‘None really felt like the one’: Bride tries on 40 dresses before finding dream gown

An Aussie bride has revealed the one thing she would ditch from her perfect wedding.

Jane Armitstead

@JaneArmitstead

4 min read

February 27, 2025 - 10:18AM

QWeekend

The wedding of Shanée Dobeson and Luke Holmes. Pictures: Nathan Lapham

Lifestyle

Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News.

After meeting at a university toga party, 12 years later this Gold Coast couple celebrated their love story with a stunning hinterland wedding.

Shanée Dobeson and Luke Holmes tied the knot on September 14 at The Bower Estate on the Gold Coast in front of 75 guests. The Hope Island couple encouraged their guests to dress in pastels and neutrals to fit with their theme of timeless elegance. For the bride, however, it took trying on about 40 dresses before she found her perfect gown which she says happened in a twist of fate.

The proposal? It was on one of our holidays to Hamilton Island that Luke planned a surprise private helicopter ride to Whitehaven Beach. We arrived to find a romantic champagne picnic set up on the iconic white silica sand.

How did you choose your wedding venue?The Bower Estate was the first venue we looked at, we both knew instantly it was the one the second we drove through the gates. We fell in love with the breathtaking mountain surroundings and large clear marquee adorned with fairy lights.

The wedding of Shanée Dobeson and Luke Holmes. Pictures: Nathan Lapham

What was the budget for your wedding? It was $50,000, however we soon realised that was wishful thinking with our desired vision!

What would you spend more or less on? Good wedding planners and stylists are absolutely

worth their weight in gold. We would spend less on the cake and would ditch wedding favours all together! I would also spend less on wedding shoes as they are hardly seen and will be ruined by the end of the night.

How did you choose your outfits? Shanée: I tried on about 40 dresses at wedding boutiques across Brisbane and the Gold Coast but none really felt like “the one”. One day I was scrolling through Instagram and one of my favourite Sydney bridal stores announced they were holding a pop-up on the Gold Coast. We got to the end of my appointment without much luck when my mum convinced me to try on one last gown that was unlike anything I had envisioned wearing. Happy tears started flowing the moment I stepped out of the changeroom. It turns out mums do know best!

The wedding of Shanée Dobeson and Luke Holmes. Pictures: Nathan Lapham

How did you feeling seeing the bride for the first time? Luke:I was feeling quite relaxed throughout the day, however, once the aisle music started and I first saw my absolutely stunning wife-to-be walking up the pathway I was overwhelmed with emotion and happiness. It was more perfect than I had ever imagined.

What was the most stressful part of planning? We had the most amazing planners so it was a dream, however, curating the guest list and dealing with the RSVPs was a little testing.

Any unique or surprising details about your wedding? Our pooch logistically couldn’t be at our wedding, so I surprised Luke and renamed our wedding bar Ollie’s Bar so that he could still be part of our special day. Luke was also working on a little surprise with our wedding planners who helped organise the most amazing white draping for our clear marquee.

What was a wedding non-negotiable for you?We had four! A good photographer, videographer, musician and florist.

What was the standout moment of the day? I don’t think anything could compare to the

feeling of seeing each other at the altar for the first time and sharing our personalised vows in

front of all of our favourite people.

The wedding of Shanée Dobeson and Luke Holmes. Pictures: Nathan Lapham

Bridesmaid/groomsmen protocol? I paid for my bridesmaids’ heels as well as hair, makeup, jewellery, getting-ready robes and slippers. My bridesmaids were more than happy to pay for their own dresses as we waited until they went on sale! The groomsmen paid for their pants and shirts, while we covered the tuxedos.

What would you do differently? There is nothing in particular we would have done

differently, as in our eyes it was the perfect day. However, looking back we would have tried to soak it all in a little more. Everyone always says the day flies by, and they’re not wrong!

Top wedding hack?If the weather doesn’t appear to be on your side, bury a sausage in your garden the night before your wedding! I wish I was joking, but the week leading up to our wedding was windy and rainy so I was quite stressed as our venue was predominantly outdoors! I read an old wives’ tale online that said burying a sausage in your garden would ensure the weather would be perfect, so I did! We woke to the most stunning day.

The wedding of Shanée Dobeson and Luke Holmes. Pictures: Nathan Lapham

Best advice for other couples planning a wedding? Invest in quality wedding planners.

Securing a celebrant and MC who align with you and your partner’s values and vibe of the day is also really important. I was lucky enough to have my work mum Moyra Major from Hot Tomato marry us and she perfected our wishes of keeping our ceremony lighthearted and short and sweet. Luke’s childhood friend Nate was our MC. Another tip is to try and avoid asking for opinions from family and friends.

The Bride

Shanée Dobeson, 30

Profession Radio journalist

Parents Arthur & Janet Dobeson

Bridesmaids Renee Vann, Maddie Turney, Olivia Winter

Dress The Tom Sebastien ‘Karla’ Gown from The Ivory Room Bridal

Hair Missy

Make-up Jenna Bellhouse

Flowers Posy Lane Co.

Engagement ring Louise Jean Jewellery

Wedding planner/stylist The Romantics Weddings

Caterer Ridgeway Catering