Of all the wedding traditions still observed by many modern brides, a father walking his daughter down the aisle is perhaps one of the most treasured. At Kate Feely’s November 11 Noosa wedding to James Greensill, this was certainly the case, but she was also accompanied on that walk by an equally significant male in her life – the couple’s nine-month-old son, Oliver.
While the groom looked dashing in a Casablanca-style ivory dinner jacket, it’s fair to say that the youngest member of the party stole the show – and the newlyweds could not have been happier.
“Oliver came down the aisle with me,” Kate tells salt.
“My dad carried him, and I was on the other side of Dad.
“That was kind of cute; it was really sweet.”
Oliver, stylishly chic in navy overalls and strongly resembling a cherub, was perfectly behaved, in keeping with the entire day, which can only be described as flawless.
This was no ordinary aisle Kate was walking down – it was the aisle at the Maison La Plage in Hastings Street, a lush green grove that looks out through huge pandanus trees onto the sparkling ocean on Noosa’s main beach, and one of the region’s most in-demand ceremony locations.
This is unsurprising, given the stunning outlook, but it does mean being at the mercy of the weather.
“It was ‘beautiful blue skies, not a cloud in the sky’ kind of weather, and given it was pouring down rain for the two days before, we were very, very fortunate.”
Kate was a picture of understated glamour in an elegant ivory crepe full-length gown from Made With Love Bridal, with a low-cut back, plunging neckline and a tulle overskirt. She also wore a three-metre tulle cathedral veil.
“It was simple I guess, but I just felt it was a bit more ‘me’ rather than something that was sequinned or embellished.”
Her ‘something blue’ was her four bridesmaids, who wore powder blue satin gowns that matched the colour of the sea.
Kate, a sports dietitian who has her own business, and James, a project manager, met through mutual friends about four years ago. They’d known each other for about a year when one New Year’s Eve changed the course of their lives.
“I had a party at my house, and we got together after that,” Kate recalls. “We had our first kiss at that party; we got engaged in early 2023 at Mooloolaba.”
The film-set-style location of the couple’s ceremony was matched by that of the reception, which was held at the iconic Noosa Boathouse, one of the Sunshine Coast’s premier dining destinations, renowned for its fresh seasonal produce, its award-winning cuisine and its unique floating position on the banks of the Noosa River.
Kate explains that the choice for the reception was an easy one. “We both like good food, so that was an important thing to us, to have really nice food options available,” she says.
“We went to Noosa Boathouse and had lunch up there one day to trial some different things on the menu and loved it.
“And it’s such a stunning venue, with the floor-to-ceiling glass and the outlook. We were so lucky on the day of the wedding; the weather was absolutely perfect and there was a stunning sunset.”
After the ceremony, the 67 guests were treated to a cruise on the river with Noosa Ferries, enjoying drinks and nibblies while the bridal party (which also consisted of four groomsmen in classic black tie dinner suits) were having photos taken. Once again, the weather came to the fore, providing guests with a serenely beautiful setting for the scenic river cruise.
“The top level of the [cruise] boat is open air, so we thought, ‘if it’s raining, people aren’t going to want to be up there’, but it was perfect,” Kate says.
Guests were then delivered to the Boathouse for the reception, which included a banquet-style dinner and the smooth live acoustics of Call Me Will.
A fitting accompaniment to the dazzling spring weather of the day was the eye-popping array of flowers from Bridie McIntosh of Blooms By Bridie on display at the ceremony and reception.
“I really liked the idea of having colour, like spring florals,” Kate explains. “I think the wedding theme was based around colours more than anything. I just wanted something that pops.”
While the couple live in Brisbane, they chose the Sunshine Coast as a wedding location because of their mutual love of the beach and the outdoors – particularly in this area.
“We’ve both always been quite active, and we’ve done triathlons together. We like the outdoors, the sunshine – that typical Queensland kind of lifestyle, and we’ve always preferred the Sunshine Coast from a beach point of view. So I think that’s also why we liked the idea of getting married near the beach, so we could have that outdoorsy kind of feel.”
A honeymoon in Fiji followed – with Oliver, of course, who enjoyed his first flight – and continued the beach theme of the celebrations.
With the wedding day unfolding in such clockwork precision, it may seem as though this spectacular event had been years in the planning, however, Kate says arrangements only began in January this year, when she started her maternity leave. And while she toyed with the idea of an event planner, she decided against it in the end, putting her trust in the professionals she had chosen – most of whom were from the local area. “It all went as planned; it was perfect.”
Noosa Boathouse will host its annual Wedding Open Day in February 2025. noosaboathouse.com.au