything else. I also had all my girlfriends searching online for dresses too and that was incredibly helpful. Also, book the photographer! Everyone tells you how quickly the day goes and wow is that true. I’m so happy I have the photos to look back on.
"You’re on Moreton Island, your wedding is going to be amazing regardless of the small details."
Moreton Island Wedding Reflection & Experience:
Now that you've had your wedding on Moreton Island, how do you feel about the one-month planning decision?
Best thing we ever did. It’s done now. There was no time to overthink anything or worry about money. It just happened and now I have these incredible memories of the day. I talk to other people who had 12 months to plan and they all sound really stressed.
"I couldn’t have done it without the local vendors, to be honest. "
Would you recommend it to other couples, or would you suggest a longer planning period?
I would recommend it to couples that were relaxed and weren’t too concerned about the wedding day. Things won’t go to plan but that’s kind of the beauty of the experience. You just have to roll with it. You’re on Moreton Island, your wedding is going to be amazing regardless of the small details.
"It worked out better than I could’ve ever planned it."
Anything else that you think would be helpful, or anything else I could have provided to assist you with your planning process?
Kerri, you were perfect thank you for your help in planning the wedding in a quick turnaround. I didn’t realise how much would go into planning a wedding and when I did I was overwhelmed. But your help, guidance and frequent check-ins really helped pull it all together.
So there you have it, Dom and Georgia rebelling against tradition and planning their Moreton Island Beach Wedding in a smidge over a month, absolutely Magic!
If you are wondering how you too can rebel against tradition and plan your Moreton Island Elopement in just over a month, schedule a call with Kerri who will guide you through the process.