Ruby and Nic

January 10, 2022

Tell us your love story. How did you meet?

After relocating to Rockhampton to complete my university degree, I (Ruby) attended a meet and greet BBQ where a girl named Amy (my now best friend and maid of honor), introduced herself and offered to show me the campus. A few days later I received a message from Amy asking if I wanted to join her at Rolleston Campdraft/Rodeo. Despite Rolleston being a 3+hr trip from Rockhampton, I figured this was my best chance to socialize and make some new friends considering I knew no one. A few (too many) drinks later, I caught the eyes of a tall dark and handsome guy, initially thought nothing of it, but every time I would look across at him for the rest of the evening, I would find him already looking at me. An hour or so later he finally got the courage up to talk to me, introducing himself and asking who the bloody hell I was as he had never seen me before (in Rolleston, everyone knows everyone). Fast forward to a few months later, we hadn’t seen each other since Rolleston. I was at Paradise Lagoons Campdraft, Nic walked past me on his horse, nervously said hello, then later that day at the bar, a mutual friend tried to introduce us, not knowing we had already previously met. The rest is really history! Campdrafts and bars…dangerous combination!!

The Proposal – him or her? Was it a surprise?

Him – I was out at his family property visiting for the weekend. He asked if I wanted to go on a water run to which I replied, “not really!”. After a bit of persuasion, I finally agreed to go (little did I know this would be the last time he would ever want to convince me to go with him). For those of you from properties you will understand water runs aren’t really the most romantic occasions haha. Fast forward an hour or so, we’re making our way home to check one of the last tanks. I opened a gate, then hopped back into the driver’s seat as I insisted on driving. We noticed a loose cow in the wrong paddock, and after about 20 minutes (and a few arguments later) of trying to coerce it back through the gate, we gave up and decided to keep going. We arrived at the tanks and I pulled the car up, leaving it running. Nic hopped out and after about 5 minutes was yelling “come here!!”. I was absolutely off the water run by this point, so I proceeded to drag myself out of the car to see what he wanted, and there he was standing with a small little box! He had hidden a picnic and champagne behind those tanks, I’m sure he got up at 5 o’clock that morning to take it all out there because he was around the house the whole morning prior to this! So yeah, I guess you could say it was a surprise!

Where did you spend your honeymoon?

We went to Port Douglas. COVID kept us a bit limited on the destinations but we absolutely had the best time and it was a beautiful spot! Lot’s of activities to do which suited us.

Why did you choose Earlando? Was there something that made it stand out from the other venues for you?

I had seen photos of Earlando through our chosen photographer, Jessica Turich. I had never heard about it prior to that, so one weekend we decided to take a trip to Airlie Beach and go and visit Earlando. It was ticking boxes prior to us seeing it in person, but as soon as we arrived, I just knew it was the place for us. Between the astonishing views, the amazingly kept gardens, the convenience of the facilities and the incredible kindness and approachability of Ben and Teena, our decision was made as soon as we walked in. The stand out for us was really Ben and Teena. They are lovely, lovely people and made us feel so special and valued. There was not a single thing during the whole lead up to the wedding, or on the day, that was too difficult or unachievable. I can’t speak for other venues as we didn’t even consider anywhere else, but I know that no other venue could ever live up to the day that Ben and Teena provided us with.

Did you have a theme to your wedding/wedding styling? What inspired this?

I didn’t really, and I actually hated this question in the planning stages. We’re from the bush, but I wouldn’t say our wedding was ‘rustic’ or ‘country’ etc. We went with simplicity, focused on putting effort into things that were important to us – food, alcohol and the band. The venue really does speak for itself and it doesn’t take a whole heap of décor to make things look beautiful. Our reception was set under a bunch of festoon/fairy lights on the lawn beside the beach. This alone was absolutely amazing. It’s hard to put into words how I felt when I first saw the reception set up.

What was your favourite part of your wedding?

The whole day was pretty spectacular, but I think sitting down at our reception, eating a beautiful meal, and looking up and seeing all of our family and friends there dressed to the nines in such a beautiful location, that was just an amazing moment for Nic and I. It was like an absolute fairytale.

Tell us a funny story about your wedding day/wedding planning!

This isn’t really my story to tell – but I think it definitely needs telling! About an hour before our ceremony at Earlando, a branch from a tree fell down and landed about 2m away from the bridal party table! Luckily, it missed, but Teena, Ben and Breanna all promptly got stuck in to clean it up, and not one guest knew a single thing about it. They even had an excavator in there helping clean up the mess. It wouldn’t be a wedding day if something didn’t go wrong, but I really can say I had not a worry in the world thanks to Ben, Teena, and Breanna.

Do you have any advice to future Earlando wedding couples?

Don’t get caught up in the little things, or even things that go wrong. Just enjoy your day, it really does go so quickly. If you have chosen to have your day at Earlando, have faith in these amazing professionals, they really do go above and beyond to make sure your day is perfect!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much Ben & Teena and all of the Earlando crew! We already want to renew our vows just so we can be at Earlando one more day! Love Ruby & Nic X