M A R N I E & M I C H A E L
F R O M T H E B R I D E …
The Meeting…
Michael and I met 9 years ago at a West Tigers game at Campbelltown Stadium. He was playing for the U’18’s Tigers and fundraising for an upcoming tournament in Europe by selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I was at the game with a few friends and as we were walking around the stadium to our seats I heard a voice yell out to me “hey beautiful, would you like to buy a box of Krispy Kremes? Every box comes with my number” there stood Michael with the cheekiest grin on his face and I just couldn’t resist. We exchanged numbers that day and have been together ever since!
Love…
The moment I realised I really loved Michael was at one of his football games. I had been to a lot of his games early in our relationship as a regular spectator just enjoying the game, but this particular game I saw him take a big hit and that moment felt different it was almost as though I had been on the field and taken the hit with him. He came off the field after the game with a broken nose and busted tooth, but nothing was stopping me from kissing him that night!
The Proposal…
Michael proposed to me on Friday 17th August 2012. He took me to a nice dinner at a favourite restaurant of ours in Camden, after dinner he took me for a walk around the lake near our first investment property in Harrington Park. During our walk Michael got down on one knee and proposed; he explained how special it was to him to propose here because the moment we purchased this house he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. This night will always be one of the most special nights in my life and a moment I will hold dear forever, I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect night!
Wedding Style…
The theme of our wedding was relaxed and romantic. The colour scheme was soft: nudes, whites, ivory and greens. We wanted to create a wedding that was a true representation of us – fun, warm and inviting.
Wedding Ceremony…
Our ceremony was held at St Mary’s Church in North Sydney, the church is stunning; an old sandstone church with three amazing red front entry doors.
Wedding Reception…
Our reception was held at View by Sydney in Walsh bay. This venue is simply amazing. The moment we walked in the door we knew it was exactly us! We were looking for a venue that was not a typical wedding reception venue that had that hall type feel, we needed a venue that was different; warm and a little vintage. I couldn’t believe how perfect this venue was; from the view of the harbour bridge, the open beam ceiling with beautiful pendant lights, the heritage beams in the centre of the room, the food and most importantly the amazing, friendly and helpful staff. We just happened to walk by it one day on chance; the universe was definitely looking out for us that day! It ticked every box!
The Dress…
The wedding gown…this has got to be my favourite topic! After trying on MANY dresses I kept coming back to the same fitted style, I wanted to stay true to myself and choose a dress that I would feel comfortable in and that reflected my style. It was always a dream of mine to wear a Steven Khalil dress, I booked an appointment with Steven and for my first consultation I was asked to provide a few photos of dresses I loved, I showed these images to Steven and right away saw his face light up, he began sketching, he had so many amazing ideas and immediately I felt comfortable to put my entire trust in him. The dress he sketched for me that day was exactly what I wanted! It was like he entered my thoughts and put them onto paper. I thought designing a dress from scratch would be a little scary because it’s hard to fully imagine the dress complete, but the process was anything but! It was such an amazing and exciting process, one I will cherish for a lifetime! Steven and his team are true professionals! His talent is one of a kind!
The Bridesmaids…
My bridesmaids wore nude Zimmerman silk wrapped long dresses, pink Mimco drop earrings and nude Windsor Smith strappy heels.
Flowers…
The floral style for the bouquets was a natural stem posy, semi structured with a white even mix of David Austin roses with buds (cream), lissianthus, white ranunculus, green berries (hypericum/ berzillia) with touches of green foliage through and under the bouquet then wrapped in twine
Decorations…
I decorated the reception venue mainly with flowers, as the venue didn’t need a lot of work. For the tables I had over grown posies in whites and greens with vines trailing slightly onto table with random blooms placed on vine.
I decorated the two heritage beams in the centre of the room in overgrown natural cascade from the top of the beams wrapped all round grading down to floor, mostly ferns, vines, ivy with touches of white blooms.
For the table settings I used the same font and style of the invites for the place cards, menus and table numbers. My cousin Rachel made a few chalkboard signs for the Instagram hashtag and the cocktail menu. Michael my amazing husband made a beautiful wooden easel with our names and wedding date engraved; he also made a wooden wishing well treasure chest.
On the Menu…
Starter
- Italian style – cured meats, marinated pesto bocconcini, chargrilled vegetables, semi sun-dried tomatoes, capsicum, artichokes, and green olives.
- Hot and Cold Seafood Platters
Entrée
(Alternate serve)
- Pistachio pumpkin ravioli with baby spinach, shaved cucumber and pomodoro sauce
- Creamy based chicken boscaiola tossed with garlic, onion and crispy bacon
Main
(Alternate serve)
- Lamb loin with garlic thyme shiraz jus
- Fillet steak mignon chargrilled with tarragon and béarnaise sauce
Dessert
(Alternate serve)
- Dedes delight parfait with pistachio praline and rose scented strawberries
- Chocolate marquise, blueberry compote, honeycomb semifreddo, sugar snap
Wedding Bomboniere…
Our bomboniere were little jars of M&Ms, both having the initials M & M we thought it would be a cute idea
Memories…
- Walking down the aisle and seeing the smile on Michael’s face as he fought back tears, it’s one of those once in a lifetime memories
- Our first dance, Michael had organised one of his football friends/boxing coach/all-round talent machine (Puna) to play guitar and sing an acoustic mash up of the songs Summer by Calvin Harris and We Found Love by Rhianna and Calvin Harris. Calvin Harris is one of our favourite artists and to have these songs played live for our first dance was a magical moment. As the acoustic version faded out the DJ kicked in (DJ D Flat) with the original song which is very upbeat/up-tempo and Puna started the party off with some solid hype and call response, Michael and I were raised on shoulders and the entire room was on their feet and on the dance floor, the party had just begun!!
Photography…
We chose our photographer (Matt Reed Photography) after seeing his portfolio; his style was about capturing moments rather than posed photos. His candid style suited us to a tee!
We love our wedding photos because he captured some really natural beautiful moments not only between Michael and I but also between our bridal party, with our guests and throughout the entire evening.
Wedding Music…
At the church we had a string quartet play for the duration of the ceremony excluding the bride’s entrance where I had a grand organ played. At the reception we had current songs from dance and charts.
Honeymoon…
For our honeymoon we escaped for a well needed relaxing break to Hawaii for two weeks
Photography Matt Reed Photography Ceremony Venue St Mary’s, North Sydney Organist Christine Moriarty Reception Venue View by Sydney Bride’s Dress Steven Khalil Makeup Artist Milani Joy Hairdresser Anthony Ellis Bridesmaids’ Dresses Zimmermann Flower Girl’s Dress Tutu Du Monde Rings Benjamin Ryan Jewellery Flowers Eden Flower Design Cake Cake Artistry by Belinda Stationery Potion Creative DJ + MC DJ D Flat Dance Performer Punappzz Productions P.P.P String Quartet Salt String Quartet Photobooth Party Photobooth
MW x