Julie and Paul

If you’re a long time reader of Polka Dot Bride, you might remember a board I created last year for Bride Julie (Julie’s Nautical Jubilee). Well today I am so beyond thrilled to see her ideas and creations come to life! Julie is the biggest sweetheart and I feel honoured to have followed her wedding planning journey!

Julie lets us in on how the couple met. “We went on a blind date (well sort of blind, we had seen a photo) at Universal bar in Northbridge, shared a drink & had a great conversation and then started dating. Things initially moved very slowly, I think I waited 3 or 4 dates for a first kiss and had almost given up hope – turns out my groom was just very shy!”

Photos by Yoram Conradt Photography who captured all the details and effort Julie and Paul put into their day with such vivid colours and energy!

Julie and Paul carried the blue, red and white nautical theme throughout their entire wedding day- including the stationery. “Wren Press in Mount Hawthorn. Iantha did a fanastic job of getting the beachy feel and we got lots of positive feedback on the stationary. The invitations were inspired by Cavallo’s nautical series and the stunning location of the wedding reception on Cape Naturaliste, WA – which was the site of the proposal.”

Julie and Paul had a traditional Orthodox ceremony. Julie says, “The crowns for the service were antique crowns that on loan from a Russian church in Sydney, and bought over to the West by two of the guests.”

The flowers held a special meaning for the couple and were arranged by JVK Floral Design, Eagle Bay.  Julie tells us, “The flowers incorporated blue status flower, red and ivory roses. The heatwave that week resulted in a last minute change in flowers (spider orchids and hydrangeas were no-go due to the likelihood of wilting in the extreme heat and changed to the hardier status flower) The grooms buttonholes included silk cornflowers, to remember and honour the Groom’s dad, who died a few years ago from motor neurone disease. Cornflowers are the symbol for the motor neurone disease society.”

Julie wore a Valentino gown, ‘Deandra’ in ivory, which was imported from Europe and was sold to a girl from Dubai who only recently got married in the Middle East. Julie says “it has literally travelled around the world.”

The bridesmaids wore Shakey Love Frock in Cherry from Alannah Hill.  Julie says ” I wanted dresses with an injection of colour, and I figure that the cocktail style has more wear-ability than the matte block colour that one usually sees in bridesmaid dresses. The bridesmaids were my sister, and two of my close friends Sarah and Anne. They contain a blue rose print, replaying the motive in the wedding dress and also in the bridal flowers. My flowergirl’s dress was a sailor girl dress bought off Ebay for $10 – bargain! Poor little dear got nervous and refused to walk down the aisle but still enjoyed her day as a flowergirl.”

All the girls wore Manolo Blahnik ‘Something Blue,’ shoes.

Julie and Paul married at the Greek Orthodox Chapel in Prevelly Beach. Julie says “It was important for Paul to get married in an orthodox church. We found the Greek orthodox church, perched on the edge of where the Margaret River mouth spills into the ocean. The church has an interesting history in that it is named after Prevelli in Crete. During WW2 in the Battle of Crete, some Australian soldiers took refuge at the Prevelli monastery. The monks sheltered and fed the Australians and then helped secure their escape. Later when the Germans discovered this, they bombed the monastery. Some of the surviving Australian soldiers then re-built this monastery at Prevelly in memory of the monks.”

The service was one of the more memorable parts of the day, not just for the “marriage” part! Julie recounts “The service was filled with a few dramas. The church had accidentally made a double-booking for the day, which meant our wedding was to be held immediately straight after another party. The timing was going to be tight, but should have been workable.

There were hiccups when we arrived at the church and we saw all of the cars from the other wedding were still there – another guest ran out and we were told their groom had passed out from the heat and they were trying to revive him! We did laps of Prevelly Beach and our wedding eventually started about 15 minutes later. I kept a close eye on my groom, who was sweating profusely in the heat, to make sure he didn’t hit the deck!

We also have the rare privilege of being one of the few couples who can actually boast that they were married by two priests! The service was conducted by, a Greek priest from Perth and was jointly undertaken by Paul’s aging family priest, who is suffering from Parkinson’s and has retired. He was coaxed out of retirement to undertake one last wedding though!”

Julie says “We hired lovely old FJ Holdens for the transport and arranged a ‘just married,’ sign on a lifebuoy that was attached to the back of one of the cars. A gust of wind blew the sign off half way down Caves Road.”

Julie and Paul held their reception at Bunkers Beach Cafe which held significance for them. “A bit over half an hours drive away from the reception up Caves Road to the Bunker Bay Cafe, right on the beach overlooking the bay, and Cape Naturaliste was also the site of the proposal. This point was chosen because it is one of my favourite beaches in Western Australia and because it enabled fantastic views, a relaxed beach party feel to the reception and being next door Bunker Bay resort enabled guests to walk back to their rooms afterwards.”

The cake was a delectable tart tower created by Edible Art in Margaret River.  Julie describes it “We went with the grapevine inspired design because it seemed fitting for the location being in the Margaret River Wine region. Carmello is truly an artist! He wasn’t satisfied with the mould of the grape bunches, and individually hand rolled every single marzipan grape on our cake. The wedding cake was an assortment of 3 different styles – Margaret River chocolate truffle cake (gluten free) covered in ivory marzipan and a bunch of grapes and grape leaves on each one, and then blueberry and strawberry tarts to get the red and the blue.”

The dessert bar featured plenty of delicious treats including jam kisses made by Julie’s mum, strawberries & cream, raspberries, blue clouds, Max Brenner bride & groom chocolate & Sarah’s lollipops. Julie says “The dessert bar was raided throughout the night. When we arrived the next morning to collect our things the staff advised us one of the glass candy jars containing blue clouds had disappeared & they couldn’t find it anywhere. Turns out, one of our guests was so enamored with these lollies that he took the jar to have some for the walk back to the rooms, and he was found by his wife the next morning, passed out,  outside the villa, hugging the jar with his silk white shirt ruined from stains of blue cloud lollies!”

Guest favors were wrapped in red and blue and featured shell bottle openers or shell candles.

Traditional speeches were done away with. “No formal speeches were made, vodka shots were drunk, upon arrival in honour of my husband’s Russian heritage and cocktail food was served throughout the night.”

Julie changed into a short gown for the reception- so she had plenty of room for dancing! The couple used their ipod for music, playing a selection of swing music to 1920s to classic and modern day tunes.

Congratulations Julie and Paul on your marriage! I am so thrilled for you both! Thank you also to Yoram Conradt Photography for today’s photographs!

Photos by Yoram Conradt Photography