Melanie and Ben's Classic Sydney Harbour Wedding

Ben and Melanie

Our December 2011 Wedding was a celebration of almost 10 years of love and growing up together. We met while we were in high school, as 15 & 17 year olds. Our love story started when we were teenagers and now as adults our love is stronger than ever. We both come from largish families, where we are the eldest. We grew up together and we grew up with all our brothers and sisters, so we made it a point to have them all in our bridal party.

Our florist from Lotus Floral Design provided such a personal touch. I could tell that her creations being perfect meant just as much to her as it did to me.

We always wanted a smaller wedding of between 50-80 guests and began planning straight after our New Years Eve 2010 engagement. Having just on a year to plan the wedding was just the right amount of time. Something we wanted more than anything, was an open ceremony and reception venue. The city had always been a special place for us. We looked at a few venues before deciding on Hickson Road Reserve. A splendid little piece of grass with unobstructed views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Our amazing photographers Welsch Photography left us speechless and teary-eyed once we saw our images. We really like images that are captured in a moment, not so much posed and traditional. Karl and Rebecca’s website hooked us immediately. We felt totally at ease with their ideas and ability to fit into our day.

After the ceremony, we went on a walking tour of The Rocks with our bridal party. We loved the old Sydney charm of the area, providing a great mix of leafy and built up areas. It was a sunny December Saturday, though not overly hot, so our walk was enjoyable!

My dress was by Jean Fox Bridal. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I loved the idea of a soft colour palette and minimised accessories. Once I saw the gorgeous peach full length gowns from Smik Rouse Hill, I knew they were perfect for my four bridesmaids. My veil was made by my mum, my jewellery from Fletcher and Grace and bridesmaids jewellery from Lovisa.

Ben’s suit was from Spurling Formal Wear Parramatta. The groomsmen’s suits were hired from the hire section of the same place. Classic but modern to suit the youthful men in the party.

A fairytale kiss on our fairytale day!

When we drove along Pittwater Road one day, I looked to the left and spotted the timber deck and floor-to-ceiling windows of a mystery venue. After a quick Google search, I found the name. The Beach Club Collaroy turned out to be our perfect location. The windows looking out onto Collaroy beach and cliffs and classic wraparound timber deck won us over further. Philippe and his team worked tirelessly to create our perfect menu complete with a signature cocktail the “Something Blue”.

Heidi’s Dreamcakes created our amazing wedding cake. The lace from my dress was the inspiration! Heidi did this complete justice and also provided small boxes of heart shaped cookies iced ivory to match the wedding cake!

Rings from Nader Jewllers

Our table linen was provided by Romeo’s Chair. Table decorations were from Events by Jennifer. The soft palette and gentle candlelight gave way to the amazing Collaroy sunset. Guests were treated to personalised bottles of Semillion Sauvignon Blanc as a thank you gift.

Speeches were given by both our fathers, my Maid of Honour and Ben’s brother. All speeches were personal and heart warming with just the right amount of humour! A moment I will never forget is when my brother-in-law remembered that in the week before the wedding I had said I was afraid the wedding would go too fast that I wouldn’t have a chance to take it all in. At the end of his speech he proposed a ‘slow motion’ toast, so that I would never forget it. It was amazing to see our guests slowly raise their glasses while stretching out the toast in the funniest voices! Ben said it all when he summed up the speeches by asking guests to toast to our “happily ever after”.