L i i s a & A n g u s
{all images Sugar Love Photography}
The Meeting…
Angus and I first met 8 years ago whilst we were studying Veterinary Science at Sydney University. Neither of us actually recalls our very first meeting but there was a definite attraction between us from the beginning and we started dating two months after meeting. I remember telling some of my friends that I was going to marry him, even before we started dating! We seemed to have similar values and wanted the same things out of life.
The Engagement…
We got engaged in May 2012 while on a very romantic holiday to Lomani (Fijian for ‘love’), in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. Angus took me for a walk along the beach and we stopped by the water to take some photographs of the beautiful sunset. Angus poured us some wine as we watched the sunset together, and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.
The Ring…
The ring is a 1.6-carat brilliant round cut platinum solitaire engagement ring. It was originally my mother’s twentieth wedding anniversary ring from her father, who passed away 2 years ago. Angus asked permission from my mother, Sirpa, and received the ring about 1 month before we left for Fiji. By the time he proposed, my mum had already told my brother, grandparents and family friends!
Pre-wedding Celebrations…
Angus and I both went away with friends to the Hunter Valley for our bucks and hens weekends. My mother-in-law hosted my kitchen tea (my bridal party helped to plan and decorate).
The Wedding Venue…
We both wanted an elegant, luxurious coastal wedding in a venue that was close enough that all our friends and family could come, but was also far enough away that it felt like a weekend getaway. As we wanted a civil ceremony, we were looking for a venue that would be suitable for both our ceremony and reception. The one thing that I also really wanted was to be able to take photographs down by the beach. We looked everywhere for a venue from the south coast, Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley before we found the perfect location that ticked all the boxes.
Our wedding venue, Bells at Killcare, already had a very strong theme of navy and white so we picked our wedding colours, midnight blue and pale-rose pink, to complement this.
The Gown…
My wedding gown was a one of a kind, ivory silk, French beaded lace, Swarovski encrusted ball-gown. Personalised Weddings Couture at Earlwood created my dress. I have always loved the ball-gown silhouette and couldn’t imagine getting married in anything else. I wanted my dress to be unique and have always loved a bit of bling but I couldn’t find the perfect dress anywhere, so I had it made instead!
Angus wore a midnight blue, bespoke suit from Bijan with Hugo Boss cufflinks and shoes, along with an ivory tie.
The Bridal Party…
Angus had one best man and two groomsmen, who were all close school friends. A close friend of ours was my man of honour and walked me down the aisle. I also had two close friends as my bridesmaids.
The bridesmaids wore strapless, midnight blue, full length, silk dresses with a sweetheart neckline from Bridesmaids Only. The groomsmen wore midnight blue, bespoke suits from Andrew and Short.
Wedding Details…
Bubbly Events provided most of the decorations for our wedding but we also provided some of our own. Red Fragrance Floral Designs did an absolutely amazing job providing the flowers for our wedding. The bouquets were David Austen Roses in white and blush pink, bound in an off-white ribbon.
The colour scheme was blush pink, silver and white. The table flower arrangements were made up of blush pink and white roses, freesias, sweet peas and silver-green dusty miller foliage in tall, cognac shaped vases. The tables were also decorated with hurricane vases, stem vases and silver votives with candles and the chairs were hooded with white organza sashes. We used spherical and teardrop glass candle holders with tea-light candles hanging from the pergola in the courtyard area of the reception. We also placed white wicker and metal hearts around the reception venue. We made our own place cards in blush pink and white, with the same pattern used on our wedding invitations. For some entertainment and decor, we gave guests a wedding crossword to test how well they knew us!
Faye Cahill Cake Design made our wedding cake and it was a three-tier round cake decorated with white and pale pink sugar flowers. One layer was chocolate and the other two were coconut and white chocolate.
We had heart-shaped, pink-iced cookies made by Heidi’s Dreamcakes for our bonbonniere. They were placed in clear boxes with a pink ribbon and thank-you tags that we made ourselves.
Music and Entertainment…
I walked down the aisle to Romanza, a famous guitar ballad by an unknown composer. For the reception, we had a DJ from Impressions DJs. They were fantastic and everyone, even Angus’ 90-year-old grandmother, got up on the dance floor. Our first dance song was Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey. Other artists we played on the night were Calvin Harris, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, Avicii, Taylor Swift and Swedish House Mafia.
We also had a photo booth from Fun Box Photo Booths, which was a definite hit with all the guests. The company provided funny hats and masks and some of the best and funniest photos of the guests are from the photo booth!
Photographer…
We chose Sugar Love Photography because we liked the natural and candid style of their photography. They captured the excitement and mood of the day and did not miss any of the important moments. In the collection, there is a lovely bright quality to the light in all the photographs.
The Menu…
We served a three-course sit-down dinner with canapés by restaurant Manfredi at Bells.
Canapés:
Seafood spiedini (skewers) with salsa salmoriglio
Gorgonzola turnovers
Ocean trout and spinach rotolo
Salt cod polpettine
Eggplant and caper crostini
Entrée:
Pan-fried quail wrapped in pancetta with salad leaves
Prawn and seafood stew with roast garlic and anchovy crostini
Potato gnocchi with radicchio, burnt butter and sage
Main course:
Roast lamb shoulder with zucchini trifolati and salsa dragoncello
Grilled flathead fillets with salsa picante and fried capers
Grilled beef loin with roast garlic and red wine sauce
Dessert:
Raspberry, pistachio and vanilla casatta
Strawberry and mascarpone torta
Memorable Moments…
- Trying to fit my dress into the wedding car. It was so big that it covered up most of Angus’ side too!
- There is a Finnish wedding tradition that whoever stomps their foot first, after the knife touches the bottom of the cake, is the ‘boss’ in the marriage. It was a close call but Angus did get his foot down just ahead of me.
- We had taken dance lessons for 7 days straight before the wedding so we could have a nice routine on the night. However, we didn’t realise how much more difficult it would be in my wedding dress. Angus did very well not to step on it!
- There is a great series of photos from when we crammed the whole bridal party into the photobooth. Everyone had a great time creating funny photos the whole night!
- The half an hour down at the beach that Angus and I took for photos together. It was so lovely to have that quiet time together after the ceremony to celebrate.
Honeymoon…
We stayed at one of the lake view villas at Bells at Killcare on our wedding night. The next day, our guests were invited back to Manfredi’s for breakfast. For our honeymoon, we spent 2 weeks at the Intercontinental Thalasso Resort and Spa in Bora Bora, Tahiti.
Currently Liisa and Angus live in Catherine Hill Bay, near lake Macquarie but plan to move back to Sydney later this year to be closer to friends and family.
MW x
Venue Bells at Killcare Photographer Sugar Love Photography Wedding gown Suzanna Blazevic Bridesmaids dresses Bridesmaids Only Groomsmen attire Andrew and Short Events Company Bubbly Events Flowers Red Fragrance Floral Designs Bridal bouquet David Austin Roses Wedding cake Faye Cahill Cake Design Bonbonniere Heidi’s Dreamcakes DJ Impressions DJs Catering Manfredi at Bells.