Soldiers Beach Event Centre

  • Wedding Reception | 29 October 2016 | Susan & James | Soldiers Beach Event Centre, Norah Head, Central Coast

    Susan and James, or ‘Jimbo’ as he is affectionately known, first met in 2004 whilst indoor rock climbing. Susan was impressed with how fast Jimbo was flying up the walls, much like a monkey. Jimbo was really checking Susan out the whole time and those ‘monkey’ moves was him actually showing off trying to impress Susan – well it appears to have worked for here we were 12 years later, celebrating their wedding! On what was a beautiful spring day on the Central Coast, Susan and Jimbo exchanged vows at the Lighthouse located at Norah Heads.

    They celebrated with family and friends at the Soldier’s Beach Event Centre with a fun filled Lego themed wedding. From the Lego Wishing Well, Lego Wedding Cake, Lego Bridal Bouquet, Lego Seating Chart, Lego Centrepieces, Lego bricks on every table for the guests to play with and the Giant Lego Man, who also appeared at the ceremony, it was truly a fun, vivid, colourful and beautiful wedding!

    Now I could go on and tell you a little about Susan and Jimbo’s wedding and their story, but they did such a great job during their speech that I thought a transcript of it would be best so that you can all get a better feeling for the lovely and quirky personalities of this beautiful couple…

    Susan & Jimbo’s Speech follows:

    Susan: Well a Lego man for a celebrant. Who has the Lego man for a celebrant? Lego bouquet. Gosh. Lego on every table. What a ridiculous wedding, why would anyone have their whole wedding, based on a children’s toy?

    Jimbo: It’s not a children’s toy. It’s a sophisticated interlocking brick system.

    Susan: Well sophisticated or not, the good news is, it’s not our fault we like this. In fact Jimbo has made a profound discovery about this.

    Jimbo: Okay so I found out that having a Lego man at a wedding is in fact tradition. Careful analysis of historical evidence shows that my parents also had a Lego man at their wedding. And it’s not just them, the Irelands, they had a lego man at their wedding. So are we really to blame?

    Susan: But besides clearly being Lego fanatics, my parents are also caring and thoughtful people and they inspire me to be a better person and I want to thank my mum Leonie and my dad Peter, for the contribution and the support for today and also want to thank dad for his awesome speech and I know it’s not your cup of tea for public speaking, but it was actually really good!

    Jimbo: I’d like to thank my mum for being so kind and generous and putting up with me for however many years, like 20 odd years that I had to live with her as well as everything that she does for us. Whenever we go travelling whether it be days, weeks, months, she looks after our fur babies (and Steven as well but I’m talking about my mum at the moment). So I just wanted to thank her and also Emma for that absolutely amazing speech and all the dirt and goss on my past life.

    Susan: I also want to thank Julie my stylist for today for making me look like a woman, which is it’s kinda rare for me to have makeup on and hair done, so good work. And also I want to thank Meagan and Jane for their readings and Emma and Dave for witnessing and signing our marriage certificate and they had to get out their pen licenses and practice their penmanship for that.

    Jimbo: And thank you to our Lego man celebrant, Mister Angry Mike. So Mike spent a lot of time trying to make that suit work and it wasn’t easy for him. So in all the time today while he was in that suit, he couldn’t see out the front so there was a phone in there for providing him with visual stimulation……and the legs also just trying to make him stay stable on the ground was a feat that he and Julie helped make work, so I thank you for that.

    Susan: And thank you also to Dave for such a lovely speech and Luke for doing the music at the ceremony. And thank you also to everyone here today. Each and everyone of you have contributed something to our lives and thanks for joining in all the craziness of today and for pretending you don’t think we are completely bonkers!

    Jimbo: What do you mean bonkers?! Everything today has been oozing with high class. We’ve had Lego, Wallace & Gromit. A lot of Portal. And Bill and Ted, is that not awesome!?

    Susan: And that’s just what I’d expect to hear from the kind of person who when given just a couple of days to explore Paris decided that we gonna have to skip the Louvre, let’s go to Disneyland instead.

    Jimbo: Ha! and you just married that guy! But what are you talking about? We saw the Louvre. We saw all three Mona Lisa’s through the window.

    Susan: And finally we’d also like to thank Serge for MCing tonight as well as providing all the music and Donna also and her team for all the lovely food and the awesome venue.

    Jimbo: But I guess there is one other person I really need to thank today, it’s the person I’ve shared my life with the past decade. Decade and a bit. The mother of our two beautiful fur babies, Starsky and Hutch. Someone who puts up with all the weird and wacky things I do. Someone who walks in front of me, to protect me from the giant spiders. Someone who is so patient she always waits for me at the top of the hill when we are cycling or hiking.

    Susan: ….and someone who’s also patient enough to endure a three and a half year engagement. But there’s also another person I should thank as well he’s the father of out two beautiful fur babies. He tolerates my general weirdness and endures my endless terrible jokes. He endures my death marches, otherwise known as runs. He’s someone who is always up for a challenge and an adventure and is full of ideas that make life just that little bit more enjoyable and fun.

    Jimbo: To Susan!

    Susan: To Jimbo! And we also work very well together as a team. So a few years ago. We went on a kayaking trip to the arctic. And we were in two person kayaks, in a group and a polar bear was spotted swimming towards us, so only maybe 20 – 30 meters away. And Jimbo thoughtfully volunteers us, our kayak, to be the last one out of the water, to the safety of of the main boat. But I was in that kayak too! and I don’t want to be last! Polar bears a cute from a distance or in a zoo, but they are a lot less cute when they are swimming towards us!

    Jimbo: Besides being an awesome team we also think alike on many occasions. When one of Susan’s friends was leaving for the UK they showed us all their stuff and said that we could take any of it. Of all the possible household items we could have chosen we both checked out the half size ironing board. And decided, it would be perfect for bush walking. So we took that ironing board on a 44 kilometre day walk. It took us twelve hours. But it was a great introduction to the sport of extreme ironing for us.

    Susan: And we are also always very gentle with each other. So we’ve developed a game called park badminton which is like normal badminton, but in a park. We play up to wind speeds of exactly 8 kilometres per hour and the aim is not to keep the rally going, the aim is to hit each other in the head with the shuttlecock.

    Jimbo: We also support and encourage each other. On many occasions while mountain biking with Susan, we would hit a hill which would drop my speed down to a crawl. Susan would casually spin her way up to the top without breaking a sweat. But being the such supportive person she was, instead of waiting for me patiently at the top, she would turn around, ride back down to the to where I was, turn round and then casually ride back up the hill again. It’s this type of encouragement that really got me focused on getting fitter.

    Susan: But for what he lacks in fitness he makes up for with his impeccable sense of fashion. But also he has creative and ridiculous ideas – this one time he even had an idea to have a giant Lego man at our wedding.

    Jimbo: …and we all know how that turned out! Thank you.

    End of Susan & Jimbo’s Speech

    Susan and Jimbo it was a huge honour to have been given the opportunity to share the journey leading up to your wedding day, be part of it and witness the beautiful relationship you share. Looking at the photos seeing the smiles on your and your guests faces throughout the whole evening made me very happy. You both wanted your day to be Awesome, Fun, Happy & Unique – I think I can safely say that this was achieved! Thank you for granting me the privilege of being your Central Coast Wedding MC & Central Coast Wedding DJ. Just like Lego, the two of you fit together perfectly. Be sure to never Lego of each other’s heart 🙂 . May love, laughter and music fill your lives forever!!!!

    Photography by DJ:Plus! Entertainment



    Songs selected by Bride and Groom;

    Bride & Groom Entry: “Wallace & Gromit” by Julian Nott

    Cake Cutting: “Ice Cream” by Muscles

    First Dance: “Lanterns” by Birds Of Tokyo

    Bouquet Toss: “Barbie Girl” by Aqua

    Farewell Dance: “Birdie Dance (Chicken Dance)” by Tweets

    Final Farewell Song: “Everything Is Awesome” Unplugged Version by Shawn Patterson & Sammy Allen, “Muppets Closing Theme” by The Muppets



    Other Wedding Professionals

    Photographer: SugarLove Weddings / SugarLove Weddings Facebook

    Caterer: Exclusive Event Catering

    Cake Designer: Custom Cakes By Brooke


  • Wedding Ceremony & Reception | 27 February 2015 | Charlotte & Bry | Soldier’s Beach Event Centre, Central Coast

    Charlotte and Bry met in 2007. Charlotte, who is originally from the UK, was travelling the East Coast of Australia with friends and had booked in for a surf tour. When she turned up for the tour, Charlotte was greeted by a very happy Bry. They were immediately attracted to each other and by the end of the tour had exchanged telephone numbers.

    Charlotte and Bry have a sweet little thing that they do, where randomly one will say to the other, “Tell me something”. The other would then make a statement or tell a story. About 5 months after they first met, Bry was teaching Charlotte how to Ski in Thredbo. Whilst sitting on the mountain side Charlotte said to Bry, “Tell me something” to which Bry’s response was “I love you”, surprising Charlotte.

    Fast forward to 27 February 2015 and it was an absolutely glorious day for a wedding!! Whilst earlier in the week rain had been forecast and threatened to ruin their beach ceremony, the sun was shining and it could not have been more perfect. The location was Soldiers Beach on the NSW Central Coast, on some sand dunes overlooking the beautiful Pacific Ocean – I overheard some of the guests commenting that it felt like we were on an island. Perfect weather and perfect location for Charlotte and Bry’s dream wedding ceremony! Officiated by Kate Tyler-Webber, the ceremony included Charlotte and Bry’s beautiful little boy, Jesse and if I may paraphrase a line from the ceremony, “He has taken their love and turned it into a family” – just beautiful!! The ceremony also included their dog, Roxy.

    Following the ceremony guests made their way to the Event Centre for drinks and canapés whilst Charlotte, Bry and their wedding party headed off for photographs around the surrounding Central Coast area. Shortly afterwards guests were seated and we welcomed the wedding party with huge applause and personalised introductions but saving the loudest welcome for Charlotte and Bry!!

    The rest of the evening was filled with fun activities, a choreographed first dance which segued into heartfelt sentiments conveyed in the first dance song – I saw many in the room wiping away tears of happiness as the sentiment and love carried over and filled their hearts. It was then party time!!, including Charlotte and the bridesmaids demonstrating a dance.

    Before long it was time to start winding proceedings up, but not before the bouquet toss, a fun twist to the garter toss and a very emotional father daughter dance. Charlotte’s dad Ian, wrote a song for Charlotte many years ago and being a guitar player, recorded the song for her. Charlotte wanted to surprise her dad with his song and we added a little bit of magic to it which had both Charlotte and her dad share a truly special moment which they will treasure forever!! This was followed by a farewell dance with absolutely everybody on the dance floor, before Charlotte and Bry left to begin the rest of their lives, but now as husband and wife!

    Charlotte and Bry are truly genuine, relaxed, fun loving people who love the beach, exploring, a lazy sleep in, a BBQ. Their family & friends are important to them and they share the same values. They truly love each other and this was evident from the first time I met them. They wanted their wedding to be, and I quote,”Beachy, Sunshine, Happy, Relaxed & Fun” – well they definitely had the beach and sunshine in bucket loads. I also believe we achieved the rest of the brief! Thank you for giving me the esteemed honour of being your Central Coast Wedding DJ and Central Coast Wedding MC, it was such a pleasure to be a part of your special celebration and I had a lot of fun getting to know you both and planning your wedding celebration! May love, laughter and music fill your lives forever!!!

    YouTube video

    Photography and Video by DJ:Plus! Entertainment



    Songs selected by Bride and Groom;

    Bridesmaid Processional: “Hold Back The River” by James Bay

    Brides Processional: “Hold Back The River” by James Bay

    Sand Ceremony: “Could You Be Loved” by Bob Marley & The Wailers

    Register Signing: “When You Say Nothing At All” by Ronan Keating, “Peaches & Cream” by John Butler Trio

    Recessional: “Walking On A Dream” by Empire Of The Sun

    Bridesmaids & Groomsmen Entry: “Crazy In Love” by Beyoncé Feat. Jay Z

    Bride & Groom Entry: “True Love” by Pink (DJ:Plus! Entertainment Edit)

    Cake Cutting: “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” by Ohio Express

    First Dance: “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

    Bouquet Toss: “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor

    Garter Toss: “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor

    Farewell Dance: “Can You Feel It” by The Jacksons

    Final Farewell Song: “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes



    Other Wedding Professionals

    Celebrant: Kate Tyler-Webber

    Photographer: Imagine Images Photography

    Videographer: Arian Film Productions

    Florist: A Floral Indulgence

    Cake Designer: Incr-Edible Cakes, Kariong

    Transport: Coast Kombis