Anna and Josh

Oh I loved today’s wedding when I set eyes on it- the fusion of two cultures came together in such an imaginative and vibrant way. Our newlyweds? Well they’re not just childhood sweethearts – they met in kindergarten!

Anna recalls, “Josh and I first met when we were five: in the same Kindergarten class! Thirteen years later we reconnected through some friends… and five years after that Josh asked me to marry him and I said yes!”

Today’s photographs are by Tealily Photography, always a favourite for the beautifully captured images. I’ve noticed recently I describe a lot of our photographers as taking photos in a graceful manner and that is perhaps what draws me into the photos, the beauty, the elegance and the grace- three words Tealily does so well.

Linda wore a stunning gown with a red ribbon around her waist made by Effie Couture, The bridesmaids wore gowns made by Anna’s friend Jess while the groom and his groomsmen wore suits from Calabro Bridal. The couple’s family were heavily involved in the day. “I loved having our sisters up there with us.  Josh’s sister Jess was his Best Man and my sister Laura was my Maid of Honour.  This was really special to us as we are both really close with our sisters.”

The handmade touches Anna and Josh incorporated into the wedding were beautiful. Anna says “My mum made the beautiful obi-inspired sashes that the bridesmaids wore, and I made the orange flower clips that they wore in their hair.  I also made the matching flowers that the boys wore in place of traditional boutonnière.” Linda at Beautiful Blossoms put together the bouquets.

Anna and Josh were married at Epping Church of Christ. There was a special moment as Anna entered the church “We walked down the aisle to “Wedding Song” by Old Man River, but a version that Josh and I recorded ourselves.  It was a little secret that not many people knew about beforehand, and it made the moment feel all the more “us”.“

Anna fell in love with white balloons and having them as a part of her wedding was on of her favourite memories. “The huge white balloons!  I was inspired by all the weddings I had seen online which incorporated giant balloons and so we did some research and managed to order some white balloons from overseas.  We had this great idea of them in our minds and were so excited when we turned up and my mum and dad had arranged them perfectly!  It was so cool walking down the aisle through a tunnel of giant white balloons and they were a lot of fun in photos later on in the day too.”

One of Anna’s favourite memories was the “guest participation” in the ceremony. She says, “While we signed the register, we asked our friends Josh and Leanne to play the Nat King Cole song L.O.V.E.  Halfway through the song they asked everyone to join in – and everyone started singing and doing the actions!  That is one of the greatest and funniest memories of the day!”

The couple’s delicious three tier cake was inspired by a cake the couple found online and made by Josh and his sister Jess (the couple’s “best man”)! They sourced the M&Ms from the USA and lots of royal icing! Anna and her dad made the cake toppers. Anna says “My dad and I made the cake toppers – I drew them and he cut them out of wood for me, then we painted them together.  They were a bit of a last minute project, but I was really pleased with how they turned out.”

After the ceremony, Anna and Josh really wanted to serve afternoon tea- their compromise was a gelato cart! A hit with guests it served eight different flavours and because of the couple’s love of gelato- it was the perfect treat!

The fusion of two cultures meant traditional elements weren’t left out. “In the afternoon before the reception we also had a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony where Josh and I served tea to our relatives in return for red packets filled with money.  It was a really special experience and we really enjoyed sharing this tradition with our families.”

Anna and Josh held a 17 course Chinese banquet reception at Manly Phoenix.

The couple hired a photobooth which was a hit with guests. Anna says “I loved the photobooth!  This was one of the first things we booked.  Josh and I love photobooths and have taken some happy snaps in them several times while we’ve been together – when we heard you could hire them we decided on the spot that we had to have it!  We hired it from Funbooth and they were fantastic to deal with.  It came with an attendant for the night who helped our guests glue one copy into a guest book and they could take the other copy home.  We love looking through our guest book and seeing all the fun our guests were having!”

Anna made fun little badges for the guests to wear. “Two weeks before the wedding I had this idea that it would be fun to have little “I’m with Josh” and “I’m with Anna” badges for our guests to wear at the reception.  It was a last minute idea but with the help of Marajane01 at etsy they were made and became a fun little conversation starter for everyone at the wedding.”

Anna and Josh made all the stationery themselves “Josh and I did all the invitations, menus and orders of service ourselves too.  We both love to play around with photography and on Photoshop, so that was a fun part to share together.”

There was one last surprise for Anna… “Josh announced as we left on the water taxi – “we’re going to Paris!”  I found out at the same time as our guests who were waving us off on the wharf!  Most romantic moment ever.”

Congratulations Anna and Rich! Thank you for allowing us to share you wedding day on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Trish of Tealily Photography for sharing today’s images!