When Amber and Casey met, they quickly realised they had something in common – they shared the same birthday, August 11th! Now they can add another memory to the date, as their wedding story is being published on their birthday too.

These two clearly have a gift for calendar coordination. Casey proposed on 12/22/24 in what Amber describes as “true Hallmark Christmas movie fashion”, and they chose their six-year anniversary, 02/22/26, for the wedding. Their shared surname supplied the theme, “Goode Times” which became a technicolour universe filled with rock music, retro television, childhood toys and pop culture references.

“We both grew up loving the 80s and 90s, and we still fall asleep to The Golden Girls every night, so bringing our favourite movies, television, music, and pop culture into the celebration felt completely natural”, Amber explained.

The bride, an actress and producer with a degree in interior design, approached the wedding as a year-long creative production. She combined commissioned pieces, Etsy finds and personalised templates, handling much of the design herself. There were Golden Girls figures, ALF, Beavis and Butt-Head, plus cars from Back to the Future and Knight Rider appeared throughout the décor. Their cake toppers were Trolls.

Each reception table had its own monochromatic colour scheme, with matching flowers, candles, lamps, menus and butterfly place cards. Together, the tables formed a room-sized rainbow. The ceremony’s floral heart was moved behind the sweetheart table for the reception. A teal ombré backdrop and hot-pink Goode Times neon sign created a photo spot that stayed busy throughout the night.

Every table also received a Chief Vibes Officer, identified by a 1990s-style Goode Times slap bracelet. Their mission cards instructed them to organise a table selfie, record a message for the couple, encourage people onto the dance floor and visit the audio guestbook. It was part icebreaker, part hype squad and an effective way to recruit guests into Amber and Casey’s production.

On arrival, guests were given Goode-y Bags, a custom newspaper, and cat-inspired cocktails. There were even celebrity cardboard around the place including her fave, Pee-wee Herman. “Because I’m completely obsessed with Pee-wee Herman, there was no question he’d be part of our wedding. Our ring bearer dressed as Pee-wee and proudly carried Chairry down the aisle, while guests were greeted by life-size celebrity cardboard cutouts of Pee-wee, Bob Ross, Mr. T, Dr. Evil, Chris Farley, Marilyn Monroe (who I actually used to work as her look-alike!), and even giant versions of ourselves. Every reception table featured its own monochromatic colour story with coordinated florals, candles, lamps, menus, and custom details, making each table feel like its own little work of art.”

Guests were also encouraged to wear colour, funky prints and florals. Amber led the charge in a custom pink ombré gown from Lauren Elaine Bridal while Casey wore teal. In the evening she changed into a November Rain music video-inspired look, which she kept on colourful theme with a neon pink veil.

“We just love nostalgia and wanted our guests to feel like kids again. To step back into a time when life felt a little simpler, music was unforgettable, movies became part of who we were, Saturday morning cartoons still existed, and nobody was staring at a phone all day. We wanted everyone to relive the Goode Times.”

Their first dance was Toto’s Georgy Porgy, the same track Casey used during his proposal, and cut their cake to Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. The dance floor then filled up quickly as songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s were played all night. At the end of the evening, they did a final dance to Chris Cornell’s version of Thank You by Led Zeppelin, the same song the bride walked down the aisle to, for a private last moment.

For Amber, this was a lot of work, “At times it felt like I had accidentally taken on a full-time creative director job on top of planning a wedding”, she admits, “But throughout this entire process, Casey never once asked me to tone down my ideas or question my vision. He never said, ‘Do we really need six celebrity cardboard cut-outs?’ Instead, he trusted me completely and somehow became just as excited about every colourful, nostalgic, wonderfully over-the-top idea as I was. Looking back, I realise the greatest love story wasn’t just the one we celebrated on our wedding day. It was having a partner who celebrated me every step of the way. He gave me permission to be my fullest, brightest self, and that’s a gift I’ll never take for granted.”

Amber has one final person to thank. “Last but not least…I want to thank me. I’d like to thank me for becoming a professional wedding planner against my will, for keeping Canva, Etsy and Amazon in business for a year, and for somehow convincing everyone that six life-size celebrity cardboard cutouts were a completely reasonable idea. Looking back…I’d absolutely do it all again!”