‘Ripping off his suit jacket’: Father daughter wedding dance takes an unexpected turn
After two former professional dancers married in a beautiful ceremony, their reception was one big party with the dancefloor in heavy use.
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Brittany Worthington and Cody Roberts met in 2017 but had known of each other for years as they trained as dancers at the same dance school, then performed on cruise ships around the world.
“We reconnected on Facebook as we were on different ships but had the same itinerary,” says Brittany.
“When our contracts were over, we decided to catch up in Brisbane and from that day we hardly spent another moment apart!”
“We continued to work and travel together onboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines for three years before we had to return home during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“We decided to pivot our careers but continued to grow and develop our relationship as we built our new life together on the Sunshine Coast.”
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The Nirimba couple have been together almost seven years and married on August 10 at Goodwater Ridge, Maleny, before 77 guests.
Their first dance was to You Make Me Feel So Young by Michael Buble, with the reception featuring lots of big band songs, choreographed routines, flowing Champagne and margaritas!
The couple honeymooned at the Alila Resort in Seminyak, Bali.
The proposal? One of the shows we performed in together onboard the Ovation of the Seas was called The Beautiful Dream. We had a scene where the boy would propose to the girl and Cody always joked that’s how he would one day propose to me. Many years later, after the pandemic when we both had regular jobs, Cody surprised me with a long weekend cruise with friends. On the last night he took me into the theatre and popped the question onstage in the same spot he had to do it in the show.
How did you choose your wedding venue? We decided we wanted to keep the wedding close to where we lived. We only looked at two others before falling in love with the new venue Goodwater Ridge. We loved that we could host all elements of our wedding there and have the bridal party and our close family stay on site the night before and the night of the wedding.
What was the budget? It did gradually expand and was more than we initially anticipated. We were lucky to have generous support from my parents and Cody’s mum.
What would you spend more or less on? Nothing. We didn’t feel anything went to waste or wasn’t used.
How did you choose your wedding dress?
I anticipated the process to be drawn out as I’ve dreamed of my wedding forever and I really love all types of gowns. Somehow I knew Sphere Bridal in Maroochydore would have the dress for me. I had seen the two-piece Kyha Studios dress on their Instagram and knew as soon as I tried it on that it was perfect. I loved that I could switch out the ballgown skirt for something shorter later in the evening.
What thoughts did you have while waiting at the altar?Cody:Waiting felt like the most stressful time of my life. I probably got up there 10 minutes early and it felt like an hour, but the minute I saw Brit my anxiety and fears fell away. I’ve always thought my fiance was an absolute stunner, but my bride was a whole different level.
What was the most stressful part?
You can sometimes lose the romance when you’re making so many logistical and financial decisions and with so much on in our personal and professional lives too, we struggled to find quality time to work on things together.
What was a wedding non-negotiable for you? The Margarita Truck.
Any surprising details? Brittany: My dad and I surprised our guests with our father/daughter dance. It started out to Have I Told You Lately by Rod Stewart. But then the track changed to Everybody Dance Now and Dad busted a move. Ripping off his suit jacket, swinging it around his head and getting the crowd going.
Top wedding hack?
Get a content creator. Everyone loved having the content directly sent to them the next day.
What was the standout moment of the day? The speeches were really beautiful. It was nice to slow down and sit together to listen to our loved ones share their perspectives on our love story and journey. Our celebrant and MC Dan was also incredible and ran the day perfectly.
What would you do differently? Make sure there was more time for dancing and chatting after the formalities. I also would have started getting ready earlier... my hair ended up taking quite a while and I was rushed into my dress. I would have liked more time with my mum and bridal party in my gown before the ceremony.
Best advice for other couples? Choose a venue that can host everything in one place! It saves so much on cars and transport and saves time. Everything flowed so beautifully from our ceremony straight into our stunning garden party featuring the Margarita Truck.
The Bride
Brittany Worthington, 27
Profession Founder of The Social Britify, social media coach, podcast host + speaker
Parents Kate and Andrew Worthington
Bridesmaids Maid of honour, Chloe Worthington and bridesmaid, Carson Hollier (male)
Dress Kyha Studios
Hair Foxs Lane Styling
Make-up Hannah Mills Makeup Artist
Flowers Mondo Floral Designs
Rings Louise Jean Jewellery
Wedding stylist Lovebird Weddings
The Groom
Cody Roberts, 33
Profession Regional sales manager for Metricon Homes
Parents Karen O’Sullivan and Anthony Roberts
Suit Clay Rondo Menswear Brisbane
Entertainment Oscar from The Famos & Co
Videographer Mears Productions
Celebrant & MC Dan Ford
Caterer The Ohana Group
Bar The Bartenders
Cake Chocolate 2 Chilli (chocolate cake)
Additional Styling @valiant.events
Black and White Dance Floor Pro Stage Queensland
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