Queensland wedding with touch of Hollywood royalty

A wedding reception venue used in a blockbuster film added extra excitement to this couple’s big day

This Queensland wedding venue caught the attention of Hollywood and now has local couples living out their own celebrity moment.

Rainforest Gardens, nestled in the Redlands Coast hinterland at Mount Cotton, 40km southeast of the Brisbane CBD, was used for scenes in last year’s blockbuster movie Ticket to Paradise, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and showed off its stunning amphitheatre, gardens and lush scenery.

Alexandra Hills newlyweds Taryn Stewart and Nicholas Anderson said it added even more excitement to their day after seeing their venue on the big screen.

“I was joking a lot that George or Julia could have used that very fireplace or sat on that chair,” says Taryn.

Taryn Stewart and Nicholas Anderson married at Rainforest Gardens. Pictures: Figtree Pictures

“The whole place is worthy of being on the big screen and certainly deserves the recognition. Even with the attention of Hollywood, the staff were so attentive to us and made us feel like celebrities for the weekend; they didn’t miss a beat.”

After eight years together, the couple tied the knot on November 5 last year in front of
82 guests.

The theme was minimal, to “let the beauty of the venue’s gardens shine through”, says Taryn.

How and why did you choose your wedding venue?

The first thing that drew us to the venue was the stunning garden; there are picture-perfect opportunities at every turn.

We loved that Rainforest Gardens was close to our home and that it was fully inclusive; accommodation, ceremony, reception and a wide range of photo locations are all available onsite.

Adeline and Hannah were so easy to work with and made the whole process very easy. Their expertise was the main reason our day ran so smoothly; we couldn’t believe we were ahead of schedule and could enjoy extra moments to ourselves.

What was the budget for your wedding?

We didn’t set a strict budget, just looked at
each item and determined value for money and the quality of the service. As we didn’t want all the bells and whistles, we were able to streamline costs.

What would you spend more or less on?

More disposable cameras! We had three circulating during the later hours of the reception and the results are fantastic, very candid and energetic photos of the evening taken from our guests’ point of view.

Taryn Stewart and Nicholas Anderson at Rainforest Gardens. Pictures: Figtree Pictures

How did you go about choosing your wedding dress?

It was the first dress I tried on. I had been following Ella Moda for a while and when they released that dress as part of their new collection I knew I had to try it on.

It was perfect in every way and the staff at Ella Moda made the whole process so easy, they are truly amazing. I loved that it had the option to add sleeves for the ceremony for a more conservative and dramatic look, then I took them off for the reception so I could easily dance the night away. I did try on others but nothing could compare with the first one; every time I put it on or looked at a photo of it I couldn’t stop smiling.

What was the most stressful part of wedding planning?

Honestly it was all such a breeze, we had really experienced suppliers and the whole day fell into place quite easily.

Any unique or surprising details about your wedding?

We had a custom Illustrated Portrait created by Tahlia at Dainty Flamingo (@daintyflamingo).

This was incorporated in our seating chart and had our pets on it which was really special for us and a very cute addition for our guests to see.

What was the standout moment of the day? Just before our reception started we were taken up to the top of Mount Cotton for sunset photos. It was nice to spend the time alone without any guests to let the momentous joy of the day sink in, plus the view was incredible.

All the photos Aleisha captured there were magical and you can see how happy and relaxed we were.

Taryn Stewart and Nicholas Anderson with their bridal party. Pictures: Figtree Pictures

What would you do differently?

Nothing, everything worked out better than we could have imagined and was perfectly suited to us.

Best wedding hack?

You don’t have to partake in every tradition. If you’re not interested in having a cake, wedding favours or expensive champagne for toasts, then you don’t have to.

Best advice for other couples planning a wedding?

Choose what you want to remember from the night and base your decisions around that. We wanted lots of dancing and a relaxed vibe and it’s exactly what we ended up with.

Taryn Stewart and Nicholas Anderson on their wedding day. Pictures: Figtree Pictures

The Bride

Taryn Stewart, 31

Parents: Debbie and Brad Hermann

Bridesmaids: Amy Butler, Lisa Robertson, Sam Anderson, Amy Anderson

Dress: Ella Moda

Hair: Amy at KOR Hairdressing

Make-up: Lucy Nioa

Flowers: Bride’s own arrangements of dried flowers

Engagement ring: Michael Hill

Cake: No cake, wechose to skip a few traditions. Instead, we arranged for large platters of bite-size desserts, so guests could grab one and keep
on dancing

The Groom

Nicholas Anderson, 32

Parents: Elaine and Jon Anderson

Groomsmen: Aidan Reimer, Jackson Vincent, Jeremy Newall, Thomas Dreghorn

Suit MJ Bale

Entertainment: DJ, Brendon from Beat Connection

Transport: We spent the day being chauffeured around in the onsite golf buggy

Celebrant: Steven Fleming from That Celebrant Guy

Caterer: Private Chefs of Brisbane