Tamarin & Michael

How you met

Although Michael and I went to the same school we didn’t get to know each other until after school. Michael is very good friends with my brother and my brother and I are also very close. We were brought together in this way. My brother was actually Michael’s Best Man, which was very special for both of us. His speech on the wedding night bought the house down!

The proposal

Michael proposed to me on a cliff overlooking the ocean between Coogee and Bondi. I had no idea. What made this such a surprise is that he did it on AFL Grand Final day (when his team was in the final). I would never have thought he would miss it – but he did. We had champagne on the cliff and then spent the night in a gorgeous suite in Bondi. It was very romantic.

Planning the wedding

It was a lot of fun! Luckily I had my mum (she is very organised) who helped me with everything. I couldn’t have done it without her. Michael was also very helpful and played a large role in organising the day.

The wedding dress

The dress was designed by Helen English in Paddington, Sydney. It was hand beaded antique lace with capped sleeves and a low back. I loved it. I had a long silk veil which had the lace from the dress sewn to the front to frame the face.

The bridesmaid’s

The bridesmaid dresses were light apricot and were from Alannah Hill. The dresses were delicate with flower/pearl detail and knee length. Matching fascinators (small flowers with pearl detail) were found at David Jones. The shoes were elegant (and tall!) and matched the dress perfectly.

The groomsmen

The boys hired their suits from Spurling.

The wedding theme

Vintage Romance

The wedding cake

The cake was actually a fake or artificial cake. It was absolutely gorgeous and you couldn’t tell it wasn’t real. We actually handed out a delicious fruit cake (made by a friend) as bonbonniere in cute little lace bags I sourced from America. It was very economical and the guests were none the wiser.

The wedding flowers

The flowers were arranged by Flowers with Style on the Gold Coast. The owner was actually an old high school friend. They were extremely professional, helpful and the flowers were stunning. I had antique roses (cream) with baby’s breath and the girls had roses (a mix of peach and cream) with lisianthus.

Honeymoon

We went back to an amazing resort we had discovered during our travels in South East Asia. ‘The Evason’ (Six Senses Resort & Spa) in Phuket, Thailand. We had our own villa, complete with pool for ten nights. It was heaven.

Also …

Michael and I helped to design the ceremony. For our vows we had the traditional vows mixed with ‘surprise’ vows that we wrote to one another. These vows were both humorous “I promise to always play scrabble with you” “I promise to never let you miss another AFL Premiership” and serious. It really added a personal and special touch to the ceremony

We had a special dance choreographed by one of our bridesmaids who is a professional dancer. It was to “The way you look tonight” by Michael Buble. It included a lift!

The bridal party entrance was also entertaining - loosely choreographed to “It had to be you” by Harry Connick Junior

My advice would be to remember that it all goes too quickly! So remember to stop during the reception, look around and appreciate what a special, happy occasion it is with your new husband.

 

Wedding date: 1st August 2009

Wedding location: Colonial Golf Club, Gold Coast

How many guests: 100

Wedding style: Vintage Romance. Garden Wedding