"Love is beyond either condition: without spring, without autumn, it is always fresh." Rumi
To all our newly engaged couples. Congratulations! Be yourselves and create a wedding that truly reflects who you are together. We hope we inspire you and introduce you to the wonderful world of weddings.
25 March 2017
Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Sydney, NSW
Photography by We Are Origami Photography
"Jen and I first met at a birthday party in 2008 that neither of us were supposed to attend. I was invited but couldn’t be bothered going and Jen wasn’t invited but went along with her friend when she heard there’d be free food. As soon as I saw her for the first time, my eyes lit up. She was chatting to someone I knew so I went over and smoothly interrupted the conversation to introduce myself. I then proceeded to cut that friend out of the conversation so I could talk to Jen. When it came time for birthday cake, someone handed Jen a piece that she then passed on to me. I thought she was being nice but she told me the piece was too small and she was going back for a bigger one! It made me laugh and I knew I wanted to get to know this girl better."
"My proposal took place at DisneySea Japan. Jen had always wanted to be proposed to at Disneyland (it’s her favourite place) and our trip presented the perfect opportunity. However, what I had imagined and planned to be a dream proposal was shattered the moment I accidentally handed Jen the receipt to the engagement ring as I was cleaning out my travel wallet. Nevertheless, I tried to create a sense of surprise by holding out until our last day in Japan before proposing. We had spent the day at DisneySea and towards the end of our visit, just before the fireworks I took her to the area where they had recreated Venice. The night lights shone along the canal beautifully and I asked Jen to stand on the bridge so I could take a couple of photos of her (I was secretly testing the lighting). I then asked a DisneySea staff member to take a photo of Jen and I together on the footbridge and as he went to take the photo, I got down on one knee. The staff member came over to ask me (mid-proposal) whether I was happy with how the photo turned out. Only when I gestured towards the ring I was holding did he realise what I was trying to do. Suddenly he started taking more photographs and thanks to him we now have a whole series of pictures to look back on."
"Our wedding may be one of the few where the groom did almost everything!" Jen said. "I like to think of myself as the wedding project manager, delegating the hard work to David whilst having the ultimate veto rights. I think the wedding planning process is the first test of marriage as my perfectionism and control freak tendencies reached new heights that I never thought possible. Thankfully David is the most patient man alive."
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"Finding the right suit was one of the most stressful points for me and I'd tried to start suit shopping early, trying on my first suit while on holiday! I was looking for a classic tuxedo, but couldn’t find the right suit that was going to be simple, timeless and give me the fit I wanted. I was feeling the pressure and was worried I wouldn’t find a suit! Then finally, with 2 months until the wedding I tried on a 3 piece Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo which I knew was right suit as soon as the jacket went on! Perhaps due to my combination of procrastination and indecisiveness, almost all of my accessories were purchased a month away from the wedding which was a Burberry white evening shirt with Mont Blanc cuff links, a black Ermenegildo Zegna Belt, black bow tie and a pair of Saint Laurent patent derby shoes, accompanied by my trusty IWC Portuguese leather strap watch."
"I bought my wedding dress a couple of months into the wedding planning process and before anything else was locked in. Initially I didn’t want a ball gown because the ones I had tried on overwhelmed my frame and it looked like the dress was wearing me, not the other way around. However it was love at first sight when I tried on my wedding dress because it just felt so ‘me’. I’ve always loved Oscar de la Renta and their silhouettes that really embody classic femininity. What I loved most about my dress was that even though it was a ballgown it was so light and delicate and everything about it was intricate, from the bodice, to the appliques and the endless layers of tulle. The dress set the theme for our wedding, classic, simple elegance." Jennifer matched her wedding gown, cake cutting dress and first dance dress with three different pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes!
"Initially I had wanted blush coloured dresses for my bridesmaids however we struggled to find gowns that weren't strapless. Wanting a different style to my dress we were glad when we finally found lace halter neck gowns and the champagne colour turned out to be perfect, softly complementing my dress rather than in a stark contrast. Funnily, they also matched the wedding car colour perfectly!" Jennifer said.
David's groomsmen wore Topman suits. "Topman were happy to tailor the suits to each of the groomsmen. They sat us down for a few beers and simplified the whole experience. The groomsmen ended up with light stone grey suits, brown shoes and belts with a champagne coloured bow tie to match the bridesmaid dresses," David said.
"We spent so much time trying to organise the ceremony, reception and all the pieces of the puzzle for the day that the lead up to the wedding was incredibly overwhelming but when I finally saw Jen for the first time walking down the aisle, it really gave me focus and all I could think about was how beautiful she looked. No matter how many times I had thought about it, it was an incredibly emotional moment seeing my soon to be wife walking down the aisle to me."
An abundance of baby’s breath was used as part of the wedding ceremony styling to create a whimsical look. "When I first saw the back of my wedding dress I thought it looked so ethereal with layers upon layers of sheer tulle peeking through that I thought baby’s breath would be the perfect addition to the wedding florals."
"Originally, our wedding was going to be outdoors but with the amount of overseas visitors we had invited, combined with our fear of wet weather we decided on The Utzon Room situated inside the Opera House. The venue itself was unique and none of our friends had ever been to a wedding inside the Opera House before. We found the venue very elegant, classy with personality and of course, iconic. While the venue was indoors it still provided ample natural light due to the floor to ceiling glass windows. It was also very intimate and the string quartet that played at our ceremony set the perfect atmosphere."
One of the biggest concerns for the couple on the day was the weather. "Our wedding was set during a very wet March and it was forecast to rain the entire week. However, the day was wedged in between 2 rainy days and turned out to be perfect with a splash of sun!"
A humorous moment of the day came when a pair of older ladies look to the groom and groomsmen walking up the steps of the Opera House. David and his groomsmen assumed the ladies were admiring how suave they looked when in actual fact they said what they thought, ‘You silly, silly boy’, in reference to getting married!
"I had wanted all white florals for the wedding but was concerned that if there was too much white, it could look a little cold. To add some warmth and balance, we used subtle touches of blush and gold, whether it was in the colour of the bridesmaid dresses, the bridesmaids’ bouquets or the wedding favours."
To complement her gown, Jen wanted a bouquet that was delicate and not too structured. "The colour scheme I was going for was white with some green mixed in to create a clean and fresh look. I’ve always loved orchids and cymbidiums were perfect because I love their size and shape. Freesias were mixed in to to provide some green colour and a lovely fragrance. Roses were also added, white in my bouquet and blush coloured roses for the bridesmaids."
"We had done countless site inspections before we found Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. As soon as we saw the venue and the ballroom we knew it was the place where we wanted to have our wedding. The oversized chandeliers in the foyer and the glowing ceiling lights, which looked like night stars in the ballroom, added a timeless grandeur to the space and it was perfect for the kind of wedding we wanted to host."
"When we saw the reception venue for the first time decorated and lit, it looked exactly as we pictured it. The speeches, toasts and the amount of love and cheer is something we’ll forever cherish."
"Initially I had wanted calla lilies and amaryllis for the centrepieces because I like the long-stemmed look as it’s simple and classic. However, calla lilies didn’t have a good season and amaryllis weren’t in season so we decided on oriental lillies instead. It turned out to be perfect and I’ve grown so fond of oriental lilies since!"
Sweet Blooms created Jennifer and David's 5-tiered wedding cake. It was decorated with gold leaf foiling and cascading sugar flowers. It was coated in buttercream and had four decadent flavours.
Suit and Tie - chocolate cake filled with chocolate buttercream, frosted with vanilla Italian meringue buttercream
Caribbean Passion - vanilla butter cake with passion fruit frosting, frosted with vanilla Italian meringue buttercream frosting
Salted Kiss - vanilla buttercake with vanilla bean, filled with salted caramel buttercream, frosted with vanilla Italian meringue buttercream
Raspberry Magic - white chocolate cake with raspberries, filled and frosted with vanilla Italian meringue buttercream
"I love Oscar de la Renta so much that the red dress I wore is also from the designer. We were travelling to the US to buy jewellery for our wedding and while walking out and about I spotted the stunning dress in the shop window of Saks Fifth Avenue. I immediately stopped to find out which designer it was from so that I can track the dress down. The first time I tried on the gown I fell in love all over again. I didn’t think that mermaid gowns would suit petite people but I was wrong. I had never felt more glamorous than when I was wearing that gown!"
Jennifer and David's wedding stationery was created overseas. "We had hard cover invitations and it was important to me that everything about the wedding felt and looked like it was quality. The invitations were blush and champagne coloured, in keeping with the rest of our theme. We actually had two different sets of invitations with a red and gold set for our Chinese guests."
gown & veil: Oscar de la Renta, oscardelarenta.com
shoes: Jimmy Choo, jimmychoo.com
photography: We Are Oragami Photography, weareorigami.com.au
ceremony location: The Utzon Room, sydneyoperahouse.com
reception venue, caterer & first night: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, sofitelsydney.com.au
stylist, flowers & floral decorations: Anna Wang, annawang.com.au
Pearsons Florist, pearsonsflorist.com.au
groom: Dolce & Gabbana, dolcegabbana.com
Burberry, au.burberry.com
groomsmen: Topman, au.topman.com
bridesmaids: Adrianna Papell, adriannapapell.com
cake: Sweet Bloom Cakes, sweetbloomcakes.com.au
hair: Veronika Moreira, veronikamoreira.com
make-up: Lei Tai
celebrant: Jessie Cachillo, jessiecacchillo.com
music: Red Soda, redsoda.com.au
transport: 7th Heaven Wedding Cars, 7thheaven.com.au
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