Badgley Mischka - Gina

original advert on The Dressmarket

From Badgley Mischka's Spring 2008 collection. This gown has spaghetti straps, however this gown can also be worn strapless.

Intimate Beach Wedding Gown

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 the 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, lizianthas & 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

Wedding Gown Wallpapers

Wooo Hooo... Read all about it... CULTURE SHOCK COUTURE SCORES OUR FIRST FRONT COVER!

Beautifully shot by the fabulous photographer Peter Collie, this latest issue is jam-packed with gorgeous gowns, helpful articles and lots of real brides & grooms' weddings... plus the fashion shoot spreads include 4 Culture Shock gowns, and there's also some really interesting reading on "Eco-friendly weddings", for which i was interviewed. Our lovely ivory "Vintage Patchwork Gown" got the green-thumbs up, being made from recycled laces and fabric off-cuts, as did my work with antique or vintage fabrics such as Japanese obi's, kimonos & Indian saris, which are very environmentally-friendly.

Our "Mon Cherie" Couture gown, which is proudly featured on the front cover is custom-made from layers of dusty pink, latte and pale gold satins, silk organza's and tulles, and the rusched waist/hip section is made from a groovy new silk/metal fabric. The stunning pink pearl & Swarovski crystal necklace was custom-made to match the gown by Anna & Contessa at "Tessarella House" in Sydney's Paddington -http://www.tessarellahouse.com.au/

The lace bodice of the "Mon Cherie" gown is decorated with Swarovski crystal & pearl hand-beading, and lots of cute little hand-cut tulle flowers.... ALL expertly crafted right here in our Sydney studio , as is all our work. Of course, being a Couture design, this gown can be created in any colour, and adapted to suit each individual bride.

So for more info and even more beautiful photo's of our work - grab a copy of the latest Sydney BRIDE magazine, issue # 58... in newsagents around NSW now! Also available in Victoria (Melbourne BRIDE magazine) and throughout Australia (under the title Australian BRIDE magazine).

Ciao for now, xx Lisa