E M I L Y & I A N
Emily and Ian celebrated in style at Aqua Dining Restaurant, a sleek award-winning restaurant, with minimalist design that boasts one of the most exciting international cityscapes as a backdrop.
Emily and Ian celebrated in style at Aqua Dining Restaurant. Situated above North Sydney Olympic Pool, Aqua Dining is a sleek award-winning restaurant, with minimalist design that boasts one of the most exciting international cityscapes as a backdrop.
F R O M T H E B R I D E . . .
We first met…
In high school in year 11. We were at different schools, but went to the same parties and had the same large group of friends. We didn’t really notice each other until after we left school.
We knew it was love…
We started dating 4 years after we left school. As soon as we started dating, I knew that Ian was someone special that I could spend the rest of my life with. He was funny, thoughtful and so caring.
The proposal…
We were together for 9 years before we got engaged. In that time, we had bought our first house and welcomed our son in to the world. We had often spoken about getting married, but the day Ian proposed, I was taken by surprise. We were just relaxing on a Sunday night, after putting our son to bed and getting ready for the week ahead, when Ian unexpectedly bent down on one knee next to the couch and asked me to marry him. He proposed in the perfect place, in our own home after we had settled our son for the night and while we were spending some precious time together, which is something that proves difficult when having full time jobs and a toddler.
T H E W E D D I N G . . .
From the outset, what kind of wedding did you want?
From the outset we wanted close family and friends to share a day with us celebrating with good food and wine in an intimate restaurant setting. We wanted the day to go on for as long as possible so we had a morning ceremony, lunch time reception and continued afterwards with a few drinks with friends.
Ceremony venue…
The ceremony was held at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney. This was the university campus that Emily attended and where our son was Baptised in 2013. This chapel holds a special connection to both Emily and her parents.
Reception venue…
Our reception was held at Aqua Dining Milsons Point
The bridal party…
We had 3 Bridesmaids. Emily’s sister was maid of honour and 2 good friends both known since school days were the bridesmaids.
We also had 3 groomsmen. Ian’s best friend from school was the best man with his brother and other good friend he had lived next door to since leaving school were the groomsmen.
The dress…
The wedding dress was a lace strapless La Sposa gown with a fishtail and sweetheart neckline. I was interested in the Australian designer, Karen Willis Holmes and found that Penrith Bridal Centre stocked some of her designs. I made an appointment and went to try some of the dresses on. While I was there I found the La Sposa dress, which complemented my shape much better. I fell in love with the dress, and teamed it with a beautiful Karen Willis Holmes belt around the waste.
The flowers…
I did not have any idea about flowers. Ian’s aunty is a florist and I asked her to help put the bouquets together. I just found a few pictures and sent them to her and she put together the most amazing bouquets. I was so happy when I saw them for the first time on the day.
Reception decor…
Aqua Dining has a spectacular uninterrupted view of Sydney Harbour which allowed us to keep the decorations to a minimum. Being in a restaurant, the tables were not your typical large tables you find in a function centre, so we did not want to overcrowd everyone with large arrangements, table decorations and bonbonnieres. Emily’s mother was paramount in sourcing and putting together the decorations, which included ivory lace table runners and framed table numbers. She co-ordinated the setting up of the restaurant. We also asked our florist who had put our bouquets together to also put together some beautiful flower arrangements as the centre pieces on each table.
Flowers…
The Flowers were from Vogue in a Vase from Castle Hill.
Wedding cake…
The cake was made by a chocolatier in Leura, Josophans Boutique Leura
On the menu…
We had a sit down lunch time reception. It was a three course meal where everyone had a choice between 3 entrees, 3 mains and 3 desserts. The fact that our guests had the choice of their meals was one of the appealing features that Aqua Dining offered.
Wedding favour…
We made a choice not to give our guests bonbonnieres and instead, we decided to donate the money that we would have spent on them to the charity Cure Brain Cancer. 2 years before our wedding, Ian’s father past away after a short battle with a brain tumour. We felt that this was a small gift to give to charity in his memory. Ian mentioned this in his speech and some guests were moved by the gesture, that they gave us some further contributions which we then donated to the charity.
Memorable moments…
- The weather was perfect given it was a June wedding.
- We had our family and friends to celebrate with us.
- Our son was involved in the ceremony and the reception.
- I added a few special pieces to my wedding dress from my Grandmother, who had passed away a number of years prior, including one of her brooches and a handkerchief.
- We had special wedding cars which were important to us and owned by the family (and one borrowed from a close family friend). One of our wedding cars was Ian’s fathers Vintage 1928 Oldsmobile driven by one of Ian’s father’s closest friends.
- The food, wine and service of the staff at Aqua Dining were faultless. We were so glad that we chose this venue.
Wedding night and honeymoon…
We stayed close by at the Vibe Hotel North Sydney. We stayed here the night before as well to allow us to get ready easily and close to the ceremony and reception. We weren’t fussed about staying elsewhere on the wedding night as we had our Honeymoon booked for the Barossa Valley, staying most nights in The Louise.
Wedding soundtrack…
Our first dance was to Bonfire Heart by James Blunt, and the rest of the day we played from a playlist on an ipod made up of various songs Ian and I had put together which were special to us as a couple, individual or reminded us of our family, resulting in a playlist with songs from the 20’s right through each decade. They didn’t have a theme, they were just songs that we had enjoyed throughout our lives.
The future…
We have settled in to a larger house with our son and have another baby arriving in early April.
Photography…
We came across our photographer, Matthew Mead, who was a referral from another photographer we had contacted. We loved the portfolio of photos we were able to see on his website. We were looking for someone who would take candid photos throughout the ceremony and reception. When we met him, he was approachable, relaxed and laid back, which were all important traits in a wedding photographer.
On the day, Matthew was flexible and stayed around after the reception to capture some beautiful photos of Ian and I by the harbour as the sun was setting.
Videography…
We also had a videographer for the day, Fergus Films, who compiled a beautiful video for us to remember the day. It is very difficult to personally capture and remember everything from your special day without the help of a great photographer and videographer.
For more information on hosting your wedding at the gorgeous Aqua Dining, download their wedding package pamphlet here or get in touch with their dedicated wedding coordinators on (02) 9460 0048 or [email protected].
MW x
Photography Matthew Mead Venue Aqua Dining