Charlene & Jason

Today’s wedding is a mix of tradition, of a beautiful garden ceremony and and an urban, warehouse reception filled with the brightest of citrus tones. It speaks to the love of design of the newlyweds and their lives as they intertwine.

The couple answered our questions together, so let’s kick it off with their version of the story. “Jason & Charlene shared the same best friend in high school, although they attended different schools. Charlene didn’t like what she heard about Jason from their best friend Joey, because he would always make fun of people and sounded like a show-off. It wasn’t until after their year 12 formal that Charlene decided Jason wasn’t as bad as she thought, so they started chatting online and getting to know each other. When uni started, they found out that they shared similar break periods so they started seeing more and more of each other. Jason chased Charlene for 6 months and was rejected a few times before perseverance paid off and they finally became boyfriend and girlfriend. The rest is history.”

Matthew Mead Photography with his eye for detail and unexpected captured the most beautiful moments at today’s celebration.

The day kicked off with traditional festivities. “We decided to hold a casual Chinese tea ceremony at home before our wedding – the best part being the “door games” that the bridal party play, where the groom must prove his worth (with the help of his groomsmen) to the bridesmaids before he gets to see his bride-to-be. This meant undergoing challenges including nasty tasting force-feeding to represent the elements of marriage (sweet, bitter, spicy).

Charlene watched from her phone upstairs.

Of their photographer, Charlene says, “Matthew Mead was our photographer, and we chose him because we knew we would be spending the entire day with him and needed someone that we felt comfortable with. He was hilarious and very easy going, a bonus because we contacted him for the style of photography that we were after – photos that provided a “nostalgic” feeling by use of soft light. Matt captured our big day from the early morning until late at night, and it was important that he was familiar with Chinese traditions and customs as it made our day run more smoothly.”

Charlene wore a gown by The Wedding Boutique. She notes, “The wedding dress was a custom made piece by The Wedding Boutique, based on what the bride thought would best capture her style – it was structured but still soft with an origami-like silk dupion bodice and underskirt, with layers of tulle over the skirt. A grey silk sash with a hand made silk dupion flower was the finishing accessory to the outfit.”

Charlene and Jason chose Eden Gardens for their ceremony. They explain, “We wanted to have a relaxed and intimate summer ceremony, so we chose the lawn garden at Eden Gardens which was surrounded by tall hedges. There was a wet weather option, thankfully which we didn’t have to use, and the venue was perfect for the number of guests that attended.”

Charlene walked down the aisle to an acoustic cover of Empire of the Sun’s “Walking On A Dream”.

“Our wedding reflected our creativity as designers and our individual personalities.”

The floral arrangements were styled by Sydney Wedding Flowers.

“The weather was a major factor in our big day. The morning could not have been any better – blue sky, no clouds, sun shining. Our ceremony was planned to be held outdoors at 3.30pm, but at 2.30pm the clouds started rolling in and the sky turned grim and grey really quickly. Jason was freaking out and received a call around 3pm from the celebrant asking whether they should have the ceremony in the wet weather back up area or risk it in the garden. Jason replied with, “as long as it’s not raining down cats and dogs, we’re having it in the garden at all cost”. As the guests started arriving, the winds became stronger but luckily no rain – only a small sprinkle at the end of the ceremony. Actually, the cool change in weather worked in our favour in the end with our photos because we didn’t have harsh sunlight and no one was hot and sweaty!”

The reception was held at Simmer On The Bay. Charlene and Jason note, “Not only was the waterside location fantastic, Simmer had a great menu and was a different type of space than the typical function centre. It reflected our styles and personalities perfectly, and allowed us to show our creative side by dressing the space in whichever way we wanted. The staff were lovely and considerate of our needs.”

“What didn’t we DIY! We designed and made: – our wedding invitations and other stationery, including menus and guest book – ring cushion – handheld fans with credits list and our ceremony reading – table decorations – jars and table numbers – place settings – personalised flag name tags on paper straws for each person – tissue paper pom poms – photo booth including ribbon backdrop – dessert buffet was DIY by our sister-in-law & the bride.”

“Many of the details in our wedding were based on things we wanted to prevent – e.g. being too hot/no sun shade – we provided hand made fans; being too squashed on tables at the reception – we limited the number of seats so that everyone had ample space; tall centrepieces that block your view from one side of the table to another – we had low height flowers in hand decorated jars; our bridesmaids chose their own dresses & hairstyles so that they could feel their best; our crew dined with us at the reception so that they could feel a part of our wedding just as our guests did. Almost every decoration was hand made – many hand and finger cramps were suffered!”

“Having set up our own DIY photo booth, we managed to capture some quirky and candid photos of our guests at the reception.”

“Something Blue Cakes provided our wedding cake and cupcakes, which were made using our favourite flavours – butterscotch mud, banana & caramel, and carrot with cream cheese.”

Congratulations Charlene and Jason! Thank you for sharing your day with us! Thank you also to Matthew Mead Photography for sharing today’s gorgeous images.