S A H I L + A S H L E I G H
{Chalk and Cheese Photography}
Sahil and Ashleigh set out to combine two cultures (Indian and Western) and two different styles (vintage and modern) into one beautiful, fun and vibrant wedding. The couple pulled off the ultimate fusion wedding and packed it all into one special day; proving that sometimes two ceremonies are better than one.
F R O M T H E B R I D E
We met...
Sahil and I met each other through work. We were working in the same operating theatre one day, when we started making fun of each other. This was the start of us noticing each other and as they say the rest is history.
We knew it was love...
I think we both knew quite early on that what we had found in each other was something special. So I guess we both fell in love very early on in the relationship.
The engagement...
We got engaged in Canada on Christmas Eve 2014. I was woken up quite early Christmas Eve morning to have Sahil asking me if I would marry him. Through very sleepy eyes and a bit unsure at first what was happening, I said yes. It was very low-key but totally us.
T H E W E D D I N G
Our dream wedding...
Our goal was a simplistic, stress free wedding...which I think we achieved. We knew we wanted to have two ceremonies, one for the Western side of the family and one for the Indian side of the family, and we were hoping to do it all in one day, which we achieved. We found our colour scheme from Pinterest actually. We found a photograph of a men’s suit, which was dark grey suit, plum tie and white shirt. Sahil replicated this and it was the basis for our colour scheme. I have always loved vintage style weddings but Sahil is more modern so we had to find a happy medium between the two.
The ceremony...
We had two ceremonies for our wedding in the same day. We had a western ceremony held first at Bradleys Head Amphitheatre in Mosman And then the second ceremony which was Hindu was held at Gunners Barracks in Mosman in their Sandstone Courtyard.
Our photographer...
We chose Chalk and Cheese Photography for our wedding celebration. We originally first saw Chalk and Cheese photographs through Facebook and we loved what we saw instantly. Upon reading a couple of reviews and flicking through some more photos online we gave Cedric a call.
We chose Cedric because he understood how to capture the relaxed, natural and simple wedding we were after at a price that we could afford. Cedric had great suggestions on how to carry out our day as we were combining two cultures and two ceremonies together. He helped us greatly with timing, suggestions of how the day would best work and he respected what was important for us during the day. Cedric and his team were extremely professional, liked by all the guests and were extremely helpful throughout the whole process.
We both honestly could not be happier with our photographs and videography, which we also included in our package. Cedric and his team went far beyond our expectations and would definitely recommend them to any couple getting married.
Ceremony locations...
We had two ceremonies for our wedding in the same day. We had a Western ceremony held first at Bradleys Head Amphitheatre in Mosman. And then the second ceremony, which was Hindu, was held at Gunners Barracks in Mosman in their Sandstone Courtyard.
The reception...
Our reception followed the Hindu Ceremony at Gunners Barracks, Mosman.
Pre-wedding celebrations...
Yes we did. Mine and Sahil's family had Henna applied to our hands and feet by Henna by Payal on the Wednesday, at our place two days before the wedding. Then on the Thursday, the day before the wedding, we had a Haldi celebration at our place in the morning followed by a cocktail party in the evening held at The Sapphire Function Centre in Auburn.
The bridal party...
We had three bridesmaids who were all my older sisters and Sahil had three groomsmen, consisting of his brother-in-law and two best mates. My bridesmaids wore an ASOS wedding collection floor length, navy blue dress with a half lace back and shoes of their choice. Accessories including earrings, bracelets and shawls were all purchased from our local Forever New store. The groomsmen all wore an MJ Bale light-grey suit with a white long sleeved shirt and navy blue tie, with black dress shoes.
The groom wore...
Sahil wore a custom-made MJ Bale dark grey suit with vest to match. The inside lining was a dark plum, which matched his tie and pocket square. He wore a white long sleeved shirt and brown dress shoes. Sahil also got the wedding date embroidered on the inner lining of the jacket.
The gown...
I knew I didn’t want a white wedding dress due to my skin tone and I was looking for something a little different to the traditional wedding dress. After looking at a few places and trying on a couple of different styles of dresses I ended up finding and purchasing my wedding dress from Calabro Bridal Evening Wear & Menswear. The style of dress was called BCA-Ellen. My wedding gown was a floor length fitted champagne coloured lace dress. The dress consisted of a high neckline across the front, with little capped sleeves and a low V back. Around the edges of the dress front and back were soft small crystals. We added a champagne coloured ribbon belt with a floral pattern broach attached. I also purchased, to match the dress and the belt, a silver headband with pearls and small crystals. I purchased the shoes and had them dyed by Deseo into a deep plum colour to match our colour scheme.
The flowers...
Sahil and I were very flexible when it came to the flower choice. I provided Best Buds Florist with our colour scheme of grey, plum and white and the style we were after. We felt very confident with what the Best Buds Florist team would provide on the day...and they were honestly amazing! My only request was to have an unstructured bouquet.
Reception styling...
Gunners Barracks is already decorated beautifully, which is why we chose this particular venue. You really just have to add small little touches, which were provided by Best Beds Florist. Within the reception room we had large round tables seating ten people each. Each table was decorated with a white linen tablecloth and a single small unstructured floral arrangement, which matched our bridal bouquets, in a vintage style crystal vase. Surrounding the vase were tea light candles in small crystal holders and a silver picture frame with the table number and a small floral print around the number, which matched our invitation and place cards. The place cards were created online by us, using Optimalprint, and were placed on each napkin.
Our bouquets were placed in low fish style bowls behind the bridal table on the fireplace mantel piece with an arrangement of different size and style candle holders and vases with tea-light and larger candles in-between the bouquets. Just outside the venue in the sandstone courtyard Best Buds Florist provided us with orchids in purple and white hanging from the fairy lights running above the courtyard, which at night became our outdoor dance floor. In the drawing room we had a our cupcakes arranged on a table to one side. In the same room Forever Social had set up a beautiful white floral wall, which was the backdrop for our Instagram photos.
The cake...
Wedding cake and cupcakes were provided by Unbirthdaybakery.
The meal...
We had a three course sit-down meal as follows:
ENTREE
Tempura zucchini flowers, tomato, caper and sweet corn salsa OR Caramelised onion, beetroot and goats cheese tart, eschalot vinaigrette.
MAIN
Parmesan and herb crust chicken breast, cavalo-nero and sautéed mushrooms, potato puree OR Pan fried barramundi, potato gnocchi, tomato, feta and basil.
DESSERT
Belgium chocolate fondant, peanut butter ice-cream, raspberry sauce OR Caramelised apple tarte tatin, vanilla bean ice-cream, calvados sauce.
The bomboniere...
We decided to have edible bomboniere, so we had cupcakes made by Unbirthdaybakery to match our wedding cake and wedding theme and we provided cupcake boxes for the guests to take their bomboniere home in.
Memorable moments...
I guess it's hard to focus on a particular moment. It's slightly overwhelming the whole day and it's only after you get all the videos and photographs back that we really started to remember what happened throughout the whole day.
I guess seeing each other for the first time at what they call a 'first look' was something special just between us and our bridal party. I had not been involved in what Sahil and the groomsmen had chosen to wear for the wedding and he was the same for me and my bridesmaids. We also had designed each other's wedding bands without each other's input and only saw them for the first time during the ceremony that was also something small but memorable. Throughout the whole day I just remember a lot of laughter, smiles and it was a rare chance for two families from different walks of life to be all together in one room sharing stories and learning about different cultures. Having all your family and friends from all over the world in one place at the same time is pretty amazing and what we both loved the most.
I guess that is what weddings are all about in the end....
M A R R I E D L I F E
The honeymoon...
Due to both our work schedules we were unable to honeymoon straight after our wedding. But we plan to later next year...hopefully 🙂
Plans for the future...
We are currently looking at buying our first home together shortly. Hopefully finishing our studies, then starting to travel a bit more and in the near future start to have a family together.
In 40 years we hope to…
Be retired enjoying family life 🙂
W O R D S O F W I S D O M
On how to enjoy the engagement...
I guess to be honest not much changed for us when we got engaged. We continued on like normal, we had moved in together just before we got engaged so we just enjoyed that time together and then after about eight months we started planning our wedding.
The planning...
Listen to what each other would like or what they think is important for your wedding day is very important we believe. I think surrounding yourself with experienced people helps a lot during the planning and obviously the outcome on the day. We selected companies that had good reviews, were experienced and we had a good vibe with. If someone or something didn’t feel right we didn’t go with that person. I also had great advice given to me by a close friend while we were planning the table arrangement and menu selections. She said that only you and your soon to be husband know the multiple options available for seating arrangements and food selection. No-one else is aware of what other choices were available to select so try (even though we know it's hard) not to get too caught up in it all.
The wedding day...
Something will probably go not quite to plan on the day, most of the time it is something quite small. But remember that only you and your soon to be husband will probably notice this, so try not let it get to you. Just accept whatever has happened because looking back on your wedding day you'll probably just laugh about it. Trust in the people you have hired to do their job well and in a timely manner and the day will turn out just as you have planned.
Wedding Invitations Design ThePaperberry Place Cards Opitmalprint Bridal Party Makeup Makeup By Megan Bridal Party Hair Melissa Cauchi Photographer and Videographer Chalk and Cheese Photography Reception venue Gunners Barracks Western Ceremony Location Bradley’s Head Amphitheatre, Mosman Celebrant Stef The Celebrant Pundit Jatinkumar Bhatt MC and DJ Impressions DJs Flowers, Decorations, Welcome Sign and Table Allocation Sign Best Buds Florist Wedding Cake and cupcake bombonieres Unbirthdaybakery Instagram photobooth Forever Social Indian ceremony decorations and Western ceremony decorations VIP Decorations Wedding dress and Bride's accessories Calabro Bridal Evening Wear & Menswear Bride's Shoes Deseo Bridesmaids' dresses ASOS Bridesmaids' Accessories Forever New Groom and groomsmen's suits MJ Bale Wedding Cars Classic Bridal Cars
