C I N D Y + J U S T I N
This couple’s romantic love story flourished into a sentimental and stylish wedding that will capture your heart.
F R O M T H E B R I D E
We first met…
Justin and I met through mutual friends at a bar in Melbourne, on a summer’s night in January 2014. It was fate that we met, as I was tired and wanted to go home but one of my girlfriends insisted on dropping by that bar. Justin saw that I was sitting down and asked if I wanted to dance, however, I said no because my feet were sore. Luckily that didn’t deter Justin and we kept on talking, with Justin buying me a drink before I left. We agreed to keep in touch as I was flying out to Bali the next day for a holiday. When I returned from my trip, Justin asked me out on a first date and our romance began from there.
We knew it was love…
We knew it was love when Justin and I went to our first trip together to Korea and Japan and we had an amazing time. People often say that you know if you’re compatible with someone after you’ve travelled together, and for us we realised we complimented each other’s personalities, had shared values and found so much joy being around one another. When we came back from our holiday, we moved in together.
The proposal…
Justin arranged a weekend trip away to Philip Island in October 2015 under the guise of it being a belated treat for my 30th birthday. We spent the day having a romantic helicopter ride and delicious lunch at Bass Valley Wines. Then at night time Justin took me to see the Fairy Penguins, as I have never seen them before. We sat huddled together in the cold at the beach waiting for the penguins to come out at dusk, and it was very cute when the penguins finally did come back from the ocean. When we got back to the beach house at night, Justin wanted to take me out to the balcony of the beach house and planned to propose to me but I immediately changed into pyjamas and started eating 2 minute noodles, so the romantic moment was lost. Justin decided to wait for a better opportunity. The next day on the drive home, we stopped by a beach lookout point where Justin asked me to marry him and I said yes. Justin presented me with a beautiful princess cut diamond ring from JANAI Jewellery.
T H E W E D D I N G
The photographer…
We chose Blumenthal Photography because of the classic, timeless and natural way they capture moments. I loved how our wedding photos turned out as it showcased all the emotions of the day. Or wedding started early in the morning with the traditional tea ceremony, then church ceremony, followed by reception in the evening. Blumenthal photographers were with us through the whole day and captured our entire journey.
Our dream wedding…
The theme for our wedding was ‘earthy, whimsical romance’ as Justin and I both love nature and greenery. With the help of The Style Co. we were able to see this vision come to life. As our wedding was in the middle of winter, we wanted to create a warm and magical atmosphere for our guests. The colour palettes for our reception were earthy blush tones, rose gold tones, navy blue and emerald. We had fresh pastel blooms entwined with green foliage, abundance of candles, underneath a canopy of fairy lights. We wanted our wedding to reflect both our personalities so we incorporated navy blue to reflect a masculine edge for Justin.
Ceremony location…
We had a traditional church ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We were in awe of the breathtaking architecture of the Cathedral, and the serene peaceful atmosphere. We wanted to make the church ceremony truly memorable, particularly for the grandmothers from my side of the family who are devout Catholics.
Reception venue…
We celebrated our reception at Carousel on Albert Park Lake. We loved the modern elegant open plan venue with spectacular waterfront views of Albert Park Lake and the city skyline.
Pre-wedding celebrations…
We had our rehearsal dinner two nights before the wedding, where we treated our closest friends and our parents to a three course meal at Grossi Florenti Grill. A few of our friends had travelled back from overseas (London, Germany, New York) to be part of our day and just landed in Melbourne that morning, so we were excited and thrilled to be reunited with them.
The bridal party…
I had eight bridesmaids which included my younger sister, Justin’s younger sister, my four dearest friends from high school, and my two friends from university days. Justin had five groomsmen, three of which were friends from high school and two he met through me.
The bridesmaids wore…
For the traditional tea ceremony, my bridesmaids wore pale pink lace cheongsams from Ceci Ao Dai. We chose cheongsams for the bridesmaids, to reflect Justin’s Chinese heritage.
For the church ceremony and reception, my bridesmaids wore multi-way formal ballgowns from Two Birds Bridesmaids. Due to the large number of bridesmaids, it was a challenge for me to find a certain style of dress that would suit each person’s body type, so the multi way dress was perfect as each girl could tie up the dress to whichever style she preferred. I chose blush colour for the bridesmaids, and rosewater colour (a darker hue of blush) for my two co-Maids of Honour.
The groomsmen wore…
The groomsmen wore royal navy suits from Herringbone, with blush pink ties and pocket squares from TM Lewin.
The groom wore…
Justin wore a custom three piece suit from Oscar Hunt. The colour of his suit was a brighter shade of navy compared to the groomsmen.
The dress…
My wedding gown was a figure hugging, classic lace embroidered gown with an open back and delicate strings of pearls. It was a Berta masterpiece purchased from Raffaele Ciuca in Armadale, Melbourne. I am quite petite and short in height, so I wanted a wedding gown that had intricate details and didn’t overpower me, so the Berta gown was perfect.
I changed into a second dress for my first dance, and I chose the ‘Iris’ gown designed by Limor Rosen which I purchased from The Babushka Ballerina. It was a romantic off the shoulder gown, with beaded lace, complete with a rushed chiffon skirt and a slit which was exactly what I was looking for to be able to dance with ease.
The wedding bouquets…
The bouquets were mixed pastel florals with pops of green, and loose structured. We chose flowers that were in season, which included antique rose, blushing bride, white double tulips, soft pink hyancith, lisianthus and white phalaenopsis.
Reception décor…
We had long rows of tables joined together for our guests, much like the dining hall of Hogwarts (Harry Potter reference). The guest tables featured garland like arrangements to line the centre of the tables with blush pink and white florals mixed in with delicate crawling foliage, weaved between short and tall pillar candles and tea lights. The soft glowing candles together with the soft grey linen created a warm atmosphere for our guests. There were blush napkins finished with velvet ribbon and personalised navy coloured menus with each guest’s name printed in whimsical calligraphy.
Our bridal table was similar to the guests’ tables, and it was truly special with lush creeping foliage and an abundance of soft fresh flowers covering the length of the bridal table spilling over on the sides of the table.
For lighting, we had a canopy of fairy lights draped over the dance floor which created warmth and romance.
In relation to furniture, we hired white Bentwoods style chairs for each guest. We also hired a white timber table to act as a DJ booth, as well as a white timber bar for the dessert station, and white marble tables for the cake stand and wishing well.
The foyer of Carousel featured a free standing navy wall which acted as a seating chart. “Justin and Cindy” featured in copper created the focal point, with lush wild foliage spilling out from the text, with printed seating chart below. There were clusters of candles in glass vessels at the base of the seating chart which created a warm and inviting entrance feature. Short and tall glass tea lights also filled the alcoves of the foyer area which complimented the inviting atmosphere.
The reverse side of our seating chart acted as a photo wall, with lush greenery detailing, and ‘Justin and Cindy’ text to finish the wall. Initially we wanted the photo wall to be navy in colour, however, we changed it an earthy blush tone in order not to clash with Justin’s navy suit.
On the menu…
We had a canapés and drinks hour, followed by an Asian banquet catered by Crystal Palace Catering. It was an eight course sit-down meal comprising of:
Crab Claw, Peking Duck, Emperor Abalone Soup, Half Lobster with Ginger and Shallots, Salt & Pepper Quail, Crystal Palace Rockling, Combination Rice in Lotus Leaf and The Three Treasures (three types of mini puddings).
We also had an open bar, providing our guests with beer, wine, Hennessy VSOP and Greygoose Vodka.
Bonbonniere…
Yum-Mammas provided ‘Love is Sweet, please take a treat’ personalised take-away boxes for our guests, to take home sweet treats from the dessert station as bonbonniere. The dessert station was opened at 9pm, where guests were invited to choose a selection of desserts to take home which included mini brownie bites, macarons, cupcakes, cake pops, personalised chocolate bars, and salted caramel pots.
Memorable moments…
The traditional tea ceremony in the morning was quite emotional for me and I became teary when receiving blessings from family members, particularly when my grandmother passed on wise words of wisdom about marriage to Justin and I.
The tea ceremony was a fusion of Vietnamese (my side) and Chinese (Justin’s side) customs with myself wearing a Vietnamese red ‘ao dai’ gown and my bridesmaids wearing cheongsams. There were firecrackers to commence the ceremony, followed by bridal party ‘door games’ where Justin and the groomsmen had to pass a series of fun challenges posed by the bridesmaids before they could enter the house for Justin to meet me.
Another truly wonderful moment was walking down the aisle with my stepfather by my side. He was always the source of strength for our family and he treated my mother, myself and my younger sister with so much love and protection and I was blessed to have him give me away. I will always remember seeing our beloved friends and family turn around to smile at us as we started to walk down the aisle, and seeing the expression on Justin’s face as he stood there waiting for me.
A highlight at our reception was when our dear friends performed an acoustic performance medley for us singing a cover of “I See the Light” (Tangled, Disney) and “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, followed by a surprise flash mob serenade for me from Justin and his friends. They danced to “Everytime You Cry” by John Farnham and Human Nature, as a lot of our friends knew that I have been a huge fan of Human Nature since I was 16 years old. I was surprised, shocked and delighted as I had no idea they had planned this and the dance moves were hilarious.
Wedding soundtrack…
As the bells at St Patrick’s Cathedral began to ring, the organist performed “Canon in D” by Pachelbel for our bridal processional. Our cantor sang a beautiful rendition of “Ave Maria” for the signing of the registry.
For our bridal entrance at the reception, we chose a variety of songs to represent each couple as they entered the room.
Justin and I danced to Human Nature’s cover of “Stand By Me” for our first dance, followed by “My Girl” from The Temptations for the father-daughter dance. We had a Motown vibe for our main dances.
The bridal party danced to “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper, and we invited guests to join us on the dancefloor with “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran.
For the cake cutting, we played “Sugar” by Maroon 5 and “Can’t Help Myself” by The Four Tops for the opening of the dessert station.
The song I chose for bouquet toss was “Run The World” by Beyonce.
Our closing songs for the farewell circle included 90s favourites such as “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
M A R R I E D L I F E
The honeymoon…
We are planning to go on a European honeymoon mid-2017, starting with the beautiful Santorini. Neither of us have been to Europe, so we are looking forward to exploring together and visiting all the foodie places. Justin will be a trained Instagram husband by then.
Future plans…
We hope to do some traveling and then we look forward to having children together.
In 40 years you hope to…
Retire and go on an around the world trip. Take our children to all the different Disneylands around the world.
W E D D I N G W I S D O M
The engagement…
This is the best time, as you have just announced your big news to the world and everyone is super excited and happy for you as a couple. Take time out to relax and celebrate with family and friends before you embark on the planning process for your wedding.
Planning…
I think planning early is helpful, however, it is also nice to leave room for changes and be open to things you didn’t envision for your wedding as it could pleasantly surprise you. Excel spreadsheets were my best friend during the planning process where I kept run sheets of expenses/budget and of the program for the wedding day. I also started a Pinterest board to collect ideas and inspiration. My married friends were a wealth of knowledge and provided me with tips and recommendations about which suppliers to use. My biggest tip is to include and encourage your husband-to-be to get involved in the planning process, as the day is meant to reflect you both. Justin might have dozed off when I talked about flowers, but there were many aspects of the wedding where he contributed with practical and creative ideas.
The day…
Enjoy and soak in the love of your family and friends, and let small things go, as an imperfect wedding makes a perfect wedding. Many friends have reminded me to take time out during the day, even for a few minutes, just the two of us to reflect on the day together. Justin and I were able to do this while we were in the car together traveling from one place to the next, and a few quiet moments before the reception commenced where we had time to walk around by ourselves and marvelled at how beautiful the reception venue was and how everything was coming together.
Ceremony St Patrick’s Cathedral Reception Carousel Florist and styling The Style Co Photography Blumenthal Photography Videography YN Pro Hair and Makeup Sophie Lau Hair and Make Up Wedding Cake and Dessert Station Yum Mammas Wedding Dress BERTA gown from Raffaele Ciuca Dancing Dress Iris gown from Limor Rosen, purchased from The Babushka Ballerina Bridesmaids dresses Two Birds Bridesmaids Bridal kimono Steven Khalil Groomsmen suits Herringbone Groomsmen Ties and Pocket Squares TM Lewin Gifts for Bridesmaids earrings from Samantha Wills Wedding shoes Harriet Wilde from The White Collection Bridesmaids kimonos Homebodii Justin’s (groom) suit Oscar Hunt Classic cars Always Classic Cars Reception MC Diana Nguyen DJ Mercury DJ Hire Reception Caterer Crystal Palace Catering Traditional Ao Dai & Cheongsams Ceci Ao Dai Tea Ceremony Setup Love Forever Grows Invitations Concept 2 Print Photobooth Awesome Photobooths Wedding Bands Tiffany and Co Engagement ring JANAI Jewellery