A N N E & T H O M A S
F R O M T H E B R I D E ...
The Meeting...
Not long after I moved to Australia, I joined the local surf life saving club as a volunteer lifesaver. Tom had been a member of the club since he was four, and was introduced to me during one of the lifesaver training classes. We became friends first – him taking every opportunity to show off his surf skills – and we finally got together about a year after meeting.
Love...
There was no moment. We were in the middle before we knew we had begun. Even before we got together I had admired Tom for his many qualities, and there was no question about attraction. We moved in together quickly (after just a few months) which is against my normal judgment, but in this case it just felt right.
The Proposal...
We got engaged after about 4 years together. We were living in London at the time, but Tom had to go to Sydney for a conference during the first two weeks of July, and in a case of unfortunate timing, I had planned my own visit back to Canada for the last two weeks of July. Tom returned to London just a few hours before I had to depart so it was a bit of a bittersweet hi/bye/see you in August.
When I got to Canada, my friend Natasha asked me if I was free to go hiking with her on Tuesday, which I was more than happy to do. She told me the name of a specific lookout point in the National Park that she wanted to hike to. I agreed to meet her downtown so that she could pick me up after she finished work. She showed up half an hour late in a harried state because of an ‘appointment’ that ran late. She asked if we could change plans and go for a walk to a lookout point closer to downtown because the traffic was so bad and she didn’t have time to go for the longer hike. I was a bit annoyed at this change, because I had been waiting and dressed for a more serious hike. However she insisted that this walk would be beautiful and that I trust her. During the car ride she chattered away about her relationship, catching me up on everything.
After getting out of the car, we followed the path around the back of the National Gallery, which sits on the banks of the Ottawa river. It was a beautiful clear summer day, and only a few tourists were milling about. At the tip of the lookout, there is a large statue and as we approached it, Tom appeared as if from nowhere. I began shaking from complete shock – ‘You’re supposed to be in London!’ He then took me aside and got down on one knee, pulled out a ring (that he had bought in Sydney, then carried in his chest pocket back to London and finally to Canada) and asked me to marry him.
Natasha had disappeared down the path at this point, but of course when we emerged, she divulged her full role and we all celebrated with Champagne at a nearby courtyard café. It turned out that the reason she was late in picking me up was because she also had to pick Tom up at the airport and drop him off at the lookout point. His baggage was late coming in, so that’s why they had to quickly pick a closer location so as not to make me wait too long. When Tom and I got back to my parents, they were anxiously waiting as Tom had called a week before to ask permission and to let them know that he would be staying a week with us!
Because Tom and I live in Sydney (and previously London), I never imagined that we’d get engaged in Canada, but now I’m so grateful that’s where he decided to propose. It meant so much to me during that week to be able to celebrate and share our engagement with my closest friends and family who so rarely get to see me. This was really the best part.
Wedding Style...
Imagine Sophia Coppola’s film ‘Marie Antoinette’ – but set in a tropical location. I didn’t want any of the beach wedding clichés, or tired and stuffy traditional elements. But I still love items like gilded gold frames, chandeliers, formal settings, and sparkling glassware. So I used these elements, but kept the color palette modern and bright – fuchsia, tangerines, apricot, and watermelon pink. I used tropical flowers and ferns as well as materials like bamboo for the chairs, and rattan plate chargers and raffia hand fans to keep guests cool during the ceremony. Overall I would call it modern, tropical glamour.
Wedding Ceremony + Reception Location...
Haiku Mill, Maui, Hawaii
We considered many locations but finally decided to have our families (Canadian and Australian) literally ‘meet in the middle’, in Maui. Hawaii held special memories for me as it was the first place I travelled to on my own, while on my way to Australia for the first time.
We wanted an outdoor reception, but one that had a feeling of intimacy for our 50 guests. Haiku Mill provided that along with a feeling of utter romance – like a gathering in a secret garden. We also knew that it was perfect just as it was, so the only thing I had to do was incorporate my own personal touches.
Pre-wedding Celebrations...
We had engagement parties in both Ottawa and Sydney and then to thank our guests for travelling to Maui, we hosted a sunset cocktail cruise two days before the wedding. Guests were able to meet and chat over canapés while the sun set over the ocean. We then had a family-only rehearsal dinner in Lahaina the day before the wedding. We wanted this dinner to be just for our families since they were meeting for the first time on this trip.
Bridal Party...
I was never keen on the thought of having to choose between friends in order to pick bridesmaids. I also never liked the idea of dressing them in identical gowns when they are unique individuals. On top of that, there wasn’t really anything that they needed to do as bridesmaids (particularly since my best friends are in Canada). So instead, I asked my oldest friend to be my maid of honour, (taking part in the ceremony), and asked my other school friends to simply stick to a colour palette for their dresses, so that we could take some nice group shots. Tom has two very good school friends, so he asked one to be the Best Man, and the other to be the MC.
The Dress...
We remained living in London for about 6 months after I got engaged. I tried to squeeze in a few different fittings, but nothing felt 100% right and I was missing the feedback from my closest friends. I went back to Canada for Christmas and gathered up my closest girl friends from high school to look at dresses with me. Luckily, I found a great boutique and was able to try on several that I liked. I knew I had found the right one when I saw all my closest friends react with the same expression. They all said ‘it’s so you!’ I also knew it would suit the ethereal setting of Haiku Mill. That’s how I chose the Jacinda dress by Watters.
Bridesmaids' Dresses...
I told my school friends, including my maid of honour, that my colour palette was bright oranges, pinks, fuchsia and gold but that my only request was that they avoid patterns (so as not to clash in photos or look dated in 20 years time).
The Flowers...
I wanted to incorporate tropical flowers that were true to our setting. I love tropical ferns and greenery, but I also added in some pops of pink and orange to match our palette. My maid of honour’s bouquet was white and green, so as not to conflict or compete with the colour of her dress.
Wedding Decorations...
I intentionally did not go too overboard on decorations since I didn’t want to detract from the beauty of Haiku Mill. I incorporated our tropical colour palette of fuschia, tangerine, peach, watermelon pink and gold in key places. Tom learned how to use a sewing machine and created several cushion covers in various orange and pink patterns which were placed in the nooks of the mill. We placed gold-framed photos and candles in the cut out coves so that there was a warm glow throughout the mill.
I did not buy too many flowers and I kept them low and spread out in several vases/vessels that were a mix of gold glass, clear glass and amber glass. To boost colour and create more ‘pop’ I chose pink glass water goblets, gold rimmed vintage wine glasses and coral coloured napkins. We rented chandaliers that hung low over the tables. To keep the look tropical, we chose bamboo chairs and rattan chargers, with a fern inserted into the folded napkin. Finally I used apricots to hold the place cards for an extra boost of colour at each setting.
I am a Copywriter, and a bookworm, so I put together my favorite literary love quotes and printed one on the back of each person’s place card to inspire a feeling of romance. I enjoyed being able to personalise them – such as choosing a quote from Charlotte Bronte for my mother in law who is from the same town in England. Many guests kept these as souvenirs.
We had a dessert table which I’ve always thought are as delicious to look at as the desserts are to eat! We used a light gold shimmer tablecloth and filled glass vessels with things like macaroons, tangerines, cherries, pastries, and chocolates. I made tiny gold framed labels for each of the dessert items we served (see menu question below). The table was also decorated with flowers and a pineapple for tropical flair.
We rented furniture and set up a lounge area on the grass and under the mango tree where the guests enjoyed cocktails. The lounge area was decorated with small arrangements of flowers and photo frames. We set up a table with Hawaiian postcards for guests to sign and placed gold-framed wedding portraits of our parents and grandparents around it.
On the Menu...
Cocktail reception, followed by 3-course, seated meal. Dessert was a buffet and the wedding cake was served later in the night.
Cocktails – We served three signature cocktails: one called ‘Sydney Salt’ for Tom, and another called ‘Maid of Maple’ since, being Canadian, I am obsessed with all things maple. The maple cocktail was a variation on an Old Fashioned, using my brother’s own boutique whisky brand ‘Toronto Distillery Co’.
Hors d’oeuvres - cauliflower and cumin fritters with lime yoghurt; maui grown beef slider on portuguese sweet bread; fresh fish crudo coconut meat, maui onion, tomato, hawaiian chili
Entrée - Shaved farm salad of carrots, beets, turnips, dehydrated tomatoes, spiced focaccia croutons, house smoked goat cheese
Main – Pre-selected choice of: Sauteed fresh fish, braised sweet maui onions, vortex beans, herb scented onion glaze
OR
Hoisin braised wagyu beef with pickled radish, coconut risotto cakes, furikake cracker.
Dessert table – Dark chocolate covered strawberries, coconut macaroons, miniature kula lavender cheesecakes
Cake - Almond sponge cake with maple buttercream frosting.
Wedding Bomboniere...
Bridal party gifts – I put together gift boxes for my longest and best girl friends. I bought each of them a gold and quartz necklace – handmade in Maui and I also sewed lavender sachets with the words ‘Friends to the End, Maui 2014’ embroidered on the front. I was happy to be able to give them something beautiful to wear, something sentimental, and something that would be a souvenir of Maui. Tom gave his Best Man and MC whisky, placed in wood boxes he made himself with each person’s initials and ‘Maui 2014’ burnt into the lid. He also enclosed monogramed handkerchiefs.
Welcome bags – Since the Welcome bags were the first thing that people received (delivered to their hotel rooms before they arrived), I wanted them to introduce the scheme of our wedding (pinks, gold and oranges) and offer some things that felt like treats – not just like junk. I bought plain jute bags online that they could use as beach bags, then created a graphic by drawing ‘from Maui with Love’ and tracing it in Photoshop. I then had it screen-printed on to the bag. I printed the tags myself and used gold paint and a stencil that I carved out to create the palm leaf. We designed, print and cut the information booklets, which contained everything guests needed to know as well as a hand drawn map of Maui. I made two postcard designs and tied them with twine in bunches of two so that guests could send a little love home.
Late night snack bag – As guests piled onto the shuttle after the wedding they were given water bottles and little pink paper bags with labels that read ‘A savoury snack for the journey back’. We stuffed these with peanut butter pretzels.
Special Memories...
My dad’s speech was quite memorable. He had been given three minutes, but somewhat predictably he spoke for about 10. He loves to give a speech and takes pride on his ability to ‘wing it’. Consequently, a lot of random metaphors, allegories and digressions were made to our amusement and confusion.
The dancing was quite memorable, since we’d worked so hard on mixing all the music ourselves, so I obviously loved every song that came on. I didn’t stop dancing all night. Overall, it was a very surreal memory to have friends and family from three different continents gathered together for the first time.
Wedding Photography...
I looked at a lot of photographer portfolios and went through entire weddings they shot - which is better than just looking at their portfolio. Usually, you get the same style in every shot. Max and Friends are able to provide such a range of styles. They are great at creating artistic compositions, rather than just producing the cutesy posed shots that you see ad nauseam. They are actually based in L.A. but I found that most wedding photographers love an opportunity to travel!
Accommodation...
Before the wedding and on the wedding night we stayed with the rest of our guests at the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. To kick off our honeymoon, we moved to the south shore and stayed at the Andaz Maui.
Wedding Songs...
First dance was to Riptide by Vance Joy. Vance Joy is Australian, and the refrain of ‘running down to the riptide’ was meaningful as much of our lives are spent around the beach and we met through surf life saving.
We put together all the music ourselves. It was a huge task but worth it! There was over 6 hours to fill and we didn’t want to just run an iTunes playlist, so we actually mixed tracks for the entire period, then had an audio person manage it on the night. It meant that I danced like crazy on my wedding because I loved every song and appreciated the effort that Tom put into each transition.
My father loves Elvis (from Elvis’ early days) so I chose ‘Blue Hawaii’ for my dad to walk me down the aisle. The bridal party processional was to ‘Over the Rainbow’ by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
Honeymoon...
Maui, Big Island, Oahu
The Future...
Re-visit Hawaii on our first wedding anniversary! The owner of the venue invited us back for a private, romantic dinner.
Photography Max and Friends Ceremony + Reception Venue Haiku Mill Bride's Dress Watters Flowers Bella Bloom Styling Set and Scene Linens La Tavola Table + Chair Hire Island Rents Lighting + Lounge Furniture Signature Rentals Wedding Cake Designer Wedding Cakes
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