‘He announced it during the speeches’: Bride and groom’s shock wedding day announcement
A beautiful Sunshine Coast wedding took on an extra dimension during the reception when the groom dropped an absolute bombshell in his speech.
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Magical speeches, a champagne tower instead of a cake and a food truck at the Old Dairy at Maleny made for a wonderful wedding.
Tim Davis and Kara McEwan met while living in residential colleges at the University of Queensland and after a romantic proposal at Bell’s Beach in Victoria, married in the Sunshine Coast hinterland on April 6 this year.
The wedding with 90 guests also became a farewell as the couple, who have been together five years, left in August for Baranzate, Milan, in Italy, where they are working at an International boarding school.
How did you meet?
Living on campus at the colleges within the University of Queensland. Tim resided in King’s College, I resided in Women’s College. This meant we had many mutual friends and knew of each other in passing but officially met following the King’s Ball in September 2019.
How did he propose?
Timmy organised for my family to stay a week with his family in Victoria in January 2022. One morning he wanted to take me to his favourite surfboard store in Anglesea. After we secured a beautiful second-hand rainbow board, he took that as a sign it was the right morning to pop the question so he drove me to Bells Beach. He proposed on the cliff overlooking Bells. It was perfectly intimate and romantic. The perfect setting for a surfer and a Sunny Coast girl to get engaged. That morning Tim secured a surfboard and a fiancee. I was so happy he had organised for both of our families to be in the same state so that we could rush to celebrate with them.
First dance song?Dandelions, Ruth B
Why did you choose your wedding venue? We fell in love at first sight and loved that it gave us the freedom to completely personalise our wedding by selecting all of our own vendors. We also loved that it offered onsite accommodation for our wedding party.
What was the budget for your wedding?
$40,000.
What would you spend more or less on? Less money on the recovery breakfast. A lot of people who intended on joining us the following morning didn’t end up making it. I took this as a sign they very much enjoyed themselves the night of the wedding!
How did you choose your wedding dress?
I fell in love with a dress outside of my budget. However, I had a fabulous experience using the wedding dress marketplace Stillwhite and managed to sell my dress two months after the wedding. I was fortunate that it sold in less time than it took to have it professionally cleaned.
What was the most stressful part of wedding planning?Creating the initial list of guests. It was horrible having to limit who could attend. The month leading up to the wedding we had an unexpected amount of rain. This led to the venue flooding the week prior and us having to adjust our “garden party” wedding to wet weather plans.
Any surprising details?During Tim’s speech he announced that we would be moving to Italy in August. This meant our wedding also became somewhat of a farewell party. It was the perfect send-off and start to our next chapter.
Standout moment of the day? The speeches. Sitting in the room with all of our favourite people, we were overwhelmed with love and support. Both of our fathers spoke as well as our maid of honour and best man. Their words were so meaningful and looking across the room at all of the smiling faces made us happier than we imagined possible.
What was a wedding non-negotiable for you?
Good, carb-heavy food. The Bertino Brothers and their Italian food truck were an absolute standout. Our guests couldn’t have been happier with the food. They put their heart and soul into their business and you can taste it.
Best wedding gift?My family friend gifted me the jewellery for me and my bridal party. For as long as I have known her (since I was five) she has sold jewellery (Trenna Moore Designs) at Eumundi Markets.
What would you do differently?
Take a day for ourselves the week before. We were so fortunate to have so many people visit interstate and internationally. This was such a blessing and we were both determined to make the most of having time with our loved ones. This was fabulous but it did mean that we were truly exhausted by the time the wedding approached.
Top wedding hack?If you are planning the wedding yourselves, collate a binder of all the information so that leading up to the wedding, anyone can refer to it rather than asking, and stressing, the bride and groom.
Best advice for other couples?
Don’t strive for perfection or give in to others’ ideas. What we loved the most about our wedding was that it was so “us”.
The Bride
Kara McEwan, 24
Profession Boarding house parent
Parents Sonya McEwan and Mick McEwan
Bridesmaids Sydnie McEwan, Jody Arulventhan, Isabella Maccarrone, Livvi Parfitt, Emily Webb
Dress Paris by Ella Moda
Hair Nyree Maclellan
Make-up David Huia
Flowers Willow Bud Flowers
Engagement ring SH Jewellery
Wedding planner/stylist Kara and her 60-page Google Doc
MC Todd Bennett
Music LoveNote
The Groom
Tim Davis, 26
Profession Head of boarding and teacher
Parents Bron Davis and Stuart Davis
Groomsmen Liam Arthurr, Sam Davis, Michael Maddalozzo, Sebastian Ortiz, Blake McEwan
Suit Vintage
Transport Lux Transfers
Videographer Morgs, Filmed by Bolton
Celebrant Emma Homewood
Caterer The Bertino Brothers
Cake We skipped a cake in favour of a champagne tower
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