A R D L E I G H & M A R K
F R O M T H E B R I D E…
The Meeting…
Sydney, the year 2011. A girl walks into a bar…
Love…
I told my girlfriends the next day that ‘I’d met the man I was going to marry’.
The Proposal…
The proposal took place in July 2013 at Cliveden House, United Kingdom – we were living in London at the time. The ‘bended knee’ moment took place in the secret garden and due to the humidity (Summer) the ring barely squeezed onto my finger, which was rather swollen as I was 31 weeks pregnant.
Wedding Style…
We wanted our wedding to be small and intimate, with only close friends and family. Relaxed and preferably outdoors, we didn’t want it to be a ‘cookie cutter’ wedding. The food was always a key element for us – CHISWICK Restaurant (Woollahra, Sydney) is one of our favourites and we tried to recreate the look and feel of CHISWICK at the venue, which also included the menu we offered.
Wedding Ceremony…
On the lawns of Lindesay House, Darling Point.
Wedding Reception…
We had a late lunch, served on the sandstone terrace at Lindesay House – following our long lunch we then had the guests send us off in a black London Taxi, a tribute to the grooms London roots, and had coaches escort the guests to The Print Room, a wine and cocktail lounge in Glenmore Road, Paddington, for cocktails, dancing and supper.
The Gown…
The gown was a classic ivory Mikado silk gown with a lace peplum from Queensland based designer Wendy Makin Bridal Designs (purchased from Marry Me Mosman). The inspiration was elegant, sophisticated and classic. I wore a floor length veil for the ceremony, and then changed into a birdcage veil for the luncheon that one of my bridesmaids had handmade for me.
Bridesmaids…
Dresses of their own choosing/preference, in the nude colour palette. They all looked so incredibly lovely – both individually and collectively.
The Groom…
The groom wore a bespoke mid-grey Glen Plaid two button suit, made by P. Johnson Tailors in Paddington. A white tab collar shirt, with a silk tie by P. Johnson and brown cap toe oxford shoes.
The Flowers…
The bouquets were kept simple, loosely tied and with the vision of them being picked from the garden. The predominant flower featuring in the bouquets was peonies, and the bridesmaids bouquets had long flowing ribbons in various shades that complemented the collection of dresses that they wore.
Wedding Styling…
As the ceremony and reception was immersed in the gardens of Lindesay House, we wanted the decorations to reflect this. We kept this minimal and made the amazing location do some of the work for us. Being consistent with the colours featured in the garden, we had mostly white and green highlights. On the tables this included the fabulous green glassware that is used at CHISWICK Restaurant, pale green seersucker table runners and minimal flowers grouped individually, such as fragrant roses, hydrangeas and peonies .We also accompanied the floral arrangements on the table with arrangements of fresh herbs, including rosemary, basil, dill and parsley, which complemented the gastronomic element to the day.
The tables were long rectangular tables, wider than usual to enjoy the shared menu style that was offered. Instead of cluttering the tables with printed place cards and menus we decided to use gift tags tied to the back of the dark timber Bentwood chairs as place cards, and the menus were chalkboards (lovingly handwritten by the groom’s sister) which were hung and decorated with both florals and foliage.
To soften the look of the marquee ceiling, we decided to use more elements from a garden, rather than fabric draping for example, and used hanging baskets of petunias and assorted foliage strung across the pillars and posts. We then had a feature hanging chandelier that was abundantly decorated with flowers and foliage.
Other decorative items included a pre-loved wheelbarrow that was filled with ice and bottles of champagne (Bollinger) and placed on the lawns for service during the ‘happy hour’ after the ceremony. A Persian carpet hall runner was positioned on the terrace between tables, as a centre point and a continuation of the décor of the House, and a vintage suitcase was used to receive guests cards and well wishes towards a honeymoon.
Confetti cones with rose petals were distributed to guests by the ushers (the brides four brothers) prior to the ceremony commencing. Each cone was decorated by hand by the grooms sister with the initials of the bride and groom.
On the Menu…
As we wanted to recreate the food that we so enjoy at our favourite restaurant CHISWICK, after the celebratory champagne and canapés immediately following the ceremony, we chose to have a sit down lunch, with a plentiful shared style menu. ARIA Catering did an outstanding job of the menu; our favourite was Matt Moran’s slow cooked Moran Family Lamb, which was one of the three mains that was offered.
Wedding Cake…
We chose not to have a cake, instead ARIA Catering created an incredible dessert station in the gazebo positioned next to the terrace. Guests were invited into the gazebo to select mini portions of the bride and grooms favourite desserts including lemon meringue pie, café au lait panna cotta with figs and crumble and a favourite from the CHISWICK menu – hazelnut rocher. Dessert wine was also offered.
Wedding Photographer…
We chose Martine based on a recommendation from a close friend, and a compelling portfolio that encapsulated the style and feeling we wanted from our images. We love the candid moments and memories that Martine has captured, and within that the stories that each of them tell. Each photograph is now a small piece of treasure for us.
Memorable Moments…
The whole day was amazing. Surpassed our expectations. One very special moment was seeing our little boy Tommy (14 months), make his way down the aisle with the wedding rings (although he didn’t quite make it as he came down with stage fright after some loud encouragement of cheering and clapping from the guests).
The only other issue? It went far too quickly.
Wedding Music…
We had our close friend Ben play acoustic guitar for the ceremony – which made it even more special having someone special to us playing another part in our day.
The Honeymoon…
We had a ‘mini-moon’ at Bells at Killcare, and are currently planning our ‘family moon’ to somewhere exotic in early 2015.
Future…
Enjoying married and family life, and dining again at CHISWICK sometime soon we hope.
Photography Martine Payne Wedding Ceremony + Reception Venue Lindesay House Bride’s Dress Wendy Makin Groom’s Suit P. Johnson Flowers & Styling Anna Wang Wedding Cake + Catering ARIA Catering
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