December 17, 2024 • 38 mins
Welcome to Episode 54 of the Wed.Co Podcast. Today, Toga sits down with Tiffany from the Valley Estate for a chat about the unique offerings and experiences available at this stunning wedding venue on the Gold Coast. This one was filmed at the gorgeous The Valley Estate on the Gold Coast.
Steve and Tiff discuss the vision behind the Valley Estate, the importance of creating a personalised experience for couples, and the various spaces available for ceremonies and receptions. Tiff shares insights into her role, the culinary delights offered, and tips for couples planning their weddings, emphasising the importance of trust and enjoyment throughout the planning process.
Takeaways
- The Valley Estate sets a new standard for weddings on the Gold Coast.
- Attention to detail is key in creating a unique wedding experience.
- Trust is essential for couples during the wedding planning process.
- Tiff's role involves guiding couples through their wedding journey.
- The venue offers multiple unique spaces for ceremonies and receptions.
- The Gentleman’s Retreat provides a stylish space for grooms.
- Guest experience is enhanced by the venue's accessibility and layout.
- Culinary offerings at The Valley Estate are high-quality and interactive.
- Couples should focus on enjoying the planning process and making it personal.
If you want to hear more from Tiff and The Valley Estate you can get more info at https://thevalleyestate.com.au/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thevalleyestategc/
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For all of your Wedding Photography / Videography needs head over to https://www.instagram.com/the_tognazzinis/ or our website at https://thetognazzinis.com.au/
Join us for our next episode on the Wed.Co Podcast, where we continue to explore the
mesmerising and ever-changing landscape of weddings.
Toga
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the Wedco podcast where wedding wisdom meets street smarts.
We're dishing out all the tips, tricks and wedding goss to take your wedding to the nextlevel.
Time to ditch the formalities and get this party started.
Hello and welcome to the WEDCO podcast.
I'm Toga and today I have Tiff who's head of sales at the Valley Estate.
(00:25):
Thank you so much and thank you so much for hosting us for these episodes.
Have fun.
beautiful.
Ever since I've been on the Gold Coast for 13 years now and when I first kind of saw theplans of the Valley Estate getting built and everything like that, it just like set a
whole new crazy standard for the Gold Coast.
Which we love because I mean the Gold Coast is that stay patient, get away.
(00:50):
for you know, Brisbane people, come down here, they go to the beach, know, having a littlegetaway wedding is really nice for all the couples that come through here.
And we find it a lot, a lot of, you know, interstate, a lot of Sydney, Melbourne, Tassie,they all come up to, you know, the Gold Coast for a weekend or two.
(01:10):
So I think it's, you know, it's been really pivotal for the wedding industry.
Yeah, definitely.
Because I feel like so many people from the Gold Coast would go, like, we're to go toByron, we're going to go to the Sunny Coast.
They'd kind of leave the Gold Coast to go get married.
Yeah.
Whereas like that's been a big shift for like so many of the weddings I book now on theGold Coast are locals to the Gold Coast as well.
Which is beautiful.
Yeah.
Do you find like, actually, can we start maybe with a little bit of a backstory of theactual family estate?
(01:33):
Absolutely.
Let's start there.
So, I mean, our owner, Sheree Uzarn and proprietor, she used to ride past this propertyactually when it was a cow paddock.
and on her horse when she was a young girl and she had this dream, know, envisioned awedding venue here.
(01:55):
So she has brought that to life.
It's been a huge process for her from many years ago and now it's, you know, come intofruition.
The first wedding was the 21st of May in 2021.
Yeah, so, and now, you know, we've kind of made our mark and it's all really beautiful andamazing and a really great place to be.
(02:22):
Yeah.
As far as like the design process and everything like that, was that kind of like Shriahad this dream and she kind of envisaged where we are now, or was that a lot of kind of
like an architect involved to kind of create the space?
Well, she had so much, you know, I guess inspiration from
you know, her life story.
She was, you know, these bricks and the manas, she's handpicked every single colour ofbrick.
(02:47):
She's built walls, you know, six different walls and said, okay, let's try these colours,let's try these colours.
So she was, you know, the creator.
Obviously she did have her architects and builders and it was a massive collaboration, butyou know, the brains behind it was all her.
When I first saw the bricks and was like, because I do a lot of weddings down in Melbourneand I kind of saw this and I was like, far out like this.
(03:13):
It just feels so much more like luxury.
It felt like I was in Melbourne, but on the Gold Coast.
Yeah.
It's stunning.
Like they were had, you know, there was nothing like this anywhere near here.
Yeah.
You know, so yeah, just like definitely set a new standard.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
And every single detail that has been put in the space in each of the builds, you know,the five different builds that are scattered along the property.
(03:36):
They're all for a unique experience for the couple and for the wedding guests.
So did Sheree have like experience in the wedding field, the wedding industry prior or didanyone like She's done it all.
So she's interior designer.
She's done hospitality, restaurants, startups for businesses.
(03:58):
She's done, she's got her hand in, you know, every field.
And I think that's what makes her so...
I guess inspirational for a lot of people in the industry because she's done it all.
She's done the back of house, she's done the front of house, she's done the admin, she'sdone the creation, she's done so many different things.
(04:20):
And she's brought it into this beautiful space that, yeah, there's nothing like it on theGold Coast.
And we're all very lucky.
And I feel like there's so many vendors that like, you you start doing weddings, you'relike, I want to get a wedding venue, you know, that's like a whole lot of a different
thing than actually going and doing it yourself.
(04:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's a lot of work.
A lot of work goes into a wedding.
You know, you're there on wedding days.
You know what it's like.
A lot of the back behind scene things that people don't even think about, you know.
But yeah, it's all very...
rewarding in the end.
(05:03):
And then even staff numbers, like so every time I hear it feels like there's 50 staff onboard.
Absolutely.
So we've got our beautiful grounds.
mean, the grass, the trees, the flowers, the veggie patch, the pond, the lilies in thepond.
There's so many beautiful things in the outside garden area.
(05:25):
We need a big team.
So we do have five or six.
horticulturalists, groundskeepers, maintenance, you know, with a big property with nineacres, a lot of things, you know, they need maintenance and everything needs to be in
immaculate condition.
So we do have a big team.
(05:46):
And that's just one of the teams.
And then we have our beautiful administration teams.
They do all the admin, all the things that obviously you don't think about, but you need.
Then we've got our
Food and Bev.
So there's food and then there's Bev and then that's a huge team as well.
So is all the food and everything from the wedding is all in house?
(06:08):
All in house, yes.
We try and make it as easy for the couple.
I mean, there's a lot of moving parts for a couple when they're booking.
We want to make it carefree.
We want to make it relaxed for them and enjoyable.
We want it to be the best day of their lives.
I think coming to the Valley, you can trust us.
(06:31):
and we deliver, know, so then they don't need to worry.
Because I feel like that's so many couples are inquiring now.
They're like, this was fun three weeks ago when we got engaged and now we are overwhelmed.
Like there's a lot of them there.
It's like, and there'll be so many couples that kind of come to me and they're like, look,we just need a little break because we thought like we'd just start planning everything
and they just get this massive overwhelm and they kind of need to shut down and just likeregroup.
(06:54):
Absolutely.
So yeah, the more I guess.
their trust, like they're booking a beautiful venue, the trust is already there and themore you can kind of take away from them and be like, look, this is good, this is good,
this is good.
They're like, perfect.
Absolutely, They're like, please.
And I can understand that.
I'm actually planning my own wedding as well at this point in time.
And so when I meet these couples, I understand it firsthand what's involved.
(07:19):
But I also try and have a little bit of sympathy for them because they've got, you know.
they don't know what to expect and then they deep dive and they're overwhelmed, like yousaid.
So it's nice for me to give them feedback as in, know, don't take one vendor at a time,know, do it slowly, you know, get your Pinterest boards all up of what you want to create
(07:43):
for your day and how many guests you want.
There's so many things that the couple are really, you know, scared about.
And then once they get in deep, they're like, okay, we're already in there now.
Let's just go full steam ahead.
So, you know, it can work either way.
Do you want to talk a little bit about your role within the Valley of State?
(08:06):
Absolutely.
So I get to meet our lovely couples first up and talk about, you know, how they gotengaged, their relationship so far, what they're excited about and how they want their
special day to be.
And I think that's, it's a really
you know, beautiful job for me because it's the best day of their lives and I'm kind of,you know, back and forth with them at the beginning and they're all excited.
(08:36):
So I get that first excitement, which is great.
So I meet the couples, I take them on a journey through the estate.
So they get to see all the five builds.
So we'll start at the guest house, our beautiful three bedroom, three bathroom,Queenslander.
We go through each room.
They have the guest house available to them for the night of the wedding.
(09:01):
And then we head down into the styling lounge.
So we do have a curated space, curated design styling space where our couples can haveon-site meetings.
So Sarah, who you spoke with before with Florals & Co, we love Sarah.
She's meeting...
of our beautiful couples next Monday in there.
(09:22):
You know, we can book in different times where you can utilise the styling lounge room.
It just puts our couples at ease that they have that availability to come on site, have ameeting, see the space again, because it's always beautiful to come back here.
And then also meet their vendors and go through their thought process as well.
(09:42):
And then we head into the glass house.
Our glass house is our beautiful hidden gem, I think.
A lot of our couples, they love the chapel.
Our % of our couples love the chapel because it's just so beautiful and quaint and classicand clean.
(10:02):
But some of our couples pick the ceremony space of the glass house and that's probablyabout 25, 30 % of our couples go in there.
But it's just a beautiful green...
charismatic space that is really earthy.
And if you're not really into a chapel, then we've got another option, you know?
(10:26):
And even like you've got the blinds on the roof if the sun's coming through.
There's so many things that are just being thought about.
You know, from the in-house sound system to the air conditioning to the different lightingof the, you know, the blinds, you know, it all.
It all makes sense.
(10:47):
It's all those little things that you just don't think about.
But it's a ceremony space also.
But it's also a welcome drink arrival space, which I love.
I love when all the guests come on site and they have a little champagne on arrival in theglass house.
It's whimsical.
It's beautiful.
And the music's playing.
(11:08):
Sometimes we've got an acoustic singer in the garden.
It's just a really nice space.
It's just like, it just feels so festive being there as well.
It's like, I've arrived.
And it's, yeah, but it is a hidden gem because I feel like sometimes, you know, everyone'slike, no, let's go up to the chapel.
Let's go up to the garden.
So I feel like, yeah, we want to have more welcome drinks down in the glass house if theydon't choose it for a ceremony.
(11:33):
Because, you know, our couples have exclusive use of the estate as well.
So nobody else is on site other than them getting married.
Also, obviously their vendors are on site and anyone working their wedding, but it'stheirs for the day.
So if the space is there, utilise it.
Absolutely.
(11:54):
And then the gentleman's retreat, it's probably your fave, is it?
Every time I rock up for a wedding here, the boys look so good.
schmick.
They do.
Yes.
And every single time they walk in there on the tour that I take them on, they're blownaway by...
just how the space is and how masculine it feels in there, but also classic and stylisedand it's got the beautiful pool table.
(12:23):
We open up the barn doors.
We've got the music going.
You can have a whiskey tasting in there while you get ready.
I mean.
good.
Yeah.
I don't know if it was designed that way, but like the light that bounces in there, likeas soon as you open those barn doors, you're like, it's just an absolute dream.
Like to shoot you like, cool, we're just going get you this way.
And then the light is kind of like bouncy.
(12:43):
It's stunning.
is.
And I think it's also nice for the guys to have a space.
I think that was really important for Cherie.
She wanted the gentleman to feel like they had what a woman has on her wedding day.
They want a space for the guys to hang out, know, talk about, you know, how nervous theyare or, you know, get ready with the boys and...
(13:07):
you know, play some music, maybe get a barber shave.
know, we have Joey the barber, he comes and does, you know, shaves and haircuts the day ofthe wedding, which is fun in his caravan as well.
So there's lots of cool things to do down there.
It's not always just about the bride.
Yeah, but so many times, you know, on a wedding day, the bride will have this beautiful,you know, magnificent room she's getting ready in.
(13:30):
And the guys like think like, yeah, cool hotel room, it'll be great.
But then it's just like all their crap's in the back and you know, it's like, it's just amess.
And so it is so nice where you're almost like as a photographer kind of point of viewyou're just as excited about going to the groom prep as what you are for the bride prep.
Yeah, I mean it is yeah, it's a cool space.
Very cool.
(13:50):
And yeah, so the boys hang out in there and they have a great time in there doing whatthey do and getting ready and then we move all the way up to the manna and the gardens
outside.
The garden ceremonies are always very...
Dramatic and I love the bride coming through the manor doors.
(14:12):
Like the entrance for the bride is probably my favourite.
Just with the chandeliers and the backdrop of the manor, it's just so picturesque.
And you know, walking down the aisle, they always get goosebumps.
Even when I'm here on wedding day, I'm like, my gosh, my gosh, here she comes, you know.
So yeah, that's probably another one of my favourite spots.
(14:34):
the entrance for the bride in the garden ceremony.
And then we've got the beautiful little bridge there, lots of photo opportunities, as youknow, which makes it an amazing space so you don't have to go off site for photos.
Gone are the days when you have to go off site.
know, like everything is here.
Like it's just, it's so nice.
Like you can just say, cool, we're to start up here.
We're going to walk down here and we're going to go back over to the trees over here.
(14:56):
It's just like everything.
It's just, yeah, it's stunning.
And I think it's really nice for the guest experience as well.
So.
you your guests, come on site and then they leave at the end of the wedding.
You know, there's no waiting in the middle of reception, ceremony to reception.
It's just a beautiful flow.
(15:16):
And then we've got our chapel.
So we kind of do the tour in a really nice, you know, way.
We get to go to each space.
We talk about, you know, what happens in each space.
And the chapel is, yeah, I think it's...
It's it's clean, it's elegant.
It's everything that you would want in a chapel wedding.
(15:40):
And it's also a great wet weather option if it does end up raining.
Yeah.
Well, I between that and the glass house as well.
Absolutely.
So, you know, but sometimes we don't have that much time to move all guests.
So essentially we've got that space that's quite close to the garden where, you know, ifit's an hour before...
(16:00):
guests are arriving, okay, quick, we're gonna have to move into the chapel, we can dothat.
We're obviously gonna do what's best for the wedding and for the couple.
So it's great options.
So we do have our three ceremony space options.
We've got either facing down to the manor in the garden or facing up to the manor.
(16:20):
I'm sure you've seen the recent beautiful viral photos that Bob Creative.
together, absolutely stunning of Jess and Mackenzie.
Yeah, I think now since then we've had so much more interest in facing up to the mana,which is, you know, really beautiful.
(16:40):
How is it?
It just takes one photo and everyone's like, I know, I know, I But yeah, and that's what'sgreat about the valley.
You can, it looks like you're not in the middle of the valley as well.
You know, it does have that European
intention with the olive trees, the lemon trees, the lime trees, all the cypress treesdown the bridal driveway, know, hands off to the groundskeepers.
(17:11):
They're just...
Definitely.
And like architect, like designers and everything like that.
Yeah, it's just like there's so much forethought has gone into everything.
Absolutely.
And it's almost like, yeah, this looks beautiful, but also even like photo opportunitieseverywhere as well.
Every angle.
And so well thought out.
How many people can fit into the chapel on a wedding day?
So we can fit up to 140 in the chapel.
(17:33):
So it is our biggest space where everyone can be seated, which I think is another plus.
Obviously in the gardens you can have chairs forever, but sometimes you want that standingin the back.
But yeah, so I think with
(17:53):
the ceremony spaces, our biggest capacity is the chapel, then garden, and then glasshouse.
Perfect.
And then, how, like, do you find the ratio, like, how many people are actually coming fromthe Gold Coast versus coming from interstate, coming internationally?
And how do you manage that?
(18:16):
To be honest, it's a bit of all.
Gold Coast, obviously, favourite.
Lots from Brisbane, like I say, it's like a little getaway, which is great for couples.
But we've had a lot of interstate recently, absolutely.
International, a few international as well, especially coming through now with WeddedWeek.
(18:40):
I think it's definitely getting out there.
did a Safina and Brody's wedding, a couple of...
weeks ago and it was absolutely stunning there from the UK but they're originally fromQueensland.
So, you know, we've had them and they've come back and now they're back in the UK.
So it's really beautiful to see that, you know, we are an established beautiful venue thatinternational people are coming to.
(19:06):
So it's definitely filtering in a lot more in the last couple of months.
Absolutely.
And you got like a few more like tours on today and everything like that.
How do you go?
Are people like say from Sydney, are they flying up and coming to meet you and tour tourof the grounds?
Absolutely, yes, we do find that.
And it's nice little getaway for them to, let's go check out this wedding venue.
(19:26):
know, it'd be a nice excuse to come up to the Gold Coast.
So yeah, we do.
We've had a few from Melbourne last week.
The thing also with the tours, it's hard sometimes to get availability for tours becausecouples are coming up on a weekend.
but we do have weddings booked on weekends.
So, you know, that's another challenge in itself, but we do find that a lot of people flyin or do the long drive from Sunshine Coast or we've had some people from Northern
(19:56):
Territory come down, people from Perth come over.
But yes, we had a wedding from Tasmania last weekend, which was really fun.
stunning.
That's so cool.
And like it's so close, every time you get the coach drop up, they might all be staying inBroad Beach or something like that.
But it is so nice that like all the guests can kind of stay close enough that it's not abig bus ride or anything.
(20:17):
Yes, we're so close.
I think that's another thing that people don't realize.
We're in the valley, but we are nine minutes to Balinga.
So the beach.
So we're so close to everything, which is really great for the guests.
But also, know, great for us as well.
You know, we're like that little, you know, we're in that knock, but we're so close toeverything else.
(20:40):
But it feels like you're out in the middle of.
It really does.
Especially like when you drive through the gates and it's like, you know, you've got thesebeautiful walls around you and it is such a, just a contained space where you can arrive
in the morning and just feel you like you are completely away from everything else.
And it's, it's, it's, feel that's cool where people usually get to like a wedding.
But they're still kind of like separated.
(21:01):
They're kind of like checking out other things.
Whereas like once they're here, everyone's actually here and present.
Absolutely.
Which it feels really nice.
And even going back to how like you've got all these spaces around, the big trend is likepeople don't want to go away for an hour for a location shoot.
So it's like you can kind of take them for 10 minutes and like all your friends and familyare just there.
So you can go have a drink, hang out with them.
And then in another hour, we'll grab you for another 10 minutes over here.
(21:22):
And it's like everyone's just like close.
Yeah, it is.
It is.
and beautiful drinks.
A barrel of spritz is flowing and all those fun things.
But yeah, it's really easy.
That's, think, the biggest takeaway.
We want to make it easy.
We want to make it luxe.
(21:42):
We want to make it the best day of your life, you know?
And I think we have created that here.
Can we talk about the food a little bit?
Because everyone I speak to, they're like, the food.
my gosh, absolutely.
We can talk about the food.
I love the food.
And you're talking to an Italian.
So I'm Italian and my partner's a chef.
(22:03):
So, you know, the food is high standard.
You know, we do have in our inclusions, we have three packages that are included in thefood entity.
OK, so you can either have an alternate drop, which is, you know, a bit more of yourformal, you know,
Every second meal is what you've chosen.
(22:27):
And then entree, main, and then desserts.
But we also do the canapes out in the garden.
So your guests are eating and drinking, which is also fun.
And the food choices are amazing.
I mean, we've got fresh oysters.
We've got the Argentinian grill.
We've got all these amazing...
(22:48):
things that you can have to make your day a little bit more interactive.
Like for example, we had the beast on the spit on Friday, which was fun.
And then we had fresh oysters, you know, someone shucking the fresh oysters out in theCanopy area.
But all the food is Mediterranean.
(23:09):
We do have, you know, the protein for the mains and then sides for the guests to share.
But yeah, what else do you want to know about the food?
Which is like even like the interactive part of it.
Like I feel like that is a big part of these days as well.
Like the guests want like an interactive, they want to kind of be entertained during thatcanapé hour as well.
So having those little touches.
(23:30):
little touches are amazing.
So chef outside, you know, cooking the barbecue or cooking the paella.
We've also got the pizza ovens.
So you can have, you know, pizza chef, you know, if you're Italian themed, you know,wedding, you can have a pizza chef in the garden making.
you know, fresh pizzas for your guests.
There's lots of little things that can make the day so fun, interactive, and also yourguests well fed.
(23:56):
Yeah.
Exactly.
And so it is mostly like all European inspired.
I feel like a lot of the food and the drinks when I come here, like especially the Aperolspritz and everything.
I'm like back in Italy.
Back in Italy, here we are in the Valley.
Yeah, absolutely.
So we do have that European theme.
And was like a really conscious choice like from Sheree early on or is it just kind ofevolved into that?
(24:18):
I think it's always been that way with also her other business, Balboa Italian.
She, you know, that Mediterranean Italian European style food.
And, you know, that I think it's it suits the venue well as well.
(24:39):
You know, it
we want it to be all cohesive.
So obviously the olive trees and that, you know, that we've got that Tuscan inspiredoutside.
So it makes sense that that would then follow on with the food.
I've been to a few long lunches and stuff here as well.
It's a good time.
It is fun.
Our events are always great too.
We've got throughout December this year, we've got La Tro, which is the other in Italian.
(25:06):
So it's, you know, a take on
the Laltro pop-up that we had during June and July this year.
We're doing it, but we're doing it over the Christmas period.
So, you know, we've got a lot of people coming through with Christmas dinner, you know,with their family or their extended family or, you know, work Christmas get togethers,
(25:28):
which is really nice.
So we're having that all through December into January.
Do you find many people that come to those events are then the ones like maybe they gotfamily or friends that end up getting married here as well?
Yeah, it's always like a little word of mouth and it always runs, know, you should gohere.
Yeah, it is definitely a lot of couples that come here for the La Trobe, then we'll ask tocome for a tour and then they'll book, you know?
(25:53):
So yeah, it's really nice.
Yeah, when I've come, there's been a lot of us while looking people here.
They definitely fit in here, you know?
Absolutely, absolutely.
But we haven't talked about the sanctuary where the bride gets ready, where all the magichappens and our beautiful hair and makeup.
They come on site and they're up there around 7.45 and then the bride and the bridesmaidsall come at 8 ready to go in a beautiful space, just relaxing, maybe a little coffee first
(26:25):
and then bubbles later on and they just have a beautiful time up in the sanctuary gettingready.
that's when you would come and take photos of the get ready.
How many bridesmaids, how many people in total can kind of be getting hair and makeup doneat the same time up there?
Yeah, I mean, we've got six chairs set up.
(26:46):
But, you know, a lot of the time they'll have two hair and makeup, two hair, two makeup,and they'll be alternating with the girls.
a lot of the time some of the girls want to sit there and have a coffee while the othersget ready.
And, you know, it's the ultimate get ready space for the ladies.
They always have so much fun up there.
And it's for me, it's, while I was getting ready in my teens and twenties, it was the besttime about going out.
(27:12):
It was getting ready with your girlfriends, you know, with your sisters, you know, withyour mom.
And I think that's the space is perfect for it.
It's just a beautiful, elegant, clean space.
And it's one of those things again, I'll go back to photography point for you, but likeyou get here and you're like, you know, every single spot you take photos at.
are going to be like portfolio pieces.
(27:34):
Like seriously, I'm like, cool, this is going to be a portfolio wedding because I've gotthese beautiful spaces that have been so thought out.
The lights amazing.
And you just, yeah, you just know it's going to look good.
It does like half the job for you just being the space that it is.
And then, even like the grand entrance as well, like as they're walking down thestaircase.
I do like, that's another favourite part of the wedding.
(27:55):
You know, your guests are all seated.
They're ready to welcome you in.
And then you do the big grand entrance from
the sanctuary doors.
it's yeah, really beautiful.
And yeah, when people book in for weddings, as far as like, like, I know you have some bignames, Stylist and Florist and everything that come here.
Like what would be included when people kind of book in and they're going to have awedding here, as far as like styling, like, you know, chairs and tables and all that kind
(28:20):
of thing.
Yeah.
So we try and include as much as we can.
Like I said, couples, it's hard.
It's when you're in the beginning, you're like, I don't know what I want, you know, so wetry.
and take the guesswork out.
We have a package that's included.
So if you were to not do any additional styling, it would still look beautiful, elegantand classic.
(28:42):
So we've actually set it up behind us.
So, you know, the silverware, the glassware, the white linen napkins, the table numbers,the menus, the gold oak labs.
You would need a florist obviously to put those single stems in there.
Yeah, it's pretty much all set up.
(29:03):
You can absolutely do, you know, tablecloths and table runners and candles.
You can add to your heart's content.
But we do try and include a standard classic set up and then, you know, can elevate asmuch as you want.
Exactly.
Exactly.
You can complicate it for yourself after that point.
(29:23):
We've done that part.
Yeah, exactly.
So, I mean, if you've got that really
classic style of, you know, not too much embellishment.
You can absolutely get away with, you know, no extra styling.
However, we've had some beautiful stylists.
So it really just depends on what you want for your day.
(29:44):
And I feel like it comes back to like you create a space like this, vendors who come here,this is a portfolio piece for them.
So they're going to go above and beyond.
And like a lot of the people I speak to, we love it when they do.
But even like a lot of stylists and florists I speak to.
they are going above and beyond of what the client actually paid for because it's worth itfor them as well.
(30:05):
Like this is such a beautiful space.
This is such a good space for me to represent my work that they will go above and beyondto kind of match the space.
Yes, absolutely.
I do find that.
I do.
I mean, it is such a beautiful blank canvas and you can either go minimal.
(30:27):
you can go to your heart's content, but I do find that too, which is really nice for thecouples.
think it's, Obviously today we went and grabbed some beautiful florals and wanted to setthem up to make the room pop, you know?
So, I mean, flowers just really bring a room to life, in my opinion.
(30:48):
So, but yeah, it is.
Talking about 140 people for the chapel, is that kind of limit in total for
that you could have here?
So 140 in total in the chapel seated.
However, in the reception, our maximum is 120 seated.
(31:08):
So, you know, we do have 150 cocktail style.
So if you wanted to do a few tables, high tables, you know, different types of littleactivations of couches and high bars, you could do a cocktail style in here with 140.
however seated, 120.
Send the 20 kids home.
(31:30):
They don't need to be here for reception.
Yes, I mean, you know, it is correct.
I think it's fun for the kids to be there for the garden ceremony and all this chapelceremony and in the post ceremony mingling.
I think it's really fun.
But I do find when the little ones get into the reception space, they're kind of, youknow, they want to go home or they, you know, so it's really.
(31:54):
comparative to what the couple want.
And then like, I noticed you guys don't, like you don't need to do any of like the trailsor anything like that.
Like you guys are good.
Do you just find that personal touch of people actually coming through?
Is that just better for you as a venue?
Yeah, so when people inquire, I will, they get a package sent to them automated, but thenI send them an email personally myself.
(32:19):
So.
Thank you for all the inquiries lately.
It's been really busy.
It's been a busy couple of months.
Yes.
But you know, you know, contact the couple and then if I don't get a repile, give them acall, reach out.
We want to make it really personable.
And you know, most of the couples that I do take through and end up, you know, havingtheir wedding here at the Valley Estate, I'm usually quite good friends with most of them
(32:47):
because we've gone on that journey.
and got to know them on a personal level, which I think is something that's, you know,it's not just a button.
You know, you're meeting me, you're talking with me, we're going through your desires foryour wedding day.
You know, it does take that level up to lux when you're meeting a couple and you're goingthrough everything and from the beginning to the end.
(33:15):
Yeah.
And how many weddings would you...
like to or hope to kind of do a year, like what's a comfortable number that the Valley'sSo we're happy with three a week.
We're also, you know, opening up to maybe having ceremony onlys other than three, youknow, full weddings a week.
(33:38):
But due to our Gold Coast City Council rules and regulations, that's where we're at threea week.
We find that that works well for us.
because we want to be, you know, quite in depth with each wedding.
We don't want it to be like Groundhog Day.
We want it to be each couple individualised wedding.
(34:03):
And I think that's what is really important in our industry.
We want to have that personable, you're not just another wedding to us, you know?
You want each one to be special.
We don't want to be doing seven.
Yes, exactly.
Roll around, roll around, roll around.
Like once it becomes work, like once it's just like, it's just work, it loses, you you'renot going to go bum beyond for those people because it's just work.
(34:30):
Day in, day out.
Yeah.
We want it to be customized.
We want it to be lux.
We want it to be everything that they want it to be, you know.
So I think three is great.
usually Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Friday, Saturday, Sunday peak days.
(34:51):
But you know, we're seeing a lot more midweek weddings recently, which is, know, alsocool.
It's quite fun.
Yeah.
Especially about 2025, 2026.
There's yeah, a lot of midweek weddings coming through.
Because we are seeing that, you know, obviously we do get those bigger weddings, but wealso are getting those little niche, niche weddings, you know, 30, 40 packs with 20 packs.
(35:14):
love those two, really intimate, really, really nice.
All right.
And so I guess, is there anything else that you could kind of, any hints or tips to likecouples that just started to plan their day?
Like I know, like we already talked about not being overwhelmed.
Yes.
That we could think about to kind of give them some guidance.
(35:34):
I think the biggest takeaway is to enjoy it.
I think, you know, a part of your wedding day is the journey.
towards the wedding day.
Try not to get overwhelmed.
Try to just enjoy every moment with your partner in the lead up to the day.
And make it you.
(35:56):
Don't feel the need or the pressures to have 150 packs or 20 packs.
Have what you would like for your day and make it yours.
Like I said, I'm planning my wedding.
For me, the big things were food, fun, music.
(36:17):
Those were the big things for me.
And, you know, other couples, it'll be different.
It'll be, you know, florals, dress, something else.
You know, so each couple needs to figure out what's important for them on their day.
And then it'll all flow.
It'll all flow.
(36:37):
Little bite-sized pieces.
Absolutely.
little bits.
Dig away.
But yes, don't get overwhelmed.
Enjoy it.
It's a fun time.
You're marrying the love of your life.
Make it about that.
Yeah, perfect.
Awesome.
All right.
And couples looking to book in to the Valley of State or book a tour, how can they get incontact?
Absolutely.
Give me a call.
Or you can send through an inquiry on our website.
(36:59):
It's really easy.
But if you do want that personable touch, absolutely give me a call here at the Valley ofState.
I'm here all the time.
So you could just give me a call and I can send through our packages.
We can talk about dates and yeah.
Perfect.
We'll have links in the bio and everything like that for all your socials and everything,but socials off the top of your head.
(37:21):
The Valley Estate.
Beautiful.
That's it.
At the Valley Estate.
Awesome.
But thank you so much for coming on and also for hosting us in this beautiful space.
Really appreciate it.
Thanks.
You too.
Bye.
Thanks for tuning into the Wedco podcast.
We're dropping a fresh episode every week featuring industry professionals dishing out thewedding wisdom you need to turn those dreams into reality.
(37:45):
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You have those notifications turned on so we can help plan your wedding day.
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Thanks for listening.
Welcome to the Wedco podcast where wedding wisdom meets street smarts.
We're dishing out all the tips, tricks and wedding goss to take your wedding to the nextlevel.
Time to ditch the formalities and get this party started.
Hello and welcome to the WEDCO podcast.
I'm Toga and today I have Tiff who's head of sales at the Valley Estate.
(00:25):
Thank you so much and thank you so much for hosting us for these episodes.
Have fun.
beautiful.
Ever since I've been on the Gold Coast for 13 years now and when I first kind of saw theplans of the Valley Estate getting built and everything like that, it just like set a
whole new crazy standard for the Gold Coast.
Which we love because I mean the Gold Coast is that stay patient, get away.
(00:50):
for you know, Brisbane people, come down here, they go to the beach, know, having a littlegetaway wedding is really nice for all the couples that come through here.
And we find it a lot, a lot of, you know, interstate, a lot of Sydney, Melbourne, Tassie,they all come up to, you know, the Gold Coast for a weekend or two.
(01:10):
So I think it's, you know, it's been really pivotal for the wedding industry.
Yeah, definitely.
Because I feel like so many people from the Gold Coast would go, like, we're to go toByron, we're going to go to the Sunny Coast.
They'd kind of leave the Gold Coast to go get married.
Yeah.
Whereas like that's been a big shift for like so many of the weddings I book now on theGold Coast are locals to the Gold Coast as well.
Which is beautiful.
Yeah.
Do you find like, actually, can we start maybe with a little bit of a backstory of theactual family estate?
(01:33):
Absolutely.
Let's start there.
So, I mean, our owner, Sheree Uzarn and proprietor, she used to ride past this propertyactually when it was a cow paddock.
and on her horse when she was a young girl and she had this dream, know, envisioned awedding venue here.
(01:55):
So she has brought that to life.
It's been a huge process for her from many years ago and now it's, you know, come intofruition.
The first wedding was the 21st of May in 2021.
Yeah, so, and now, you know, we've kind of made our mark and it's all really beautiful andamazing and a really great place to be.
(02:22):
Yeah.
As far as like the design process and everything like that, was that kind of like Shriahad this dream and she kind of envisaged where we are now, or was that a lot of kind of
like an architect involved to kind of create the space?
Well, she had so much, you know, I guess inspiration from
you know, her life story.
She was, you know, these bricks and the manas, she's handpicked every single colour ofbrick.
(02:47):
She's built walls, you know, six different walls and said, okay, let's try these colours,let's try these colours.
So she was, you know, the creator.
Obviously she did have her architects and builders and it was a massive collaboration, butyou know, the brains behind it was all her.
When I first saw the bricks and was like, because I do a lot of weddings down in Melbourneand I kind of saw this and I was like, far out like this.
(03:13):
It just feels so much more like luxury.
It felt like I was in Melbourne, but on the Gold Coast.
Yeah.
It's stunning.
Like they were had, you know, there was nothing like this anywhere near here.
Yeah.
You know, so yeah, just like definitely set a new standard.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
And every single detail that has been put in the space in each of the builds, you know,the five different builds that are scattered along the property.
(03:36):
They're all for a unique experience for the couple and for the wedding guests.
So did Sheree have like experience in the wedding field, the wedding industry prior or didanyone like She's done it all.
So she's interior designer.
She's done hospitality, restaurants, startups for businesses.
(03:58):
She's done, she's got her hand in, you know, every field.
And I think that's what makes her so...
I guess inspirational for a lot of people in the industry because she's done it all.
She's done the back of house, she's done the front of house, she's done the admin, she'sdone the creation, she's done so many different things.
(04:20):
And she's brought it into this beautiful space that, yeah, there's nothing like it on theGold Coast.
And we're all very lucky.
And I feel like there's so many vendors that like, you you start doing weddings, you'relike, I want to get a wedding venue, you know, that's like a whole lot of a different
thing than actually going and doing it yourself.
(04:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's a lot of work.
A lot of work goes into a wedding.
You know, you're there on wedding days.
You know what it's like.
A lot of the back behind scene things that people don't even think about, you know.
But yeah, it's all very...
rewarding in the end.
(05:03):
And then even staff numbers, like so every time I hear it feels like there's 50 staff onboard.
Absolutely.
So we've got our beautiful grounds.
mean, the grass, the trees, the flowers, the veggie patch, the pond, the lilies in thepond.
There's so many beautiful things in the outside garden area.
(05:25):
We need a big team.
So we do have five or six.
horticulturalists, groundskeepers, maintenance, you know, with a big property with nineacres, a lot of things, you know, they need maintenance and everything needs to be in
immaculate condition.
So we do have a big team.
(05:46):
And that's just one of the teams.
And then we have our beautiful administration teams.
They do all the admin, all the things that obviously you don't think about, but you need.
Then we've got our
Food and Bev.
So there's food and then there's Bev and then that's a huge team as well.
So is all the food and everything from the wedding is all in house?
(06:08):
All in house, yes.
We try and make it as easy for the couple.
I mean, there's a lot of moving parts for a couple when they're booking.
We want to make it carefree.
We want to make it relaxed for them and enjoyable.
We want it to be the best day of their lives.
I think coming to the Valley, you can trust us.
(06:31):
and we deliver, know, so then they don't need to worry.
Because I feel like that's so many couples are inquiring now.
They're like, this was fun three weeks ago when we got engaged and now we are overwhelmed.
Like there's a lot of them there.
It's like, and there'll be so many couples that kind of come to me and they're like, look,we just need a little break because we thought like we'd just start planning everything
and they just get this massive overwhelm and they kind of need to shut down and just likeregroup.
(06:54):
Absolutely.
So yeah, the more I guess.
their trust, like they're booking a beautiful venue, the trust is already there and themore you can kind of take away from them and be like, look, this is good, this is good,
this is good.
They're like, perfect.
Absolutely, They're like, please.
And I can understand that.
I'm actually planning my own wedding as well at this point in time.
And so when I meet these couples, I understand it firsthand what's involved.
(07:19):
But I also try and have a little bit of sympathy for them because they've got, you know.
they don't know what to expect and then they deep dive and they're overwhelmed, like yousaid.
So it's nice for me to give them feedback as in, know, don't take one vendor at a time,know, do it slowly, you know, get your Pinterest boards all up of what you want to create
(07:43):
for your day and how many guests you want.
There's so many things that the couple are really, you know, scared about.
And then once they get in deep, they're like, okay, we're already in there now.
Let's just go full steam ahead.
So, you know, it can work either way.
Do you want to talk a little bit about your role within the Valley of State?
(08:06):
Absolutely.
So I get to meet our lovely couples first up and talk about, you know, how they gotengaged, their relationship so far, what they're excited about and how they want their
special day to be.
And I think that's, it's a really
you know, beautiful job for me because it's the best day of their lives and I'm kind of,you know, back and forth with them at the beginning and they're all excited.
(08:36):
So I get that first excitement, which is great.
So I meet the couples, I take them on a journey through the estate.
So they get to see all the five builds.
So we'll start at the guest house, our beautiful three bedroom, three bathroom,Queenslander.
We go through each room.
They have the guest house available to them for the night of the wedding.
(09:01):
And then we head down into the styling lounge.
So we do have a curated space, curated design styling space where our couples can haveon-site meetings.
So Sarah, who you spoke with before with Florals & Co, we love Sarah.
She's meeting...
of our beautiful couples next Monday in there.
(09:22):
You know, we can book in different times where you can utilise the styling lounge room.
It just puts our couples at ease that they have that availability to come on site, have ameeting, see the space again, because it's always beautiful to come back here.
And then also meet their vendors and go through their thought process as well.
(09:42):
And then we head into the glass house.
Our glass house is our beautiful hidden gem, I think.
A lot of our couples, they love the chapel.
Our % of our couples love the chapel because it's just so beautiful and quaint and classicand clean.
(10:02):
But some of our couples pick the ceremony space of the glass house and that's probablyabout 25, 30 % of our couples go in there.
But it's just a beautiful green...
charismatic space that is really earthy.
And if you're not really into a chapel, then we've got another option, you know?
(10:26):
And even like you've got the blinds on the roof if the sun's coming through.
There's so many things that are just being thought about.
You know, from the in-house sound system to the air conditioning to the different lightingof the, you know, the blinds, you know, it all.
It all makes sense.
(10:47):
It's all those little things that you just don't think about.
But it's a ceremony space also.
But it's also a welcome drink arrival space, which I love.
I love when all the guests come on site and they have a little champagne on arrival in theglass house.
It's whimsical.
It's beautiful.
And the music's playing.
(11:08):
Sometimes we've got an acoustic singer in the garden.
It's just a really nice space.
It's just like, it just feels so festive being there as well.
It's like, I've arrived.
And it's, yeah, but it is a hidden gem because I feel like sometimes, you know, everyone'slike, no, let's go up to the chapel.
Let's go up to the garden.
So I feel like, yeah, we want to have more welcome drinks down in the glass house if theydon't choose it for a ceremony.
(11:33):
Because, you know, our couples have exclusive use of the estate as well.
So nobody else is on site other than them getting married.
Also, obviously their vendors are on site and anyone working their wedding, but it'stheirs for the day.
So if the space is there, utilise it.
Absolutely.
(11:54):
And then the gentleman's retreat, it's probably your fave, is it?
Every time I rock up for a wedding here, the boys look so good.
schmick.
They do.
Yes.
And every single time they walk in there on the tour that I take them on, they're blownaway by...
just how the space is and how masculine it feels in there, but also classic and stylisedand it's got the beautiful pool table.
(12:23):
We open up the barn doors.
We've got the music going.
You can have a whiskey tasting in there while you get ready.
I mean.
good.
Yeah.
I don't know if it was designed that way, but like the light that bounces in there, likeas soon as you open those barn doors, you're like, it's just an absolute dream.
Like to shoot you like, cool, we're just going get you this way.
And then the light is kind of like bouncy.
(12:43):
It's stunning.
is.
And I think it's also nice for the guys to have a space.
I think that was really important for Cherie.
She wanted the gentleman to feel like they had what a woman has on her wedding day.
They want a space for the guys to hang out, know, talk about, you know, how nervous theyare or, you know, get ready with the boys and...
(13:07):
you know, play some music, maybe get a barber shave.
know, we have Joey the barber, he comes and does, you know, shaves and haircuts the day ofthe wedding, which is fun in his caravan as well.
So there's lots of cool things to do down there.
It's not always just about the bride.
Yeah, but so many times, you know, on a wedding day, the bride will have this beautiful,you know, magnificent room she's getting ready in.
(13:30):
And the guys like think like, yeah, cool hotel room, it'll be great.
But then it's just like all their crap's in the back and you know, it's like, it's just amess.
And so it is so nice where you're almost like as a photographer kind of point of viewyou're just as excited about going to the groom prep as what you are for the bride prep.
Yeah, I mean it is yeah, it's a cool space.
Very cool.
(13:50):
And yeah, so the boys hang out in there and they have a great time in there doing whatthey do and getting ready and then we move all the way up to the manna and the gardens
outside.
The garden ceremonies are always very...
Dramatic and I love the bride coming through the manor doors.
(14:12):
Like the entrance for the bride is probably my favourite.
Just with the chandeliers and the backdrop of the manor, it's just so picturesque.
And you know, walking down the aisle, they always get goosebumps.
Even when I'm here on wedding day, I'm like, my gosh, my gosh, here she comes, you know.
So yeah, that's probably another one of my favourite spots.
(14:34):
the entrance for the bride in the garden ceremony.
And then we've got the beautiful little bridge there, lots of photo opportunities, as youknow, which makes it an amazing space so you don't have to go off site for photos.
Gone are the days when you have to go off site.
know, like everything is here.
Like it's just, it's so nice.
Like you can just say, cool, we're to start up here.
We're going to walk down here and we're going to go back over to the trees over here.
(14:56):
It's just like everything.
It's just, yeah, it's stunning.
And I think it's really nice for the guest experience as well.
So.
you your guests, come on site and then they leave at the end of the wedding.
You know, there's no waiting in the middle of reception, ceremony to reception.
It's just a beautiful flow.
(15:16):
And then we've got our chapel.
So we kind of do the tour in a really nice, you know, way.
We get to go to each space.
We talk about, you know, what happens in each space.
And the chapel is, yeah, I think it's...
It's it's clean, it's elegant.
It's everything that you would want in a chapel wedding.
(15:40):
And it's also a great wet weather option if it does end up raining.
Yeah.
Well, I between that and the glass house as well.
Absolutely.
So, you know, but sometimes we don't have that much time to move all guests.
So essentially we've got that space that's quite close to the garden where, you know, ifit's an hour before...
(16:00):
guests are arriving, okay, quick, we're gonna have to move into the chapel, we can dothat.
We're obviously gonna do what's best for the wedding and for the couple.
So it's great options.
So we do have our three ceremony space options.
We've got either facing down to the manor in the garden or facing up to the manor.
(16:20):
I'm sure you've seen the recent beautiful viral photos that Bob Creative.
together, absolutely stunning of Jess and Mackenzie.
Yeah, I think now since then we've had so much more interest in facing up to the mana,which is, you know, really beautiful.
(16:40):
How is it?
It just takes one photo and everyone's like, I know, I know, I But yeah, and that's what'sgreat about the valley.
You can, it looks like you're not in the middle of the valley as well.
You know, it does have that European
intention with the olive trees, the lemon trees, the lime trees, all the cypress treesdown the bridal driveway, know, hands off to the groundskeepers.
(17:11):
They're just...
Definitely.
And like architect, like designers and everything like that.
Yeah, it's just like there's so much forethought has gone into everything.
Absolutely.
And it's almost like, yeah, this looks beautiful, but also even like photo opportunitieseverywhere as well.
Every angle.
And so well thought out.
How many people can fit into the chapel on a wedding day?
So we can fit up to 140 in the chapel.
(17:33):
So it is our biggest space where everyone can be seated, which I think is another plus.
Obviously in the gardens you can have chairs forever, but sometimes you want that standingin the back.
But yeah, so I think with
(17:53):
the ceremony spaces, our biggest capacity is the chapel, then garden, and then glasshouse.
Perfect.
And then, how, like, do you find the ratio, like, how many people are actually coming fromthe Gold Coast versus coming from interstate, coming internationally?
And how do you manage that?
(18:16):
To be honest, it's a bit of all.
Gold Coast, obviously, favourite.
Lots from Brisbane, like I say, it's like a little getaway, which is great for couples.
But we've had a lot of interstate recently, absolutely.
International, a few international as well, especially coming through now with WeddedWeek.
(18:40):
I think it's definitely getting out there.
did a Safina and Brody's wedding, a couple of...
weeks ago and it was absolutely stunning there from the UK but they're originally fromQueensland.
So, you know, we've had them and they've come back and now they're back in the UK.
So it's really beautiful to see that, you know, we are an established beautiful venue thatinternational people are coming to.
(19:06):
So it's definitely filtering in a lot more in the last couple of months.
Absolutely.
And you got like a few more like tours on today and everything like that.
How do you go?
Are people like say from Sydney, are they flying up and coming to meet you and tour tourof the grounds?
Absolutely, yes, we do find that.
And it's nice little getaway for them to, let's go check out this wedding venue.
(19:26):
know, it'd be a nice excuse to come up to the Gold Coast.
So yeah, we do.
We've had a few from Melbourne last week.
The thing also with the tours, it's hard sometimes to get availability for tours becausecouples are coming up on a weekend.
but we do have weddings booked on weekends.
So, you know, that's another challenge in itself, but we do find that a lot of people flyin or do the long drive from Sunshine Coast or we've had some people from Northern
(19:56):
Territory come down, people from Perth come over.
But yes, we had a wedding from Tasmania last weekend, which was really fun.
stunning.
That's so cool.
And like it's so close, every time you get the coach drop up, they might all be staying inBroad Beach or something like that.
But it is so nice that like all the guests can kind of stay close enough that it's not abig bus ride or anything.
(20:17):
Yes, we're so close.
I think that's another thing that people don't realize.
We're in the valley, but we are nine minutes to Balinga.
So the beach.
So we're so close to everything, which is really great for the guests.
But also, know, great for us as well.
You know, we're like that little, you know, we're in that knock, but we're so close toeverything else.
(20:40):
But it feels like you're out in the middle of.
It really does.
Especially like when you drive through the gates and it's like, you know, you've got thesebeautiful walls around you and it is such a, just a contained space where you can arrive
in the morning and just feel you like you are completely away from everything else.
And it's, it's, it's, feel that's cool where people usually get to like a wedding.
But they're still kind of like separated.
(21:01):
They're kind of like checking out other things.
Whereas like once they're here, everyone's actually here and present.
Absolutely.
Which it feels really nice.
And even going back to how like you've got all these spaces around, the big trend is likepeople don't want to go away for an hour for a location shoot.
So it's like you can kind of take them for 10 minutes and like all your friends and familyare just there.
So you can go have a drink, hang out with them.
And then in another hour, we'll grab you for another 10 minutes over here.
(21:22):
And it's like everyone's just like close.
Yeah, it is.
It is.
and beautiful drinks.
A barrel of spritz is flowing and all those fun things.
But yeah, it's really easy.
That's, think, the biggest takeaway.
We want to make it easy.
We want to make it luxe.
(21:42):
We want to make it the best day of your life, you know?
And I think we have created that here.
Can we talk about the food a little bit?
Because everyone I speak to, they're like, the food.
my gosh, absolutely.
We can talk about the food.
I love the food.
And you're talking to an Italian.
So I'm Italian and my partner's a chef.
(22:03):
So, you know, the food is high standard.
You know, we do have in our inclusions, we have three packages that are included in thefood entity.
OK, so you can either have an alternate drop, which is, you know, a bit more of yourformal, you know,
Every second meal is what you've chosen.
(22:27):
And then entree, main, and then desserts.
But we also do the canapes out in the garden.
So your guests are eating and drinking, which is also fun.
And the food choices are amazing.
I mean, we've got fresh oysters.
We've got the Argentinian grill.
We've got all these amazing...
(22:48):
things that you can have to make your day a little bit more interactive.
Like for example, we had the beast on the spit on Friday, which was fun.
And then we had fresh oysters, you know, someone shucking the fresh oysters out in theCanopy area.
But all the food is Mediterranean.
(23:09):
We do have, you know, the protein for the mains and then sides for the guests to share.
But yeah, what else do you want to know about the food?
Which is like even like the interactive part of it.
Like I feel like that is a big part of these days as well.
Like the guests want like an interactive, they want to kind of be entertained during thatcanapé hour as well.
So having those little touches.
(23:30):
little touches are amazing.
So chef outside, you know, cooking the barbecue or cooking the paella.
We've also got the pizza ovens.
So you can have, you know, pizza chef, you know, if you're Italian themed, you know,wedding, you can have a pizza chef in the garden making.
you know, fresh pizzas for your guests.
There's lots of little things that can make the day so fun, interactive, and also yourguests well fed.
(23:56):
Yeah.
Exactly.
And so it is mostly like all European inspired.
I feel like a lot of the food and the drinks when I come here, like especially the Aperolspritz and everything.
I'm like back in Italy.
Back in Italy, here we are in the Valley.
Yeah, absolutely.
So we do have that European theme.
And was like a really conscious choice like from Sheree early on or is it just kind ofevolved into that?
(24:18):
I think it's always been that way with also her other business, Balboa Italian.
She, you know, that Mediterranean Italian European style food.
And, you know, that I think it's it suits the venue well as well.
(24:39):
You know, it
we want it to be all cohesive.
So obviously the olive trees and that, you know, that we've got that Tuscan inspiredoutside.
So it makes sense that that would then follow on with the food.
I've been to a few long lunches and stuff here as well.
It's a good time.
It is fun.
Our events are always great too.
We've got throughout December this year, we've got La Tro, which is the other in Italian.
(25:06):
So it's, you know, a take on
the Laltro pop-up that we had during June and July this year.
We're doing it, but we're doing it over the Christmas period.
So, you know, we've got a lot of people coming through with Christmas dinner, you know,with their family or their extended family or, you know, work Christmas get togethers,
(25:28):
which is really nice.
So we're having that all through December into January.
Do you find many people that come to those events are then the ones like maybe they gotfamily or friends that end up getting married here as well?
Yeah, it's always like a little word of mouth and it always runs, know, you should gohere.
Yeah, it is definitely a lot of couples that come here for the La Trobe, then we'll ask tocome for a tour and then they'll book, you know?
(25:53):
So yeah, it's really nice.
Yeah, when I've come, there's been a lot of us while looking people here.
They definitely fit in here, you know?
Absolutely, absolutely.
But we haven't talked about the sanctuary where the bride gets ready, where all the magichappens and our beautiful hair and makeup.
They come on site and they're up there around 7.45 and then the bride and the bridesmaidsall come at 8 ready to go in a beautiful space, just relaxing, maybe a little coffee first
(26:25):
and then bubbles later on and they just have a beautiful time up in the sanctuary gettingready.
that's when you would come and take photos of the get ready.
How many bridesmaids, how many people in total can kind of be getting hair and makeup doneat the same time up there?
Yeah, I mean, we've got six chairs set up.
(26:46):
But, you know, a lot of the time they'll have two hair and makeup, two hair, two makeup,and they'll be alternating with the girls.
a lot of the time some of the girls want to sit there and have a coffee while the othersget ready.
And, you know, it's the ultimate get ready space for the ladies.
They always have so much fun up there.
And it's for me, it's, while I was getting ready in my teens and twenties, it was the besttime about going out.
(27:12):
It was getting ready with your girlfriends, you know, with your sisters, you know, withyour mom.
And I think that's the space is perfect for it.
It's just a beautiful, elegant, clean space.
And it's one of those things again, I'll go back to photography point for you, but likeyou get here and you're like, you know, every single spot you take photos at.
are going to be like portfolio pieces.
(27:34):
Like seriously, I'm like, cool, this is going to be a portfolio wedding because I've gotthese beautiful spaces that have been so thought out.
The lights amazing.
And you just, yeah, you just know it's going to look good.
It does like half the job for you just being the space that it is.
And then, even like the grand entrance as well, like as they're walking down thestaircase.
I do like, that's another favourite part of the wedding.
(27:55):
You know, your guests are all seated.
They're ready to welcome you in.
And then you do the big grand entrance from
the sanctuary doors.
it's yeah, really beautiful.
And yeah, when people book in for weddings, as far as like, like, I know you have some bignames, Stylist and Florist and everything that come here.
Like what would be included when people kind of book in and they're going to have awedding here, as far as like styling, like, you know, chairs and tables and all that kind
(28:20):
of thing.
Yeah.
So we try and include as much as we can.
Like I said, couples, it's hard.
It's when you're in the beginning, you're like, I don't know what I want, you know, so wetry.
and take the guesswork out.
We have a package that's included.
So if you were to not do any additional styling, it would still look beautiful, elegantand classic.
(28:42):
So we've actually set it up behind us.
So, you know, the silverware, the glassware, the white linen napkins, the table numbers,the menus, the gold oak labs.
You would need a florist obviously to put those single stems in there.
Yeah, it's pretty much all set up.
(29:03):
You can absolutely do, you know, tablecloths and table runners and candles.
You can add to your heart's content.
But we do try and include a standard classic set up and then, you know, can elevate asmuch as you want.
Exactly.
Exactly.
You can complicate it for yourself after that point.
(29:23):
We've done that part.
Yeah, exactly.
So, I mean, if you've got that really
classic style of, you know, not too much embellishment.
You can absolutely get away with, you know, no extra styling.
However, we've had some beautiful stylists.
So it really just depends on what you want for your day.
(29:44):
And I feel like it comes back to like you create a space like this, vendors who come here,this is a portfolio piece for them.
So they're going to go above and beyond.
And like a lot of the people I speak to, we love it when they do.
But even like a lot of stylists and florists I speak to.
they are going above and beyond of what the client actually paid for because it's worth itfor them as well.
(30:05):
Like this is such a beautiful space.
This is such a good space for me to represent my work that they will go above and beyondto kind of match the space.
Yes, absolutely.
I do find that.
I do.
I mean, it is such a beautiful blank canvas and you can either go minimal.
(30:27):
you can go to your heart's content, but I do find that too, which is really nice for thecouples.
think it's, Obviously today we went and grabbed some beautiful florals and wanted to setthem up to make the room pop, you know?
So, I mean, flowers just really bring a room to life, in my opinion.
(30:48):
So, but yeah, it is.
Talking about 140 people for the chapel, is that kind of limit in total for
that you could have here?
So 140 in total in the chapel seated.
However, in the reception, our maximum is 120 seated.
(31:08):
So, you know, we do have 150 cocktail style.
So if you wanted to do a few tables, high tables, you know, different types of littleactivations of couches and high bars, you could do a cocktail style in here with 140.
however seated, 120.
Send the 20 kids home.
(31:30):
They don't need to be here for reception.
Yes, I mean, you know, it is correct.
I think it's fun for the kids to be there for the garden ceremony and all this chapelceremony and in the post ceremony mingling.
I think it's really fun.
But I do find when the little ones get into the reception space, they're kind of, youknow, they want to go home or they, you know, so it's really.
(31:54):
comparative to what the couple want.
And then like, I noticed you guys don't, like you don't need to do any of like the trailsor anything like that.
Like you guys are good.
Do you just find that personal touch of people actually coming through?
Is that just better for you as a venue?
Yeah, so when people inquire, I will, they get a package sent to them automated, but thenI send them an email personally myself.
(32:19):
So.
Thank you for all the inquiries lately.
It's been really busy.
It's been a busy couple of months.
Yes.
But you know, you know, contact the couple and then if I don't get a repile, give them acall, reach out.
We want to make it really personable.
And you know, most of the couples that I do take through and end up, you know, havingtheir wedding here at the Valley Estate, I'm usually quite good friends with most of them
(32:47):
because we've gone on that journey.
and got to know them on a personal level, which I think is something that's, you know,it's not just a button.
You know, you're meeting me, you're talking with me, we're going through your desires foryour wedding day.
You know, it does take that level up to lux when you're meeting a couple and you're goingthrough everything and from the beginning to the end.
(33:15):
Yeah.
And how many weddings would you...
like to or hope to kind of do a year, like what's a comfortable number that the Valley'sSo we're happy with three a week.
We're also, you know, opening up to maybe having ceremony onlys other than three, youknow, full weddings a week.
(33:38):
But due to our Gold Coast City Council rules and regulations, that's where we're at threea week.
We find that that works well for us.
because we want to be, you know, quite in depth with each wedding.
We don't want it to be like Groundhog Day.
We want it to be each couple individualised wedding.
(34:03):
And I think that's what is really important in our industry.
We want to have that personable, you're not just another wedding to us, you know?
You want each one to be special.
We don't want to be doing seven.
Yes, exactly.
Roll around, roll around, roll around.
Like once it becomes work, like once it's just like, it's just work, it loses, you you'renot going to go bum beyond for those people because it's just work.
(34:30):
Day in, day out.
Yeah.
We want it to be customized.
We want it to be lux.
We want it to be everything that they want it to be, you know.
So I think three is great.
usually Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Friday, Saturday, Sunday peak days.
(34:51):
But you know, we're seeing a lot more midweek weddings recently, which is, know, alsocool.
It's quite fun.
Yeah.
Especially about 2025, 2026.
There's yeah, a lot of midweek weddings coming through.
Because we are seeing that, you know, obviously we do get those bigger weddings, but wealso are getting those little niche, niche weddings, you know, 30, 40 packs with 20 packs.
(35:14):
love those two, really intimate, really, really nice.
All right.
And so I guess, is there anything else that you could kind of, any hints or tips to likecouples that just started to plan their day?
Like I know, like we already talked about not being overwhelmed.
Yes.
That we could think about to kind of give them some guidance.
(35:34):
I think the biggest takeaway is to enjoy it.
I think, you know, a part of your wedding day is the journey.
towards the wedding day.
Try not to get overwhelmed.
Try to just enjoy every moment with your partner in the lead up to the day.
And make it you.
(35:56):
Don't feel the need or the pressures to have 150 packs or 20 packs.
Have what you would like for your day and make it yours.
Like I said, I'm planning my wedding.
For me, the big things were food, fun, music.
(36:17):
Those were the big things for me.
And, you know, other couples, it'll be different.
It'll be, you know, florals, dress, something else.
You know, so each couple needs to figure out what's important for them on their day.
And then it'll all flow.
It'll all flow.
(36:37):
Little bite-sized pieces.
Absolutely.
little bits.
Dig away.
But yes, don't get overwhelmed.
Enjoy it.
It's a fun time.
You're marrying the love of your life.
Make it about that.
Yeah, perfect.
Awesome.
All right.
And couples looking to book in to the Valley of State or book a tour, how can they get incontact?
Absolutely.
Give me a call.
Or you can send through an inquiry on our website.
(36:59):
It's really easy.
But if you do want that personable touch, absolutely give me a call here at the Valley ofState.
I'm here all the time.
So you could just give me a call and I can send through our packages.
We can talk about dates and yeah.
Perfect.
We'll have links in the bio and everything like that for all your socials and everything,but socials off the top of your head.
(37:21):
The Valley Estate.
Beautiful.
That's it.
At the Valley Estate.
Awesome.
But thank you so much for coming on and also for hosting us in this beautiful space.
Really appreciate it.
Thanks.
You too.
Bye.
Thanks for tuning into the Wedco podcast.
We're dropping a fresh episode every week featuring industry professionals dishing out thewedding wisdom you need to turn those dreams into reality.
(37:45):
Make sure you are following us on social media.
You have those notifications turned on so we can help plan your wedding day.
Your dream wedding day just got a whole lot easier.
Thanks for listening.
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