A church in Coolangatta, Queensland, and a farm dinner in the hills of northern New South Wales made up a destination wedding reported in 2015. The bride, Choy, was Malaysian-born and Norwegian-Chinese. She married her Indonesian groom with their families around them, and the day was built to feel like a house party rather than a formal banquet.
The couple had met in June 2011 at a full moon party at Tanjong Beach Club in Singapore. According to the bride, the groom pursued her for a month before they became a couple. He later proposed in New York’s Central Park, during a belated birthday trip.
A day in three parts
The wedding followed a clear rhythm. The morning began with a tea ceremony, a Chinese custom in which a couple serves tea to elders. The church service came in the afternoon at Saint Augustine’s Catholic Church in Coolangatta, which sits on the Queensland side of the border with New South Wales. Dinner followed at night.
The dinner venue was Mavis’s Kitchen and Cabins at Mount Warning, in Uki, about a 50-minute drive from the church. The property occupies 25 acres of former dairy farmland at the base of Wollumbin (Mount Warning), with an organic kitchen garden and cabin accommodation. Both families stayed on site, and guests booked lodging nearby to keep getting around simple.
Making a farm feel like home
The couple had hosted many house parties in Singapore, and they wanted that mood in Australia. The bride described the evening as a rustic, family-style, old-school garden dinner party. The team transformed a space beside the pond with picnic blankets and couches. Guests drifted between the restaurant interior and the grounds, with organic wine and a family-style meal.
After dinner, dancing moved into a barn dressed with hay bales and fairy lights, with a DJ on the decks. The cake matched the relaxed tone: a gluten-free chocolate and hazelnut brownie cake topped with fresh flowers.
The bride also planned a surprise for the groom, a makeshift gentleman’s lounge stocked with cigars and whisky, with performers in burlesque costumes.
Flowers, outfits and small gestures
The flowers were sourced from a Brisbane flower market. The bride’s best friend, a florist from Singapore’s Fleurlicious, served as her bridesman and chose peonies, roses and wildflowers for her bouquet. Her twin sister, the matron of honour, and the bridesmaids carried roses. The twin’s young daughters were flower girls, carrying posies and cheeky signs. White Ivy Design in Queensland handled the centrepieces and other decor.
The wardrobe mixed high and high-street:
- The bride wore a Legends by Romona Keveza gown, then changed into an evening dress by Francis Cheong.
- The groom’s suit came from Azabu Tailor in Tokyo.
- The matron of honour wore H&M, and the bridesmaids wore dresses from ASOS.
- The flower girls wore dresses from BHLDN.
- The bridesman wore his own bespoke suit.
Hair and makeup were done by a close friend and longtime stylist from A Cut Above in Kuala Lumpur. The wedding planner was Sugar & Spice Events, and the photography was by Blue Tulip Imaging in Byron Bay. Surfers Paradise Coaches handled guest transport.
What the couple remembered most
Playful photographs were among the favourites: the groomsmen showing off their socks, and the bride clowning around with a friend. The bride walked in with her father and her stepfather beside her. A gospel performance by a friend filled the church.
The couple singled out two moments. The first was the presence of the groom’s grandparents, which the bride called a huge blessing. The second was a gift from her twin sister, a video montage of childhood and courtship photographs. The twin also sang the sisters’ childhood favourite, ABBA’s “I Have a Dream”.
How the destination wedding is changing
This wedding shows a pattern that suits many Southeast Asian couples: a religious ceremony and a family tradition such as the tea ceremony, then a looser celebration in a farm or garden setting. It was intimate, and the families stayed together under one roof. A property that supplies the venue, food and accommodation keeps the planning compact, and a local planner can handle the rest. For the venue’s present booking arrangements, couples would need to contact Mavis’s Kitchen and Cabins directly.