WHEN Ricquel Kvikstad and Charles Sonsie announced their engagement last year, their family offered them two presents to choose from: a wedding or a house deposit.
At just 21 years of age, the Nyah couple jumped at the chance to own a little slice of paradise by the Murray River.
And so began a mission to plan the perfect wedding on a budget of just $4000 in under six months.
For former Gold Coast girl Ricquel and local builder Charles, it was an opportunity to showcase not only their creative side but everything the Swan Hill region has to offer.
“We had 100 people coming from cities all over Australia — I wanted to show that Swan Hill does have a lot to offer…”
“When we started planning the wedding I realised I wanted three things — to showcase the local area, to really involve people in the community and for it to be totally unique,” Ricquel said.
“We had 100 people coming from cities all over Australia — I wanted to show that Swan Hill does have a lot to offer.”
With the wedding set down for May, Ricquel and Charles decided on an Autumn theme and to hold the ceremony in the Nyah forest and the reception at the Nyah Hall.
Unusually, one of the first and most hassle-free tasks was the bridal party’s outfits.
“I’m a regular at the Salvos so when the volunteers found out I was looking for a wedding dress they did everything they could to help,” Ricquel said.
“There were six of them helping me when I tried the dress on. Once they saw it on me they said I could have it for $40.”
Ricquel ordered her tiara, jewellery and veil off Ebay for the grand total of $20 and, after taking her dress to a local tailor for alteration, her outfit was basically complete.
Her seven bridesmaids’ dresses were ordered from a local fashion outlet and Ricquel created the bouquets herself.
On the day, the girls had their hair and makeup done at the Swan Hill’s Centre of Excellence, which offers discounted services performed by students.
As for the boys, the couple was happy for them to wear any black suit they had in their closet.
“I was getting stopped in the street and asked how everything was going. It was really fantastic…”
Ricquel took on the huge task of catering herself and planned the menu around seasonal, local produce, which she bought in bulk at market price.
“Catering was by far the most expensive part, but the key was planning ahead,” she said.
“We used wholesome, fresh ingredients and had heaps of food. I’d probably say for about one third of the usual price.”
She saved hundreds more on catering staff by approaching the ladies at the Nyah West Uniting Church.
“They agreed to do the catering if I made a donation to the church,” she said.
“I met with them four or five times before the wedding and they took care of everything on the day.”
She employed a local cake maker to do desserts and used her own skills as a barista to put together a huge selection of hot drinks.
“We decided to have an alcohol-free wedding — some people were a bit taken aback by that but we didn’t feel it was necessary.”
To match the vintage-feel of the Nyah Hall, Ricquel and Charles’ mother, a party planner, made their own signs and sourced quirky decorations from around town.
Old Jazz music added to the atmosphere of the couple’s special day — documented by a local photographer.
Aside from wet weather forcing the ceremony into the hall, Ricquel said the day went off without a hitch and she couldn’t have been happier.
“Our guests told us they really enjoyed the personal level of the wedding,” she said.
She said she was blown away by how involved the community became in the process of planning the wedding.
“There’s huge pressure for weddings to fit into a certain criteria. But a wedding should reflect the people getting married…”
“I was getting stopped in the street and asked how everything was going. It was really fantastic.”
She said her advice to other couples planning a wedding on a budget was to let go of expectations of how a wedding “should” be.
“There’s huge pressure for weddings to fit into a certain criteria,” she said.
“But a wedding should reflect the people getting married.”
