‘Build a figurine that resembled them’: Couples unique Lego DIY wedding

It was all about the quirky details for these newly weds on their special day, with a magician in-house and Lego making among the highlights, with guests kept on their toes throughout.

The wedding of Jacinta Deacon and Chris Rieger. Picture: Paul and Bec Finch - The Finches

Jacinta Deacon and Chris Rieger made sure their guests were having the ultimate party at their stunning Toowoomba wedding.

There were magic tricks, a scavenger hunt, guessing games and Lego building at the Cooroibah couple’s celebration, which saw them tie the knot on March 1 at Gabbinbar Homestead.

Their intimate wedding of 50 guests was full of fun and colour with a theme of purple.

How did you meet?

Jacinta: On the dating app Hinge in July, 2019. After messaging for about a week, we went on our first date on Friday, July 5.

How did he propose? We went on a multi-day hike in Tasmania. Each day we visited a new scenic spot and Chris had the ring in his pocket ready to go, but the weather was terrible each day. By the end of the hike no opportunities had arisen. He suggested another day hike, but I was well over hiking at that point. A few days later we went on a walk on Bruny Island, and finally the right spot was found.

The wedding of Jacinta Deacon and Chris Rieger. Picture: Paul and Bec Finch - The Finches.

How did you choose your wedding venue?After seeing a few venues both on the Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane, we saw a good online review about Gabbinbar and went out to Toowoomba to visit. On the first site visit we fell in love with the gardens and the homestead and knew nothing else would come close to this amazing venue. The staff were incredibly attentive and accommodating of anything we wanted to do to make the day our own.

What was the budget for your wedding? About 60k.

What would you spend more or less on?

We wouldn’t change anything as we knew what we wanted and wouldn’t have been happy with anything else.

How did you choose your wedding dress? I don’t like shopping so I put off the task of looking for a dress for as long as I could. I visited stores on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and in Brisbane without much success. I had an idea in mind and was given many varying opinions of what style suited me, and after about 30 dresses, I found “the one”, which was the style I had wanted the whole time!

Jacinta Deacon and Chris Rieger had people create lego figurines at their wedding. Picture: Paul and Bec Finch - The Finches

What were your thoughts seeing the bride for the first time?

Chris: I was really trying to keep my emotions in check and was doing a pretty good job until Jacinta appeared at the end of the aisle.

What was the most stressful part of wedding planning? Jacinta: I had two years to plan our wedding, so I would say that having too much time made things stressful because I would second guess decisions because I knew I had time to do something differently when I should have just made the decision and stuck to it.

Any unique details about your wedding?

We wanted to make sure our guests had a great time as well. The last thing we wanted was for people to have nothing to do. We had a garden quiz during the afternoon where guests had to follow clues to different locations around the garden and answer questions about us and other guests, a photo guessing game and a Lego guest book for everyone to build a figurine that most resembled them – or not! We had a choreographed wedding dance to Hold My Hand by Lady Gaga. We had lessons with the lovely Helen from Dancing on Sunshine, and she created something that we loved and had so much fun performing. There were a few lifts involved so Chris wasn’t allowed to have too many drinks until that part was over!

The wedding of Jacinta Deacon and Chris Rieger. Picture: Paul and Bec Finch - The Finches

What was the standout moment of the day? Mike Tyler, who performed some incredible magic during dinner. He was so funny, his tricks were amazing and left us all speechless, I would recommend him to everyone!

What was a wedding non-negotiable for you? A venue that allowed for the ceremony, photos and reception to be at the one location. We didn’t want to disappear for hours or expect guests to drive between locations.

Best wedding gift?

We moved into our new house two days before the wedding so a lot of our gifts were house themed.

What would you do differently?

We wouldn’t do anything differently. We’re so happy to be able to say that everything turned out the way we had hoped.

The wedding of Jacinta Deacon and Chris Rieger. Picture: Paul and Bec Finch - The Finches

Top wedding hack?

If you are hands-on or crafty and have the time, I would definitely recommend designing stationery and make bits and pieces yourself. I ended up making all our on-the day-stationery (game instructions, seating chart, menus), guest thank you bags and gifts, table names, table numbers, and our welcome sign.

Best advice for other couples?

Focus on the bigger picture, and the parts of the day that you will remember in the years to come. On the day, only think about the things you can control, trust in your vendors to do the job you’ve paid them to do.

The Bride

Jacinta Deacon, 30

Profession Operations manager

Parents Allan and Julie Deacon

Bridesmaids Man of honour – Samuel Deacon (brother)

Dress Stella York from White Lily Couture

Hair Chantal Hart

Make-up Chantal Hart

Flowers Kimberley Findlay – Follow the Flowers

Engagement ring Mia Bella Jewellers

Entertainment Mike Tyler Magician

Celebrant Ben Black – Ben Black Celebrancy

Caterer Gabbinbar Homestead

The Groom

Chris Rieger, 32

Profession Electrical engineer

Parents Gerald and Christel Rieger

Groomsmen Best man – Robin Rieger (brother)

Suit Black Jacket Suiting

Cake Jill Facer – Jill-i-cious Cakes. A tiered cupcake (vanilla and chocolate) stand with small cake (caramel) on the top. It was nine tiers high and almost as tall as we are and matched the theme of the day perfectly. There were layers of hydrangeas between the hydrangea- themed cupcakes.