C A N D I C E & J U S T I N
Nine years of love and friendship culminated in a classic celebration of their new life together as husband and wife. Every element of Candice and Justin’s wedding exuded elegance and style, in a celebration that will be as timeless as their love.
F R O M T H E B R I D E . . .
We first met…
We were introduced by Tanika, my cousin & one of my bridesmaid’s 9 years ago. We became friends & after a while decided to catch-up. We have been inseparable ever since.
We knew it was love…
Candice: I told him I loved him first. I remember just really enjoying being with Justin, he is a fun loving, caring guy and nothing is too much for him. And he is really comical. So I fell in love pretty quickly!
Justin: I can honestly say I have the best wife. Candice has this incredible way of making me feel good, she just laughs at my jokes. Until this one day she told me she loved me, I think my exact reply was “really”. There was no laughter after that joke. I knew that I loved her I just didn’t have the courage to say it on such short notice. Lol. We really compliment each other.
The Proposal…
Candice: November 8, 2014. Justin secretly booked a short trip to Bali for us, to relax he said. We stayed at Ametis Villa, Bali in Canguu & spent the day having massages and mani/ pedi’s. He then organised a 3 course dinner on the beach, with lots of candles & champagne. We were just enjoying the moment and taking pictures & then I turned around and he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. I burst into giggles and tears & said YES of course.
Justin: I was away at work and decided to email Rosendorff to see if I could afford one of their spectacular diamonds and have a ring made. I was only thinking about proposing but the sale’s person managed to come up with the exact oval diamond I was looking for. I told her what I had in mind and within a couple of hours I was presented with an amazing design; it was hard for me to say no after this. I was told they would prioritise and have the ring made for me as soon as possible. A friend, a travel agent helped me book a spontaneous trip away to Bali, leaving 12 days to have the ring made. I was actually surprised not one person suspected I was taking Candice to Bali to propose, my ten year plan joke must have worked. I organised what I thought was a normal sunset dinner on the beach, trying to keep things sort of low key, but I think the manager was on to me. We arrived at the beach set up full of flowers & candles, the petals reading “I love you” in the sand. It was time for the boy to become a man and here we are celebrating our marriage.
Our dream wedding…
We both wanted a modern, yet classic wedding. I knew I wanted the bridesmaid’s to wear white and worked with Angelina from Arcaro Couture to design them. I was inspired by a Ralph Lauren dress; with its clean lines, thigh high split and movement around the split. I have always loved rose gold and knew that was the direction I wanted to go in. Justin also surprised with a pair of Jimmy Choo’s, which are metallic, which solidified my decision to have Rose gold & metallic elements through the wedding. I would describe our wedding style as clean, classic and chic, with elements of sparkle. We worked with the amazing Gill from Felicitations, who created our stunning, modern & clean wedding stationary. Our stationary included Rose gold foiling and sleek fonts with minimal fuss. Gill created a beautiful monogram, which featured on all our stationary as well as our wedding cake.
Wedding Photography…
Kirsten from Compose Photography shot Justin’s sister’s wedding a few years back. Justin & I were both a part of their bridal party & really enjoyed Kirsten’s shooting style. We met with Kirsten early in 2015 to talk through ideas for our wedding & immediately connected with her, we loved her passion for telling the story of our wedding day and also loved that she remembered us. Kirsten always had amazing suggestions for photo locations & was happy for us to bounce ideas off her. Ultimately, both Justin & I wanted the photography to read like a well crafted story, with those often missed moments captured.
We love our photos for…
The spontaneity! While there are the traditional family and couple photographs, Kirsten and Rachel captured such precious moments, like Justin’s nephew and the joy of the bridesmaids & our families.
Ceremony venue…
St. Joseph’s Church, Subiaco
Reception venue…
Mosmans Restaurant, Mosman Park
Pre-wedding celebrations…
My mum & I spent 6 days in Singapore in lieu of a Bachelorette Party and I was lucky enough to have an amazing Kate Spade inspired Bridal Shower. Justin was whisked away to Bali for his Bachelor Party. Our rehearsal dinner was held at Wild Duck Restaurant in Nedlands, together with our family and bridal party.
The bridal party…
Bridesmaids: Three bridesmaids- Tersia (Maid of Honour & cousin), Melissa (Justin’s cousin & my best friend) and Tanika (cousin).
Groomsmen: Four Groomsmen- Kerwin (Best man & best friend), Cameron (cousin), Jared (friend), Kirk (Bride’s brother)
Bridesmaids wore…
Custom Arcaro Couture – white floor length, halter gowns with thigh high splits.
Shoes: Tony Bianco & Forever New
Earrings: Country Road
Bracelets: Mimco
Clutch: Colette
Groomsmen and Groom wore…
Groom: 3 piece suit & bow tie, featuring an Ivory Jacket and waist coat mismatched with black pants all from Politix.
Shoes: Florsheim (Chamonix)
Watch: Longines Conquest
Cufflinks: John Kotel
Belt: Hugo Boss
Groomsmen: Tuxedo style suits from Politics
Shoes: Florsheim (Chamonix)
The dress…
I worked with Angelina from Arcaro Couture for 13 months perfecting my dress. I was inspired by Elie Saab & Zuhair Murad when it came to the design of my gown. I knew I wanted beading & to incorporate elements of my mum’s dress into mine. She had intricate beading on hers, with bugle beads & pearls & I wanted to take that inspiration and give it a modern twist. Angelina worked tirelessly with me to create a sleek, figure hugging gown that transformed itself in different lighting. The bodice, belt & veil were all hand beaded by Angelina with Swarovski beads & crystals, fresh water pearls and many other types of beads. I wanted my dress to be textured and have a life of its own. Angelina created my gown with 3 “levels”- it had an extra long detachable train, the normal (but still long) train and then a butterfly effect once bustled. The veil Angelina created was simple but beautiful, hand beaded to look like rain drops glinting in the sunlight. The beading was white, off white, pearlescent & tones similar to metallic. This worked in with my Jimmy Choo “Lang” heels & Olga Berg bejewelled clutch.
The wedding flowers…
Justin and I met with Jappalin from Flower Talk early in 2015 and knew straight away we would work with her. Jappalin created stunning bouquets for myself and the bridesmaids- my only flower request was Hydrangea’s. Our colour scheme was white, champagne & blush with pops of green. I asked Jappalin for bouquets that were full & textured & not too uniform. Justin & I didn’t give Jappalin too many requests when it came to types of flowers- as long as it was white, champagne or blush with pops of green, we were more than happy to let Jappalin take control of the design. Our bouquets consisted of white hydrangeas, South American white roses, white peonies & touches of Queen Anne Lace.
Jappalin also created the most stunning & unique buttonhole for Justin which consisted of Succulents, Gysophillia, mini white roses and white Kalanchloe to match my bouquet.
Reception decor…
Mosmans is a spectacular venue, which needs very little make it shine. Having a summer wedding, we knew the river would be a gorgeous backdrop and wanted to showcase that. We entrusted Jappalin to work her magic regarding table décor and floral design. For the Bridal Table, we had lots crystal vintages vases, crystal candles holders, crystal table candelabras with tea lights on long rectangular mirrors to reflect the candles when lit. Jappalin used white & blush hydrangeas, white lisianthus, white & champagne roses and white peonies. The guest tables had long rectangular mirrors with different types of candles and vases of the same flowers. We brought in stunning Napoleon ghost chairs from Charming Chairs, which added to the clean and crisp vibe we were looking to achieve. The Bridal Table & cake table had stunning pearl & beaded over- lays from Chandelabra as well as gorgeous charger plates from Bride and Groom store, which Jappalin got me onto.
On the menu…
We had a cocktail hour and formal 3 course dinner;
– Moreton Bay Bug, Avocado, Bug Beignets, Asian Slaw, Chilli Caramel Dressing (entrée) or Grilled Prawns, green paw paw sambal, palm sugar caramel, crispy shallots (entrée)
– Beef Fillet, colcannon potatoes, prawns, crisp pancetta or Gold Band Snapper, sweet potato fondant, pea & almond puree, Romesco sauce and dessert was Vanilla Crème Brûlée, Whisky roasted strawberries, chocolate biscotti. We had a variety of West Aussie and South Australian wines to accompany the delicious menu.
Bonbonniere…
We decided to have our guests take home some delicious wedding cake, which my aunt created. The cake was designed with my dress in mind, lots of beading and texture. It was a 4 tier masterpiece, with our custom monogram and a hand made floral arrangement. We had chocolate, French vanilla, citrus & salted caramel mud cake.
Memorable moments…
Spending the morning getting ready with my bridesmaids & mum will always hold a special piece of my heart. We had the best time, relaxing, taking Polaroids, sipping champagne. I will always treasure seeing Justin for the first time and holding his hand throughout the ceremony. Two of my favourite memories will always be saying our vows and exchanging rings and being introduced to our reception as Mr & Mrs Richards. There are so many other amazing memories, too many to mention.
Wedding soundtrack…
John Legend – You and I (nobody in the world) was our first dance, Father/ Daughter dance was the Temptations My Girl. Justin’s dad speech intro song was “Drop it like its hot” & my mum’s intro song was Kelis’ “Milkshake”, which got the crowd going!
As a married couple want to…
Travel, live in the moment & create many memories doing so. Family planning is on the cards as well.
In 40 years we hope to…
Have a few happily married kids & be well into retirement on a yacht somewhere.
W E D D I N G W I S D O M
Advice for enjoying the engagement…
Enjoy the ride! We were relaxed the entire time.
Planning advice…
Create a spreadsheet & buy a wedding folder! We had a few going, from guest lists, to vendors, quotes. A wedding folder is essential for keeping everything together in one safe spot. This makes organising easier and less stressful. As Justin works offshore, we had to be on top of organising our meetings weeks and sometimes months in advance. We had all our meetings in our calendars and confirmed everything in writing. Most of all enjoy the process and the moments because they are over all too quickly.
Advice for the wedding day…
Relax! Enjoy! We had everything finalised in the days prior, and I did a final check of my list the day prior and once that was done, I handed it all over to the Mum’s.
Justin and I have amazing families and our bridal party made sure that all our needs were met & we could just sit back and take in every moment. One thing I would encourage every couple to do is; sometime during the day, once you are married, have a moment alone. Whether it’s during your photo’s or at the reception, just have a private moment where you can just acknowledge the enormity of what you have just achieved as a couple. The day is over before you know it, so make sure you have fun, it’s your wedding day!
MW x
Photography Compose Photography Church St Joseph’s Subiaco Reception Mosmans Restaurant Stationery Felicitations Flowers & Tablescape Styling Flower Talk Hair & Makeup Wanderluxe Studio Cake Colleens Cake Corner Wedding Dress Arcaro Couture Bride’s Shoes Jimmy Choo Bride’s Clutch Olga Berg Groom Politix, Floreshiem & Hugo Boss Wedding jewellery Rosendorff & Swarovski Chairs Charming Chairs Table over-lays Chandelabra Music Dream Wedding Entertainment Charger plates Bride+Groom Store Transport So Cal Limos Bride & Bridesmaid robes Le Rose Hampers & Gifts Bride & Bridesmaid hangers Our Heavenly Hangers