A Tipi Wedding at Riverwood Estate

Technically, Tamika and Jon were already legally married in Norway, so they wanted their Queensland ‘wedding’ to feel more like a party than your traditional nuptials. There were yard games, a riverside picnic, and an enchanting tipi reception with fairy lights, fire pits, s’mores and food, drinks and dancing galore.

Seeing as Tamika grew up in a semi-rural town in Queensland and Jon is from Norway, the couple settled on the theme ‘Scandinavian-rustic’ for their Aussie affair. They chose one of our absolute fave venues in Queensland, Riverwood Estate in the Gold Coast hinterlands.

The styling was kept super simple with lots of green, white, untreated wood, florals, foliage and hyggelig elements like sheepskin, rugs and candles. The end result was cosy and natural with just a touch of magic.

Tamika and Jon’s wedding also featured plenty of handmade elements like Ferrero Rocher Golden Snitches for wedding favours made by Tamika’s mother – a nod to their love of Harry Potter – and gold wine bottles for table centrepieces collected and painted by her Aunts. Jon designed the seating plan and a wedding certificate for guests to sign and Tamika hand wrote all the name cards and created confetti cones for the ceremony. But, most impressive of all was the three-tier cake that Tamika baked and the couple put together the very morning of the wedding!

Instead of conventional canapés, Tamika and Jon decided to put on a post-wedding picnic with antipasto platters, scones and fruit. The reception then featured a succulent yet simple spit roast and dessert buffet.

‘I’ve been to so many weddings where the guests go hungry between the ceremony and reception, so having enough food was a big priority for us,’ says Tamika.

‘I also wanted it to be good food that we would cook if we had friends coming over for dinner.’

The couple says that their favourite moment of the day was seeing their guests happy and having fun.

‘Jon and I have always lived away from our families and we have friends scattered across the world, so this was the first time we had almost everyone together in the one place,’ adds Tamika.

Sit back and soak up the goodness that is Tamika and Jon’s Scandinavian-rustic wedding below. HOORAY_JamieMurcutt_Queensland_01