N G A I R E & D A V I D
F R O M T H E B R I D E
The Meeting...
We began our journey with a little push and a shove from close friends. I soon realised I couldn't keep my eyes off him, so I did what all girls do that are head over heels - when he asked me out I said "No"! Dave's persistence paid off and at the end of our first date Dave said "I'm going to marry you one day".
The Proposal...
Dave proposed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in the rain. He had just bought me some new boots, which had given me blisters. I whinged and moaned all the way up those stairs until we got to the top! Three and a half years later we celebrated a traditional ceremony in front of eighty guests in Byron Bay NSW.
Wedding Planning...
The fun began for me right from the get go. The planning process was so exciting, I started creating mood boards on Pinterest and collaborated with creative like-minded people. We knew the expense of weddings and opted to DIY a lot of our wedding paraphernalia and design. The planning process soon became a family and friends affair as I hosted a working bee night. Everyone assisted in dressing mason jars, putting seedlings in tiny envelopes, candle making and endless cutting, pasting, packing and cooking, which formed the hand made gift bags for guests.
Wedding Theme...
When someone says vintage it can mean various things, to me vintage is old world an era of elegance, chivalry, grace and femininity. I think lace, broaches, fresh cut flowers, whimsical patterns, cups of tea and nature. Taking a step back, no technology, small pretty cakes and romance. Weddings are strange. It's has its rules and in some ways it's a very orchestrated event, you know what you hope is going to happen, you know when people are going to do what. And yet you know nothing.
Decorations...
The garden ceremony location inspired our reception decorations. We collected birdcages, vintage pieces, blackboards and chandeliers including seeds to plant, home made balsamic jam, personalized CD's and hand made Figtree and Lavender scented candles for guests gift favor bags. The weather changed dramatically in the days leading up to the event and changed our entire outdoors wedding to an inside feast. We never planned on it raining but when it started pouring down it became the perfect backdrop for our ceremony. Weather forced us under a marque but it soon became an intimate space that bought our guests and us closer together.
Entertainment...
Guests arrived on a double decker Magic Bus and were treated to cocktails, canapés, lawn games, a magician and an artist who painted a live artistic impression of the day. Jenga board games were the centerpieces on the tables and the homemade lemonade stand (made by the groom) with homemade lemonade. And a Maori culture group performed (in honor of Ngaire's heritage) and blessed the food and the bride and groom with a haka! 'Sex and Chocolate' band kept every one entertained and dancing "The ongoing energy of the night was a beautiful mix of love and exuberance provided by our friends and family, all of whom made exceptional efforts to travel and be with us on our special day.
The Wedding Favour...
All male guests received a homemade jar fig and caramelised onion jam and a CD with love songs to sweep their loves off their feet, and the ladies received a fig tree and lavender hand made scented candle and 'Forget me Not' seeds in small envelopes to plant in the garden after the wedding, in hope the flourished flowers bring back memories of the day.
Invitations...
We had decided early to use a virtual wedding invitation in place of a paper invite, which worked wonderfully. Being a destination wedding it allowed us to update information for guests in a flexible way and was very cost effective. That being said, we knew that we would need a stationer to help us create all the special details we needed to bring to life the day we imagined. We were lucky enough to find a local business called Paperdolls. They were amazing at capturing our personalities and putting them into print. They started by creating a funny save the date magnet for our guests to remember and have a laugh at. They designed many beautiful bespoke pieces for the ceremony/reception including fans, escort tags and gift bags - all tied together in a consistent way. They also created an incredible paper flower arch that we were married under - truly one of a kind.
The Dress...
The gown was from Leonard Derecourt, it was wonderful to have a designer work with me all the way till the day before our wedding, my body weight fluctuated and changed so many times; almost every fitting had to be readjusted.
Memories...
The best parts of the day were the unplanned moments - seeing Dave so emotional, the guests that have all touched our lives, the rain and all the lovely things people said in their speeches. It unexpectedly rained which changed our entire wedding set up of a long Italian lunch under a gorgeous old Fig tree. Our MC had to go into damage control and restructure everything. The time line, venue, dance, entertainment, everything! He managed to keep me sane and looked like he didn't break a sweat all day. He was hilarious and put so much work into involving all of our guests in the speeches, he truly became the glue that kept our day together and running smoothly; the best part was simply everyone being so dam happy for us. My advice - the MC can make or break the day. Get someone who's committed, entertaining and charming as hell.
On the menu...
The ceremony started at 11am so a long degustation lunch was served that consisted of eight courses of oysters, prawns, scallops, pork belly, confit of duck and sirloin. In addition to a lolly buffet and dessert bar in replace of one wedding cake.
Advice...
We were reluctant to spend money on a videographer as our budget was decreasing quickly, when we found out Dave's grand parents couldn't be there on the day we made it a priority to have something more to share with them. Thank God we did. Matt Barwick our videographer was the best money we spent on the entire day. For me, I missed so much of the day, the little moments, people's reactions, and the detail, to be able to relive the day and view it in the eyes of guests was like having another wedding (stress-free). We've shared great moments with family laughing, crying and reminiscing all thanks to the videographer and will be able to for years to come. Matt managed to reduce three generations to tears over and over again.
The Photo booth was a tonne of fun and looking at the album the next day was a scream. You seem to skip photos of your guests as it's all about the bridal party so we were ecstatic to see just how much fun our guests had when we weren't looking.
Get a great MC and give yourself plenty of time to get ready, you need at least a few hours so you can take your time, have a drink with your girls expect some employees to be late or the weather to not cooperate, there is always one little hitch. But at the end of the day your getting hitched. You've done all you can. Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment you've worked so hard for and probably have been waiting for a long time.
Honeymoon...
Coco Palm Bodu Hithi Resort in the Maldives that was well deserved especially considering it would be our last big trip for a while. Dave and I announced to our unsuspecting guests that we were three months pregnant at the wedding. Having an amazing holiday to look forward to together after all the hard work you've just put in is the next best thing to marrying the man of your dreams.
Everyone who made this wedding spectacular...
Photography Andrew Thurtell Ceremony & Reception Venue Figtree Restaurant & Rooms Bride's Gown Leonard Derecourt Flower Arch Paperdolls Stationery Paper Dolls Reception Decorations and Styling DIY by the bride Celebrant Robert Simmons Flowers Daz of Newrybar Wedding Favours Paper Dolls
MW x