Sal and Dan

A classic wedding on the South Coast to delight your senses this afternoon. The golden balmy light, the beautiful backdrops and the love story.

Sal recalls how she met her husband. “We met through a mutual friend who kept suggesting we meet each other but Sallee wasn’t keen on being ‘setup’.  Our paths eventually crossed in April 2010 and our mutual friend was right, we were perfect for each other. We had lots of similar values and worldviews.  We had a coffee date that lasted 4 hours and it just blossomed from there. We were engaged after 6 months of dating.

Dan proposed at my 30th birthday party in front of all my family and friends, around 150 people.  He had asked my parents for their permission to marry me, so they were aware of what he was up to but other than that nobody else had a clue!  He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him during the speeches. He had the diamond ring designed by Cerrone jewelers while he was in New York. I was so overwhelmed with joy and love. Everyone was screaming and crying with excitement. My friend is a photographer and she actually captured the proposal moment so we have plenty of photos to remember the moment. Even the staff at the venue had drinks with us to celebrate, they thought Dan was very courageous/insane in case I said no.  I was so shocked he had proposed I just kept repeating “oh my gosh” yes, yes, yes.  We celebrated till 5am with all my close friends, it was better than I could have ever imagined. To this day everyone still talks about it!”

Photographs today are by Matthew Mead. Matthew has this beautiful way of capturing light, candid moments and detail which I love. There’s a soft gentleness to his captures with a grittiness.

Dan hired a  suit with knee length tails from Myer.  Sal recalls ” He wore a silver vest and a black and silver tie.  His shoes were from Florsheim and he had a buttonhole flower of cream David Austin rose. He wore ‘groom’ cufflinks.  All the 6 groomsmen wore tails also (hired from Spurling Formalwear) but with black vests and personalized cuff links from the groom.”

Jessica Ditano from Amore Hair Designs styled the girl’s hair while Kerrie Gentle styled the make up.

The bride and bridesmaids wore shoes from Wanted.

The bride wore a gown from Providence and carried a bouquet of David Austin roses, Colombian roses and berries styled by Rheannon Lee Floral Designs .

An odd story of the day revolved around the bridesmaid’s gowns. Sal recalls “The dress maker had unfortunately received a faulty batch of zippers and 2 of the zippers of my bridesmaids dresses broke just as we were leaving to go to the church so my mum saved the day and sowed them into their dresses. The cars were all waiting and it made us 20 mins late to the church but nobody had any idea until afterwards.  I was just thankful it wasn’t my dress.”

Sal recalls “We were married at North Nowra City church.  I was so excited to walk down the aisle with my dad who was so proud.  He held back the tears and was a tower of strength.”

Sal walked down the aisle to “The Songbirds” by Fleetwood Mac. She says “It was the best day of my life.  It was honestly better than I imagined. I thought I would be nervous but I was very relaxed.  I promised myself to stop and enjoy every part of the day, as I know it goes so quickly and I didn’t want to miss a moment.  I remember holding my dad’s arm so tight and watching the joy in his eyes as we walked down the aisle and seeing my husbands face light up as I walked closer to him.  I felt confident that I was marrying the right man for me and I was just so happy. I would not have changed anything from the day, it was heavenly.”

The ceremony had incredibly moving moments for the couple. Sal recalls, “Both of our families get on very well and I think that is very unique to have such unity!  Dan’s grandma is in her 80s and she prayed for us.  This was very special in front of all our family and friends to see his proud grandma grab the microphone and pray such a precious prayer of blessing!”

As she walked down the aisle, Sal says ” I smiled the entire time, lots of the guests were crying, especially my mum at the front of the church. Dan and I go to church regularly so our senior pastor married us and another pastor from our church (Pastor Matthew Wikquavanu and Pastor Mark Bridgewater) gave us 20 points on “making marriage fun and strong and last”. He is a character of a man and there was lots of laughter.”

Sal recalls, “We both said traditional vows and then the 2 pastors prayed for us.  Daniel’s sisters, Jessica and Sarah both read a bible verse and we had a friend sing “Hallelujah” as we signed the registry.  My sister was my maid of honor and Dan’s brother was his best man.”

The bridesmaid’s gowns were individually designed, Sal explains. “I had 6 bridesmaids.  I had their dresses designed by Lynette Robertson. I had seen the style of dresses I liked in a movie and she used this picture as a foundation for her bridesmaid creation. I had 2 pregnant bridesmaids so it was hard to find a style that suited everyone, but Lynette was fantastic.  They all wore the same style, a silk gown with georgette lining, the colour was called ‘vintage rose” and it has one shoulder with fabric flowers as a feature.  They were fitted under the bust then dropped to the ground.  As I had 6 bridesmaids I made all the decisions on want I wanted them to wear and they all were happy with that. I found it stopped any disagreements.  They are amazing friends.”

Sal advises, “Enjoy every moment and don’t take the event to seriously but focus on the meaning of marriage. Laugh a lot and stay well hydrated. Anxiety and stress can steal the joy of the entire day. Plus, if you’re having fun so will the guests.  Also, have an emergency pack of Panadol, eye drops, touch up make up and a needle and thread just in case!!”

Guests joined the couple for an evening reception at Coolangatta Estate Vineyard. The reception was filled with flowers to capture the romantic elegance feel Sal and Dan wanted to create. Sal recalls, “The florist did 30 small flower arrangements (roses and lilies) for the bar tables and the bridal table, the fireplace and the toilets.  We had 2 large arrangements of flowers at the front of the venue and crystal candelabras scattered throughout the room.  The scents from the flowers and candles burning were divine.  We were worried we wouldn’t have enough food but the catering was sensational and every guest had 30 pieces of food, plus wedding cake, seasonal fruit and cheese platters.”

Sal says “I love classic romantic styles so picking a theme was easy…Elegance, feminine and classic”

Music was a special focal point of the day, says Sal “I loved having Rio Rakoia perform an acoustic set in the garden when canapés were being served.  Guests loved him and he is our good friend so it was a blessing to have him sing at our wedding.”

Sal recalls, “The entire night was a roller coaster of emotions, crying with laughter then with tears throughout the speeches.  The reception was like a magical retreat.  The lighting was dim with was candles and fairy lights scattered everywhere.”

Of their photographer, Sal says “Matthew Mead was fabulous both with his photography skills and his personality.  He demonstrated great people skills with all the guests and we had great confidence in his ability to capture every moment.  He came very early in the morning and stayed till the very end of the wedding so he did not miss anything.”

Sally Wildeboer Cake Designs created the three tier wedding cake.

The couple hired a live six piece band for their ceremony with lead singer Glenn Whitehall. For their first dance, Sal says “We danced to “Today” by Joshua Raddin. It was so special to be in the arms of my soul mate.”

Sal and Dan gave homemade jam to their guests complete with pink labels that said “spread the love”.

Congratulations Sal and Dan! All the best for your next adventure together! Thank you also to Matthew Mead for sharing today’s photographs!