Linda and Joel

Today’s wedding is rather splendid (Woo!) It’s a fun vineyard affair from Western Australia with so much colour and life, it’s enough to make a girl want to kick off her winter woolies and run to the nearest park for an impromptu dance (oh perhaps that’s just me, winter is not being kind!)

Photographs today are by Christine Lim with Ruby Yeo. I love the warmth in Christine’s photographs. They’re relaxed, fun and truly capture the essence of Linda and Joel’s wedding day.

The wedding included many fun touches handmade by Linda and Joel- including handmade pins. Linda explains “For many months we made boutonnieres featuring peacock feathers and felt rosettes for the groom and groomsmen as well for some special individuals who helped us out that day.” The stationery was also handmade. “The save the dates and invitation cards were designed and constructed by us. Each paper was carefully hand sliced and glued. For the invitation card we incorporated Hornbill birds and Borneo motif as it represents my cultural background.”

Linda’s wedding day look was styled by Beauty Contour. Her gown was from Melbourne Bridal and Debutante and her bouquet was styled by Romance Roses in Brookdale (08) 9497 9994).

Linda and Joel were married at  was at Holy Family Catholic Church. Linda says “For the Church decorations we handmade yellow tissue paper pomander balls and hung them on the church pews and strung it with yards of tulle. Our ceremony booklet, which we designed and printed, was held together by jute twine to give it a rustic look.”

Linda walked down the aisle to a surprise tune for her father. “We had my traditional instrument played on the CD called the ‘Sapek from Borneo’, recorded live by my cousin who plays the instrument in Borneo. Dad was surprised to walk me down the aisle to that tune and was very proud of my choice.”

The hot rods were a surprise from Joel’s father. Linda says “We hired a Chrysler Limo to take me to the church ceremony. After that the groom’s dad surprised us with 2 Hot Rod rides, a 1968 Mustang and a 1930’s Nash for the bridal party to have fun taking photos with. Swing dress with petticoat from ‘Vivien of Holloway, London’.”

The groom wore  a suit from CUBEC of Melbourne, Groomsmen were dressed by Hizz Melbourne.

The couple held a cocktail hour at their reception venue Brookside Winery Boutique B&B. Linda says “For our grand entrance, we made tiny hand flags that printed ‘woo’ & ‘yay’ for our guest to welcome us which made a great impact on the photography.”

Speeches were held straight away.  “We moved away from the traditional order of ceremonies for the reception in order to give a more relaxed feel. The groom gave his speech on arrival which was an excellent way to break the ice.”

Inside the reception area , Linda and Joel added a table of sentimental goodies. “We set up a ‘history table’ which also presented sentimental items and photos from our past.”

Linda created activities for their guests. “Something to do before dinner, I made a crossword puzzle about the newly weds. It was an ice breaker for some guests and it was fun watching them guessing the answers.”

“In place of a guest book, a good friend of ours hand drew a tree design which we then asked guests to thumbprint with ink and write a small message.”

Linda and Joel held their reception dinner and dancing at Brookside Winery Boutique B&B. “We converted the wine shed into our reception hall but maintained the vineyard’s rustic charm. We had yellow and orange lanterns hung in the shed. To bring some of my cultural background into the reception, we sourced tribal designed table runners from Borneo. The tables were then scattered with tea lights and hurricane lamps for centrepieces. For a final touch of colour we used small glass vases filled with seasonal flowers including beautiful yellow sunflowers to keep with the theme. Each guest had a hand written, shipping tag place card tied to their chair.”

Linda and Joel made many of the little touches themselves “We were working on a shoestring budget, yet we felt it was important that the day reflects our personality and hoping not to break the bank. Thus, my husband and I tried to personalise what ever we could. These were some items that we made ourselves:

We re-used left over recycled envelopes from the Save the Date cards. We printed LUCK, LOVE, LIFE. Each envelope was filled with $1 lotto tickets, tea bags and heart shape Belgium chocolates. It was a hit amongst the guests.” Jules Flower Farm put together the flowers for the reception tables.

Linda and Joel chose a relaxed format for their reception meal. “We wanted the day to be less formal so we opted for a roast buffet style which gave a laid back and fun atmosphere. Our catering people – Perth Coast to Coast the Golden Roast – were great, there were lots of food with great selections which made the reception dinner look like an elegant wedding.”

Linda and Joel used Reece’s Hire for the tables, chairs, lights and “excellent dance floor”.

The speeches were a highlight for the newlyweds. “A highlight was the grooms men’s speech. They recounted a story from the groom’s childhood where, as teenagers, they used to eat ice cream cake with library cards. The best man actually brought an ice cream cake and registered library cards in the bride and grooms name from the local library. The cake was then passed down the table and guests used whatever cards they had to take a slice.”

Sophisticake made the wedding cake. Linda recalls “We had a chocolate mud cake with macadamia nuts coated with ivory fondant icing. Decorated with pearl strips on each tier and top with fresh posy similar design to my bouquet.”

For the dancing, Linda changed to a strapless, 50s style gown with a pink petticoat and turquoise shoes -dancing continued outside under the trees. Linda says  “Moving away from the traditional wedding, we both did the Lindy Hop as our first dance which also reflects our personality – the fun, energetic and loving couple we are.”

Linda and Joel hired David and Liz Rivett, a 2 piece Bush Band called ‘The Pioneers‘. Linda says “Playing live traditional Australian music and giving instruction in traditional Australian bush dancing was immensely an enjoyable experience. “

Congratulations Linda and Joel! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us today on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to  Christine Lim and Ruby Yeo for sharing today’s images!