Damian and I were introduced through his best friend. We were friends for a year or so before anything happened but when it did, the rest as they say is history. Damian proposed on our holiday to the Cook Islands in November 2010.

Photographs are supplied by Janine Kaye. Janine is just magical to work with and we were so happy to have a photographer on board to capture our special day who was so easy and fun to work with especially for me, who hates being on the other side of the camera!

In preparing for the day, we knew that we wanted our families as involved as possible. My mum (Carima Couttas, Mary Kay Cosmetics) is a make up artist so there was no question who would be doing my make up on the big day. My aunty also came to assist my mum to help get the girls ready. My cousin’s fiance is a hairdresser so she created our beautiful hairstyles for the day. Damian’s sister created the DIY table numbers, doily, lace lined jars and birdcage wishing well and Damian’s mum and aunty put together the pew decorations. Damian’s mum and sister put together fans in organza pouches for the guests as we were hoping it was going to be a lovely sunny day.

My bouquet was a garden posy bouquet with light pink Lisianthus, ivory rose, Dusty Miller greenery and dried brown Dodda vine while the bridesmaids had the opposite colours to mine. My father passed away a couple of years ago so I found a photo pendant from Etsy.com and put a photo of us in it.

Damian and I decided on a vintage themed wedding. My favourite colour is pink so he knew that it would make an appearance on our special day along with Black. The one thing I didn’t want was everything to be matching, we wanted things to be ‘not so perfect’ so when choosing the bridesmaids dresses I gave them the choice of choosing a dress as long as it was pink and cocktail style. I wanted them to be comfortable in what they were wearing. When it came to choosing Damian’s suit and the groomsmen we wanted Damian to be different to the others in the same way that I was. So the boys were wearing black suits, with black satin trim, different white shirts, different silver ties and 2 of them were wearing suspenders whilst Damian was in a grey suit with black trim.

My dress was perfect for our vintage theme. It was the Dakota dress by Karen Willis Holmes that I found in a quaint little boutique in Austinmer called Ivory and Lace. It was a V-neck corded lace slim-line gown with small train. My favourite part of it was the organza bustle train that attached at the back. I could not have asked for a more comfortable dress.  To finish it off, I matched it with a birdcage veil and a handmade organza flower hair piece which matched perfectly and which was handmade by Mandy Andrews from Amanda May Papier Couture. It matched the dress perfectly and she was such a pleasure to work with.

The ceremony was at Edmund Rice Chapel which was where Damian went to school. It is a gorgeous sand stone chapel and is very intimate. I walked down the aisle by myself with my mum and step dad walking down in front of me as this was our special moment. The moment I walked down the aisle to “Canon D” by Pachelbel and saw Damian, the butterflies disappeared and I didn’t wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the day.

It had been raining all week leading up to the wedding and we had a massive storm the night before but Saturday morning came and it was picture perfect, not a cloud in the sky. Then… 2pm hit and so did the rain. Lucky for me and the girls when the car turned up to pick us up at 3pm the rain had stopped and by the time we made the 20 minute car trip to the ceremony the clouds had disappeared. The sun shone and remained for the rest of the evening but mother nature gave us a small sun shower and a gorgeous rainbow!

The reception was at Ravensthorpe, and was just the most beautiful location for our wedding. It is a Georgian Manor House that has a marquee and courtyard at the back of it. Just perfect.

From the food, to the surroundings, the venue, the people we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful, fun and relaxing wedding day.

Photography by Janine Kaye

 

Ms Gingham says: I love the photo of that rainbow. There are definite benefits to a wedding on a rainy day! Thanks to Iman and Damian for sharing their day with us.

Iman says: “I love all things wedding and found that this was the most fun I have had in organising an event!”

Iman and Damien share the honeymoon in the Maldives on Polka Dot Honeymoons!