Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel Wedding

Beth & James

Beth and James married in a church that was steeped in their family’s history and followed with a relaxed celebration at a waterside hotel. Their day was filled with plenty of stories – cowboy boots for the groom, a beautiful gown for the bride and a slightly awkward first dance as first dances can be so that’s what I love about it. It’s beautiful and simple- it’s Beth and James getting married.

Beth tells of how they met. “We were friends for a few years before we became a couple. Definitely a relationship based upon a strong foundation of friendship.”

Milton Gan captured today’s photographs with a relaxed elegance and a beautiful peacefulness to the story.

Beth wore a wedding gown and hairpiece from Johanna Johnson.

Beth and James were married at Shore School Chapel. Beth explains, “Shore Chapel was very significant to both of our families as we both had significant amounts of family history associated with the chapel, such as previous weddings, we were both christened there, the groom went to school there..the list goes on.”

Beth remembers, “The cars were quite amazing! They were Rolls Royces that were specially built for the Governor General in the 1950’s. We loved driving from North Sydney to Watsons Bay drinking champagne in the back.”

Beth walked down the aisle to Trumpet Voluntary. She recalls, “The best part by far though was walking down the aisle, it was such a big moment and the wedding dress was amazing.”

James’ brother and sister performed during the ceremony.

Beth notes “The wedding reflected a classic vintage style and was closely linked with our family history, whilst also simply being a celebration of two people’s love for each other. ”

Beth’s bridesmaids wore pastel coloured gowns from Jayson Brunsdon, Alex Perry and Collette Dinnigan. The groom and groomsmen wore tuxedos from Peppers Formal Wear.

Of their photographer, Beth says, “Milton Gan was absolutely amazing! I’m sure that he is the best wedding photographer money could buy. He totally understood our style and we had complete faith in him to deliver an incredible set of photos, which told the story of our special day – and he certainly did! A pleasure to be around on such a personal day, I can’t recommend Milton Gan enough! ”

Beth and James chose Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel for their reception. Beth telling, “We wanted to combine a very classic location for the ceremony with a more relaxed vibe for reception, which was held at Watsons Bay. Being summer, we had to be near the beach!”

The decor was put together by the couple, Beth remarks, “All the flowers we collected from the market, the table cloths were vintage lace collected from guests who attended the wedding, the cut glass vases were collected from various Vinnies (stores) and markets all throughout the year leading towards the day.”

For their first dance, Beth remembers, “We danced to Nina Simone, ‘To Love Somebody’. It was nice but the groom was quite uncomfortable dancing in front of all the guests.”