Simply Elegant: Sarah and Jason's Classic White Wedding

S A R A H + J A S O N

A bashful beginning as teenagers led to more than nine years of dating, one heck of a proposal and a stunning wedding. Firm believers in the “less is more” philosophy, Sarah and Jason’s minimalist wedding was elegant and timeless.

F R O M T H E B R I D E

We first met…

We met each other when we were teenagers working part-time at our local supermarket. While we were quite shy around each other initially, once we learnt that we had similar interests we became inseparable.

We knew it was love…

We have always been so comfortable around each other, able to share a laugh and supportive of one another – so it was definitely love from early on in our relationship.

The proposal…

We got engaged in December 2015, over nine years into our relationship. I was returning home from Christmas shopping and when I opened the door, I saw the floor covered in rose petals and the house glowing with candles. The rose petals led into the bedroom where Jason was standing with my gorgeous ring. It was a very beautiful and intimate moment.

T H E W E D D I N G

Our photographer…

Our wedding was shot by Lumens Photography. We chose them because we were particularly impressed by their ability to incorporate beautiful surroundings to give their wedding photos a real ‘wow factor’.

We loved that that our wedding photos perfectly captured the love and emotion of the day. Our photographers made us feel comfortable in front of the camera and took a great variety of posed and candid shots. Our photoshoot locations were at Government House and the University of Western Australia. These locations provided a stunning backdrop for our photos and our photographers managed to capture some absolutely breathtaking shots.

Our dream wedding…

The overall style of our wedding was simple and elegant (we definitely believe that ‘less is more’!). The colour scheme was classic and timeless with lots of whites, greens and light pinks.

We wanted our wedding day to be formal yet relaxed, because it was important to us that our guests enjoyed themselves and looked back fondly on our wedding. While it was a sit-down reception, we encouraged our guests to get out of their seats to mingle and dance. For us, that meant that we allowed ourselves enough time outside of the formalities to socialise and enjoy everyone’s company.

Ceremony location…

Our ceremony was held at St Brigid’s Parish in Northbridge, which is a beautiful heritage-listed church.

Reception venue…

Our reception was at Acqua Viva on the Swan. From first entering the venue we knew it was perfect for our big day. It’s quiet and picturesque location on the Swan River was such a drawcard, while the friendliness of the staff sealed the deal.

Pre-wedding celebrations…

Jason had a bucks party at his parent’s house in the Swan Valley, and I had a high tea with the girls.

The bridal party…

We had an uneven bridal party of two bridesmaids and five groomsman, made up of our siblings and best friends.

The bridesmaids wore…

Long and flowy strapless navy dresses.

The groom and groomsmen wore…

Classic black suits with black ties, white shirts and pocket squares. Jason wore the same as the groomsmen, except with a bowtie to distinguish himself a bit more.

The dress…

My dress was from Australian designer Karen Willis Holmes. I had always pictured myself in a fitted mermaid dress, but when I tried on my first princess style I truly felt like a bride and my mind was changed. I am so thankful that my bridesmaids and mum encouraged me to try on different styles and would definitely advise future brides to keep an open mind when dress shopping.

While I tried on a number of gorgeous dresses, I felt the most comfortable in the wedding dress that I chose because it best reflected my everyday style. I loved that my dress was classic yet modern and had a full skirt but was very light weight. I wore a cathedral‑length veil to finish off the look.

Wedding flowers…

In keeping with the theme, I wanted something classic and timeless, so I chose white bouquets with pops of green. They comprised white roses and freesias.

Reception décor…

The reception room at Acqua Viva provided a stunning canvas with blue surroundings and white furniture. We wanted to preserve that beauty so we only added minimal styling. This included fresh floral arrangements and candles throughout the venue.

While our bouquets were mainly white, we incorporated some blush and burgundy tones to the floral arrangements in the reception to add a pop of colour. Being a spring wedding, we just couldn’t resist incorporating some colourful in-season blooms!

My very generous cousin did our bouquets, while the reception styling and flowers were done by the lovely ladies at Touched by Angels. The signage at the reception was by Nestle and Porter, while our delicious cake was made by Red Apron.

On the menu…

We had a sit-down menu with antipasto platters and fresh seafood for entrée, choice of chicken or beef for main, and panna cotta and wedding cake for dessert. The food was so delicious and had all of our guests raving.

Bomboniere…

We had personalised candles from Cinque Candle Co. made for the girls and whisky in customised bottles for the boys (Jason loves his whisky!).

Memorable moments…

The whole day was genuinely amazing but we particularly loved our ceremony. It was so special being surrounded by friends and family as we became husband and wife, and we will never forget the love we felt for each other during that moment.

Wedding soundtrack…

We wanted the soundtrack of our day to comprise a good mixture of songs that we both love listening to (so unfortunately for me, that meant no boy bands). Ed Sheeran was a perfect candidate for our first dance and we chose his popular Tenerife Sea. We wanted a bit of fun as we moved in and out of the reception so we entered to Now That We Found Love by Heavy D and the Boyz, and exited to The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas.

At the ceremony we had a violin duo play a stripped-back version of Halo by Beyoncé as I walked down the aisle. We signed the register to Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen and walked back down the aisle to Viva La Vida by Coldplay (which sounded amazing on violin!).

M A R R I E D L I F E

The honeymoon…

We honeymooned in the Maldives. Even though we wanted somewhere we could relax and laze about after the wedding, we spent quite a bit of time snorkelling around the beautiful islands. It was an absolute dream and we would go back in a heartbeat.

Future plans…

Over the next few years, we want to continue to focus on our careers, travel as much as possible and (most importantly) start a family.

In 40 years we hope to…

Be retired on our own private island (well, here’s hoping!).

W E D D I N G W I S D O M

The engagement…

Never lose sight of why you’re getting married and share all the excitement as much as possible with friends and family. Also, have an engagement shoot to become comfortable in front of the camera.

Planning…

Our key message to couples planning their big day is that although it can get quite overwhelming at times, it is all 100 percent worth it. You will have the best day of your lives and any issues leading up to the day will seem insignificant. So persist and enjoy the lead up to the wedding!

On the day…

On the day itself, our advice is quite simple – have fun! Be a guest at your own wedding and leave all jobs on the day to the professionals. Laugh and smile as much as possible to get great candid shots, and remember to soak in every moment because the day truly does fly.