I recently had some good friends fly over to Sydney to get married. Their needs were simple - they wanted a small & intimate wedding on the beach, in Sydney, with a relaxed yet exotic mood and a fun, child-friendly atmosphere. As they had travelled from Europe with their 2 young sons, they also needed their wedding to be affordable, so they could still enjoy their 2-week honeymoon/holiday here without "blowing the budget"! Sound familiar in some ways? Read on......
So we came up with a
simple wedding plan that turned out to be PERFECT in every way - it was stylish yet relaxed, we were blessed with great weather, the bride Chantal looked BEAUTIFUL (of course Culture Shock made her designer gown!), the kids all had a ball, we found a lovely inner-city beach that was accessible and it was ALL very cost-effective!Via the internet from their home in Europe, my friends Stef & Chantal sourced their Sydney wedding celebrant who was extremely helpful, and she organised all the necessary paperwork, sourced the beach location, and recommended a fab photographer who shot in film (rather than digital - a lovely change & it really captured the carefree mood and feel of the day!) The photographer then delivered a high-res CD with around 130 beautiful wedding images a few days after the wedding, so the bride & groom could organise their own printing and albums back home later on.
Meanwhile, i organised a white mini-van to transport all the guests to & from the beach & the reception (11 guests in total - i told you it was
"intimate"!) and sourced a fabulous cake-maker who bakes delicious wedding cakes from home for very reasonable rates. I also made the decision to make the bride's floral bouquet myself - something i have never attempted before, but thoroughly enjoyed.We booked an Indian Banquet Lunch at a local Indian restaurant, which was kid-friendly and suited the exotic theme of the groom & pageboys' wedding outfits - white Nehru-collared cotton shirts and casual white linen pants. We were able to have our (wedding) cake and eat it too - the tasty banquet menu felt very festive, the BYO wines were flowing freely, and the bridal table looked lovely with Chantal's bouquet & wedding cake decorating the white linen tablecloths beautifully.
Chantal's white silk georgette Culture Shock Couture wedding gown was made rather quickly, within 7 days of the wedding - not something i would attempt on a regular basis, but with advanced planning it was no problem! Luckily, the bride fell in love with a fabulous Grecian-inspired design i had featured on my website, so we had all the fabrics, trims and beading on standby & ready to be cut, sewn & fitted within a very short timeframe. The delicate silver Sari waistband was hand-beaded with Swarovski crystals, and th
e design had a split at the front, under the waterfall frill, so walking on the beach was a breeze. My wonderful team all did a fantastic job & we actually finished making the gown a day ahead of schedule - woo hoo!The bride's jewellery was an easy choice - Stef had hand-made a necklace out of shells he'd collected from the beach on a seaside holiday previously, so Chantal wanted to wear that necklace as a symbol of their love & adventures together. And the bouquet HAD to have some franjipannis (the brides' favourite) so we collected the beautifully scented franjipanni flowers from local trees the morning of the wedding, then i wired them into the bridal bouquet of white roses, lizianth
as & tiger lillies, with some greenery added for volume. Not bad for a first attempt at "floristry", i thought!On the morning of the wedding, our fabulous make-up artist arrived for the bridal hair & make-up session... she did an up-do (bun), we pinned some franjipannis in the hair to match the bouquet, and the make-up look was fresh, natural & beach-friendly, without looking too "overdone"... our bride was made-up, dressed & ready within 2 hours!
I hope the photos you see here reflect what a fun, relaxed and very romantic wedding day it really was for Stef & Chantal - with their 2 young boys as the ring-bearers, and a few close friends as the guests, it was a truly special day and one that was absolutely enjoyed by all... The guests and the celebrant all loved kicking off their shoes and walking barefoot on the sand, & everything felt so easy & totally carefree! The celebrant spoke beautifully and the cermony was short, sweet & personal, the photos were all shot on location on Milk Beach & Strickland House (as a majestic backdrop). As for the kids, they were all easily entertained with the sand, ocean & seashells, & we were all blown away with the stunning views of Sydney harbour right behind us!
I have listed our "DREAM TEAM" of suppliers for this wedding below, and highly recommend them for anyone looking for a simple beach wedding in Sydney.
until next time, xx Lisa
STEF & CHANTAL'S DREAM WEDDING TEAM -
Wedding gown - Culture Shock Couture
Celebrant - Pauline Fawkner - www.paulinefawkner.com.au
Photographer - MIke Locker - www.mlockerphotography.com.au
Make Up - Dee O'Keefe - ph 0437 264 475
email Dee at:- dmakeupart@hotmail.com
Cake - Katie Loffler - email - cakehouse@live.com.au
Wedding ceremony venue - Milk Beach, Strickland House, Vaucluse (Nielsen Park)
Reception venue - Darbar Indian Restaurant, Glebe
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