Many of you came on a journey with our bride blogger Alicia. You shared in the highs and lows, reflections, lessons and joys of planning a wedding. Alicia married Shane on 2nd February, albeit a rainy day it was filled with love and happiness. We couldn’t think of a better way to show you her special day than right here on the blog where we first began.
F R O M A L I C I A
The Meeting…
Shane and I met at an Easter BBQ that was held by a mutual friend. It was dark and Shane, thinking that I was someone else, sprung out from behind a tree to scare me. It was a bit embarrassing and it broke the ice. We swapped numbers and he called the next day to invite me out to lunch.
The Proposal…
Shane organised an amazing surprise event. He declared that the whole month of March 2012 was “Romo Month” so that I wouldn’t get particularly suspicious. He organised a picnic where we had our first date, and popped the question with a bottle of Moet and Chandon (he said that he has never seen me drink a glass of champagne so slowly!) I was star struck by the moment. He organised a series of surprises that weekend, including having our parents come from interstate to join us for dinner, and tickets for us all to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies”. I blogged about it all here on http://thisbeachlife.com/2012/04/01/engaged-22-2/ if anyone wants to see photos from the moment!
The Wedding…
I always thought that I would have a barefoot beach boho wedding, but Shane is inspired by finer things and once I started reading magazines and blogs I fell in love with the romantic theme. Soft pastels, roses, dahlias and hydrangeas were my inspiration. Our florist Lina, at Chanele Rose Flowers and Styling, styled the perfect romantic theme for us, with shabby chic props and the most stunning bouquet I have ever seen. It was supposedly going to be a romantic garden wedding, but due to torrential rain, we had to have our garden wedding indoors! Our reception was in the International College of Management Sydney (ICMS).
The Ceremony…
We hunted for ages for the perfect garden ceremony location and eventually we stumbled upon the grassy flat of Little Manly Point, which was quiet with gorgeous views. It turned out that it had rained for weeks before our wedding, so to prevent shoes and hemlines from becoming muddy and my hair being blown out completely, we sensibly made the call at 9:00 am to move our 12:00 ceremony indoor to our reception venue. Thankgoodness for the infinite patience of Erika at the International College of Management Sydney (ICMS), and for Shane’s rugby mates who helped us to set up the dream garden wedding indoors!
The Dress…
My gown was a Chantilly lace on champagne satin Maggie Sottero gown from Abby Bridal in Sydney. I always knew that I wanted something strapless and classic. I went to that store just to try on a few different styles, but when I put the dress on I knew that I had to have it. It was off-the-rack and on sale, so within just 5 weeks since becoming engaged I had a bridal gown hiding in my wardrobe behind my maxi dresses and dressing gown!
Shane and I wanted a bright, fun pop of summer colour at our wedding so we chose a salmon/coral colour for our bridesmaids. Choosing the colour first then made it very difficult to find dresses, because there were no colours just right in any of the stores. We decided to have them made, which turned out to be very expensive and a bit laborious. I would recommend off-the-rack to anyone, if you can.
The groomsmen wore grey three piece suits with grey ties and Shane wore a creamy vest and tie. It was so handsome, I can still remember the detail on his tie from during our wedding ceremony. It was very classic.
The Flowers…
Chanele Rose Styling & Events did the flowers and props for the ceremony, reception and cake. I wanted flowers that were romantic and whimsical. I saw something that I liked on Pinterest and I contacted a few suppliers until I found someone who had just the right words and ideas. I was so thrilled with Lina at Chanele Rose Styling & Events who created the perfect flowers for our day. They were even more beautiful and effective than I had imagined. Chanele Rose Styling & Events also decorated our reception venue with mason jars, bottles, hessian and lace. I chose champagne sashes for the chairs to keep the feeling light and relaxed.
The Cake…
Anita at Once Upon a Cake made our cake. Anita was fabulous too because I surprisingly found choosing a cake to be really difficult. There are so many options to chose from! In the end I sent a picture to Anita of one I liked (again from Pinterest) and she made it perfectly for me. It was a chocolate cake with white chocolate ganache. And as a bonus, it tasted delicious!
Photography…
Our photographer, David Campbell Imagery, was featured in a Modern Wedding Blog real wedding and his style was just the type of style Shane had been describing:, soft, candid, thoughtful and a bit dramatic. David was a pleasure to work with and we were so relaxed at ease throughout our engagement portrait and wedding photography shoots. I love how David captured a photo of every single one of our guests, and he captured some quiet, private moments between Shane and I, our guests and our family members. It was a true reflection of how I remembered our day to be.
On the Menu…
We chose a three course meal for our guests starting with a light vegetable gateaux, alternating mains of char grilled lamb or chicken and a baby pav for dessert.
The Sountrack…
I LOVE my choice of ceremony entrance song! I walked in to The Rolling Stones “She’s Like a Rainbow.” It was so different and fun. The Dan Barnett Band played at our reception and they added so much atmosphere and fun to the event. We did a first dance to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon,” which was a last minute idea and we had only learned the weekend before. We were lucky to have a great teacher at Manly Dance and a great band who played it perfectly, and we nailed it!
The Bomboniere…
My parents made the bomboniere. They were little hessian bags filled with freesia bulbs and instructions for planting. I love flowers, I believe everyone should have fresh flowers in the house and gardening is a big part of our family history, so it was a perfect touch for us.
Memories…
Shane and I made a constant effort to try to absorb every moment of our day. It still rushed by in the blink of an eye, but everything about it is, so far, memorable. If I had to choose a few moments however, I recall especially my Dad’s comforting words to me down the aisle, Shane’s eyes gazing at me during the ceremony, my sister’s personal reading and dancing with our nephew Raffaele as being particularly memorable parts of the day
The Honeymoon…
We honeymooned in Thailand for two weeks. Five days at the Movenpick Resort at Karon Beach, Phuket, was a great start, then we went to Chang Mai and Bangkok. Air’s Thai Cooking class in Change Mai was a highlight, as was letting off paper lanterns beside the Ping River on Valentine’s Day.
List of Suppliers…
Photographer: David Campbell Imagery Ceremony Venue: International College of Management Sydney Reception Venue: International College of Management Sydney Bride’s Dress: Maggie Sottero from Abby Bridal Sydney Bridesmaids Dresses: Custom made Flowers & Decorations: Chanele Rose Styling and Events Cake: Once Upon a Cake
Check out Alicia’s final blog before the wedding Wedding Planning – Lessons Learned and stay tuned for her honeymoon adventure in Thailand!
MW x