Steve and Sarah

Steve and I met through our mutual love of great bands and good wine so naturally, we were meant to be together, forever. We were engaged within six months and married fifteen months later. It has been an amazing journey and on the eve of our second wedding anniversary, I wanted to surprise hubby by showcasing the details of our colour filled wedding.

We both knew we wanted a casual, relaxed affair with our family and friends to celebrate our marriage, so we decided on a long weekend wedding in Jervis Bay on the south coast of NSW.  The plan was to have a beach ceremony in the Booderee National Park followed by an acreage reception long lunch at the waterfront Kullindi Homestead.

With these relatively outdoorsy wedding details decided, we set the date for Friday 18 March 2011. Not too warm, not too cool… and typically, not too wet. After months of preparation, the morning of the wedding arrived and we made the very rushed decision to move the ceremony from the beach to the homestead, after days of rain. Our fab hair and make-up artist, Jodie from Make Me Over, worked a treat and despite the last minute change of plans, there was such a relaxed and calming vibe around the homestead.

 

Simple, quirky and unforgettable was the theme we were trying to achieve overall, so flowers and formal attire were out and lanterns and tailored shorts were in. My very talented Mum made me a bouquet out of rice paper lanterns to match our theme.

 

We had five ‘wedding babes’ in our bridal party, all of which were dressed in a different colour. My Nan made the girl’s dresses and I bought them a funky little bag to hold, instead of flowers. We bought the boy’s shirts from Island Importer and we all wore sandals and thongs – hello comfort!

 

My dress was a complete impulse buy and the first and only dress I tried on. Carla Zampatti can do no wrong in my eyes.  I loved the deconstructed feel of it and the fact that I didn’t look like a big fluffy meringue.

The ceremony was perfect. The wet gardens of the homestead provided a lovely backdrop and the rain actually stayed away! My Dad ran me, yes, ran me down the aisle (garden path) as my brother played guitar. Our local celebrant was fantastic. Dallas McMaugh from I Do I Do Weddings, knew we were after a simple, quirky and unforgettable ceremony so didn’t bat an eyelid when we showed her our vows.

I’m a details person so we had plenty, including loads of handmade touches. We designed and printed our own invitations, stationery and order of the day scrolls, we made ribbon wands and my parents made the best photobooth backdrop for us, which was a replica of the wedding invitations.

 

The marquee was supplied by Shoalhaven Party Hire and the Coolroom was supplied by Shoalhaven Coolrooms.

Our guestbook was a caricature of the two of us thanks to a fantastic artist Phil Spratti. We used this image on everyone’s gift, a drink cooler, from Coolaz .

I can’t rave enough about Golden Roast Coast to Coast who did an amazing job catering for our long lunch.

 

Local business, Sinplicity Cakes made our cake and boy, was it more-ish. The handmade cake topper of us in our wedding attire, was the quirky finishing touch we were after. Nicole Wong did an amazing job (and it is still going strong two years later)!

The rain continued to hold off for most of our long lunch. Speeches were had, amazing memories were made…

We all danced the ‘first dance’ to a live recording of Love Serenade by The Waifs. Perfect.

By late afternoon, the rain had set in just in time for us to have our more ‘formal’ photos taken.  Our photographer extraordinaire, Rowen Atkinson and his brother David, were so accommodating though and we can’t recommend them enough.

We wandered down to the jetty in the rain. With a growing audience of guests keeping dry under cover, there was encouragement for us to ‘get in the water’ to have some photos taken. One thing lead to another and as they say – the rest is history…

 

To love, laughter and our happily ever after.

Eight months after the wedding, we became proud as punch parents to our delightful daughter, Poet Sage (but that’s another story!).

Images by Rowen Atkinson

Ms Gingham says: Brrr that water looks cooooold!! Everyone looks like they had such a fun and definitely unforgettable time!! Happy anniversary Sarah and Steve!

Sarah says: “I’m a self-confessed dreamer. My Pinterest addiction feeds my day dreams. My day dreams lead me to Pinterest. I love weddings. I especially loved our wedding. Hubby and I have been married for almost two years and we’re now lucky parents to the dreamiest bubba girl you ever did see, Poet Sage.”