Bride had week to plan entire wedding after border closure mayhem
They spent almost a year planning their northern NSW wedding but with a week to go and the borders closed they came up with a whole new plan.
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Their wedding day was nothing like the one they had spent almost a year planning but, like many brides and grooms this year, it didn’t matter.
Why I’m grateful coronavirus cancelled my wedding
What is a wedding really like in coronavirus
Maddy Galassi and Mitch Stubbings, of inner-Brisbane’s Red Hill, originally planned to get married at the beautiful mountain venue, Ardeena, at Carool in Tweed Shire in northern NSW, on August 15. But with the borders closed due to COVID-19, it was going to be near impossible and, a week out, they changed their plans. The pair, who have been together for almost seven years, moved their wedding to The Calile Hotel in New Farm and tied the knot in front of 56 guests.
The proposal? On a walk along Sunshine Beach with our two dogs.
What was the standout moment of the day? Saying our vows and walking back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs while our friends and family were cheering.
What would you do differently? Nothing! Everything turned out perfectly.
What would you spend more or less on?
Everything was well balanced. My dress was cheap but I splurged on designer shoes. We did a lot of DIY decorations, which looked great but were budget friendly. We invested in a good photographer and videographer to help relive the day.
Hen’s night? A weekend at Noosa.
Buck’s night? A weekend at Mooloolaba.
One thing you wish people told you about planning a wedding? How quickly a budget can blow out. Pick what’s most important, weddings are expensive!
Best advice for other couples planning a wedding? Start with a budget and stick to it. Write a list of “must haves” and “nice to haves” and remember that it’s likely that not everything will go ahead perfectly as planned. Spend your money on things that will be remembered/have the most impact.
Were you tempted to postpone entirely?
We decided we didn’t want to wait and postpone our wedding – who knew when the borders would re-open and when we’d finally be able to get married. It was going to be a lot more stress to keep carrying that for another six months to a year.
Emotions around changing plans? Devastating. When something you’ve been planning for 10 months suddenly comes to a halt the week before, it’s heartbreaking.
What helped you get through the stress of changing plans? Knowing that at the end of the day we are getting married and don’t have to wait. That was most important.
First dance song? Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran.
Honeymoon? We originally booked Bora Bora, then Byron Bay and ended up at the Gold Coast as travel restrictions kept changing.
Advice for other couples whose weddings are impacted by coronavirus? Hang in there! At the end of the day, what’s most important is marrying the love of your life. We lost money with our NSW vendors, which was scary and stressful, we didn’t have the wedding we had been planning but it turned out better than we could have imagined. We were determined to still get married that weekend and we made it happen. It’s a cliche, but everything happens for a reason (our original wedding date was scheduled to rain all day, but our new date was perfect blue skies). The money and change of plans were minor compared to the feeling of pure love and happiness of being married. It was a day we’ll never forget.
The Bride
Maddy Galassi, 26
Profession Human Resources
Parents Beau and Albert Galassi
Bridesmaids Phoebe Kurth, Tess Everard, Taylor Pulvirenti
Dress Amber Designs
Make-up Janise Chan
Hair Haus of Jools
Flowers Bumble and Bloom
Engagement ring
Vin Moulds & Sons
The Groom
Mitch Stubbings, 26
Profession
Civil engineer
Groomsmen
Jed Brisbane, Hilton Calvino, Cameron Farrell
Suit MJ Bale
Parents Neil and Rhonda Stubbings
Cake I Heart Cakes by Casey