Genevieve & Daniel’s Classic Elegance Wedding

Genevieve & Daniel

I never ever get tired of a classic wedding. This classic elegance wedding of Genevieve and Daniel is simple and chic. White blooms surround the couple as they say their vows, they danced under farylights and kept their elegant touches throughout the day. They chose Lucy Leonardi to capture it all.

Genevieve tells the story of how they came to be. “Dan and I met at work years ago. At first, I wasn’t sure about Dan as we had to compete with tasks at work and we are both highly competitive. I mentioned in my speech that ‘I am certainly glad I got over not liking him’ as Dan has become not only my husband but my best friend.”

Louise Alvarez Couture created Genevieve’s gown. She remembers, “Louise Alvarez created the most stunning dress for my wedding. I felt so elegant and comfortable in the gown. I remember trying on the dress for the first time and my Aunty Lea mentioned that she isn’t coming to any more dress shopping as she knows that was the one! At the time, I thought this was so mean, but it turns out she was absolutely right. It was love at first sight once I put the dress on, the beautiful featured back and the delicate details of the fabrics certainly made the dress feel more than ‘just a white dress’”

The couple chose a first look before the ceremony.

Petal and Pod created the floral arrangements for the day, Genevieve remarking, “Rebecca from Petal and Pod is everything you could ever want in a florist. Nothing was too much to ask of her. Rebecca designed and put together everything I envisaged in the most beautiful garland as the frame and centrepiece for our ceremony in the sandstone courtyard of Gunner’s Barracks. To fit the classic, elegant venue the floral centrepieces of the tables were put in cut crystal footed vases, these were sourced especially for our wedding.”

Variety Wedding Cars transported the bridal party on the day, Genevieve remembering, “Lee Singleton went above and beyond, he helped arrange the timing of our first look, he pinned the buttonhole on my Dad for him, he carried things for us and even knew when we needed to have a little break to collect our thoughts before the ceremony.”

Genevieve was a dab hand at stationery for the day, remarking, “I created our order of service which included the readings which Dan’s Mum and my Mum performed as well as photos of Dan and me across our relationship. If you have any Microsoft Word formatting queries I’m sure I could help out!”

Of their walk down the aisle, Genevieve remembers, “We walked down the aisle to the classic Pachelbel’s Canon, this still makes me cry! I will never forget how the clouds cleared and Dad and I began walking down the aisle; I remember looking around and smiling at all our closest family and friends and thinking how all the planning and hard work had all paid off and how this was everything that I had dreamed of.”

“Lots of people have mentioned to us that one of their favourite moments of our wedding was when Dan wiped a tear from my cheek at the altar. Dan and I still laugh about how Dan forgot his own name in our wedding vows (in all fairness it is a nervous time) but all the guests giggled and it now remains a fun memory.”

Suzanne Stirling performed the ceremony. Genevieve tells, “Our wedding celebrant made our planning and the ceremony itself so smooth and stress free, Dan and I felt so comfortable with Suzanne and we have since recommended her to some of our friends, for whom Suzanne will now be the celebrant at their wedding in this coming April.”

Both the ceremony and reception were held at Gunners Barracks , the bride telling, “Dan and I were sold as soon as we entered the doors of the venue a year earlier. The views are stunning and the food is amazing.”

“My something old was a brooch which I wore on my bouquet. This took some hunting at the antique store in Blackheath on the Blue Mountains with my two best friends Libby and Addie. We had loads of fun searching and trying on fun old clothes but were relieved when we found it. My something borrowed was a gorgeous gold broach which I wore on the inside of my dress. I borrowed this broach from Dan’s Nan who had received it for her 21st birthday.”

Of their photographer, Genevieve says, “Our photographer was Lucy Leonardi. Lucy was fantastic at organising our families and at making us feel comfortable. Lucy’s photos are candid and really capture the moments of happiness.”

Guests received chocolate favors and handmade menus, the bride telling, “For our bonbonnieres, we had two different handmade chocolates with our initials by Bill Penrose from the Sweet Connoisseur. My maid-of-honour (my sister Elizabeth) and I had a great time packing these into little boxes which I ordered off Etsy. Bill had kindly packed more than we had ordered so the “task” (if you could call it that) was very yummy!

“My sister-in-law Amy kindly took on the task of creating the place cards and menus. She thought of a great idea to put the name on top of the menu and cover the remaining menu with the napkin. The menu would be revealed when the waiter placed the napkin on the guest’s lap. This was so simple and tasteful but a clever take on the standard place card and shared menus.”

Genevieve notes “Our MC and family friend Paul Wheeler made the planning of our music and all the small details of organising the timing such a breeze. Paul and his band were such a hit and I know the guests had such a fun night dancing away to live music. Paul is multi-talented in that he is a professional trumpet player and so many guests said they were blown away by the fantastic performance of him and his band.”

The first dance holds a special place in Genevieve’s heart, she remembers, “Our first dance was to ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac. This is one of Dan’s all-time favourite songs and has been a song which we as a couple always come back to. Our first dance was in the gorgeous courtyard of Gunner’s Barracks where the fairy lights twinkled against the night’s sky. Our first dance wasn’t your traditional ‘slow love-song’ first dance but instead was lots of fun and got everyone into the dancing mood. Dan agreed to attend ONE dancing lesson so that we didn’t just sway back and forth, but we did a bit of practice too. I have a nice memory of stopping off at a park in Waverton late at night after we finished work one night to do a quick practice – this was so much fun, we laughed and danced, it was definitely something you don’t ordinarily do on a week night!”

Genevieve tells, “A memorable experience was the sparkler exit. Our guests were lined up from the door up the drive way to the gorgeous Rolls Royce. One of the many things my Mum helped with was organising the long burning sparklers. The exit with all guests holding sparklers and farewelling us was so surreal and such a perfect way to end a perfect day.”

Congratulations Genevieve and Daniel! Thank you for sharing your story with us! Thank you Lucy Leonardi  and Louise Alvarez Couture for sharing today’s wedding with us!