Our Little Wedding

Mark and Lisa

I fell for Mark when I was in my first year of high school. The first time I laid eyes on him I knew that he was the man for me. After a few years playing cat and mouse, we got together. Mark proposed when we had been together for 6 1/2 years and as waiting wasn’t a big deal to us, we had a look to see when our next anniversary fell on a Saturday and to our surprise it was our 10 yrs! What a perfect day to celebrate our wedding.

I knew I wanted the feel and style of the day to be Romantic, elegant and fun, to make people really feel like part of the day, not just guests. To me that meant involving loved ones, lollypops for the kids at the end of the aisle, roses on the mothers’ place settings. Really capturing the essence of love.

My dress was purchased from Bridal Collections at Erina. I knew it was the base of what I was after but I had some alterations in mind that would make it the perfect gown for me. I took it to Kelley Heaney Bridal Couture and discussed with her the large textured, floral shoulder I wanted to add. She was flawless in her delivery and the outcome was exactly what I had envisaged. We changed the neckline and backline and added a long, stunning veil from french tulle that complimented the dress perfectly.

The bridesmaids dresses were purchased from Forever New and were perfect for the occasion.

Keeping with tradition, Mark and I bought each other gifts. We wanted them to be something we could wear on the day and that we could pass down to our children one day. I got Mark a beautiful Citizen watch from Times Square on our trip to New York and he bought me an antique freshwater pearl bracelet from a cute local antique shop.

The Ceremony location was stunning. We chose to be wed above the waterfall in the Hunter Valley Gardens with a long wisteria walk way as our aisle.

Our photographer was Ben Adams Photography. He is amazing and I fell in love with his work from the word go. He was exciting and fun and on our shoot throughout the hunter valley gardens all I remember hearing was laughter from all in the bridal party.

A few of my favourite pics of Mark and I!

The reception was at the Sebel Kirkton Park. The property was our favourite! The room shouted old world elegance with detailed cornices, chandeliers and elegant filigree curtains.

As I wanted to have the personal touches as a big part of our day, we did all of the decorating except for the chair covers. Our centrepieces were ivory ceramic cake stands filled with candles, pearls and sweet avalanche roses nestled in.

The bonbonnieres were homemade jams from Aunty Evas Preserves. We had strawberry and vanilla or Blackforest for the guests labelled with ” Spread the Love”. Love, laughter and happiness was the feel of the night!

Our cake was made by Analee at Cakes to Dream On and was Cherry Ripe chocolate cake and Caramel Mud. We had the pattern of the lace on my dress trailing up each layer of the cake and fresh flowers to finish.

Our flowers were by Peter Herd Floral Design. There was a big heat wave in the earlier months of the year and due to this, the flowers I had chosen were wiped out. Rather than a worried call from the florist I got an excited man on the end of the line. As a fluke some beautiful David Austin’s from England had arrived and so these were showcased in my bouquet along with freesias and sweet avalanche roses. As you can imagine, I was very excited. The roses were wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

In the reception, Ben our photographer had provided a Crazy Photo Booth for all of our guests to enjoy. It was a fun, fresh and unique addition to the reception and had everyone up and mingling.

My dad is a really proud father so having our dance was something I felt a must for the night. During this we had the MC ask Mark and his mum up to join us and then hand us over to each other for our first dance as a married couple. It was one of the best parts of my night. The people we chose for readings and speeches, photos displayed of our parents at their weddings, all the little things I saw as part of the bigger picture. All of that really ended up making the experience that much more special to us.

Photography by Ben Adams Photography

Ms Gingham says: The photo of the dish running away with the spoon is so amazing! I love it. Thanks to the Littles for sharing their Little Wedding with us!

Lisa says:I love my husband, my family and my friends. Vintage inspired creations with a unique personal touch make my heart skip a beat! I believe happiness isn’t a destination but a way of living and making someone smile is one of the best things you can do.