black tie beach wedding - Polka Dot Bride

Alana and Dave

Can a black tie wedding have an element of relaxed chic? Alana and Dave totally pulled it off – marrying by the beach, they have both the sense of glamour and the laid back feeling that I love and it all came together to represent them.

Alana tells of how they met. “Dave and I locked eyes across the beer garden at the Golden Sheaf in Double Bay back in July 2007. I immediately liked the look of Dave and decided I had to speak to him no matter what. I tried to be classy about that fact that I had just fallen in love at first sight however, so I waited and waited, intermittently glancing across at him. My patience (or lack of) ran out after about 10 minutes though. Rather than walking across the beer garden to strike up a conversation, I beckoned Dave to come to me. Believe it or not, Dave actually pointed at himself and mouthed the words “me?”. We hit it off immediately and within 24 hours I had decided Dave was the man I would marry.”

Gorgeous photographs today from David Campbell Photography which, like the wedding are relaxed and chic.

Alana wore a custom made gown with alterations by Linze Couture (03) 9589 7224. Her bridesmaids wore black gowns from Saba.

Sails On The Bay, Elwood Beach hosted the wedding, Alana remarking, “We had our ceremony and reception at Sails On The Bay in Elwood. The main reasons we chose Sails was the amazing uninterrupted view of the beach from the venue, the reputation for quality food and wine and the most genuine staff we came across during our venue hunt. The staff were incredibly helpful, professional and friendly throughout the whole process (not just the initial meeting). We planned our Melbourne beach wedding from Sydney however the distance wasn’t a disadvantage at all. The staff were more than accommodating with setting up skype meetings to discuss the finer details when it suited us. On the day the wait staff were fantastic. They were attentive, professional and friendly.”

Alana walked down the aisle to A Thousand Years – Instrumental by The Piano Guys.

” We had our wedding ceremony streamed via I Do Stream for Alana’s grandparents who couldn’t attend the day.”

“I carried my great Nana’s blue handkerchief which she hand crocheted for my mum. It was old, borrow and blue. The groom and groomsmen wore personalised cuff links – one initial on each cuff.”

Of their photographer, Alana says, “We have personally known David Campbell for years and have had the pleasure of watching him develop his art into the unique, personal style that shines through his wedding photography today. We couldn’t have asked for a better wedding photographer to capture our down to earth nature and natural love for each other on our wedding day. David’s calm and gentle nature together with his artistic eye and professional manner put my mind at ease. He produced amazing shots that tell a story about who we are and what our wedding day was about.”

“We made our centerpieces which were glass vases filled with river stones and natural branches entwined with fairy lights. We used the vases to display the name of the table also. We made our own tags for the cupcake boxes and gifts as we wanted to keep the font consistent throughout every detail.”

For their first dance, Alana recalls, “We had a lot of fun with our first dance! We both have two left feet so we took three lessons at Fandango Dance in Maroubra in the lead up to our wedding. Our aim was to learn a few basic steps so we were comfortable and at least looked like we knew what we were doing. We learned the basic waltz and added our own few touches.”