Bright Sydney Wedding - Polka Dot Wedding

Anda & Dean

For Anda and Dean’s bright Sydney wedding, they chose a rustic love affair that “captured our personalities completely – it was so us!” Gold Hat Photography was there to photograph it all.

Anda tells their story. “We met at Dean’s cousin’s graduation party 7 years ago. We had both just come back from individual Europe trips and weren’t ready for anything serious. I guess it’s true what they say – when you are least looking for love, that is when it hits you! On the night Dean’s cousin said “She’s going to be your girlfriend, I’ll bet you a case of beer”. Dean accepted the bet thinking he was going to win. Our whole relationship this bet was brought up and on our wedding day, during Dean’s speech, he spoke about it and finally gave in to loosing. Two of our friends walked in with cases of beer on their shoulders and presented them to his cousin (who was also our groomsmen) – it was a surprise to everyone and a hilarious touch to the speech! ”

Anda and Dean were married in a traditional Greek service at at Cathedral of the “ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LADY THEOTOKOS”

Anda’s bridesmaids wore blue and white lace dresses by Rodeo Show .

The bridal party traveled in a red London bus, the bride remembering, “We specifically picked this mode of transport after the church so we could have our immediate family (and bridal party) on the bus with us while we took our photos. It meant a lot having them all with us sharing in every moment of the day. It was extra special for me because I’m an only child, I loved having my parents by my side.”

” I wanted two different settings so we could get a variety of photos. First we had the gritty warehouse and next Sydney Park where I had some beautiful balloon props. I loved having the two contrasting settings.”

Of their photographer, Anda notes, “Initially I was looking for a different style of photography, something more vintage looking, dramatic I guess but still creative. When I found Mark’s website I had changed my mind – his photos were so bright, full of life and happy. I wanted our photos to look like that too! He has a candid approach to his photos, which we loved as well. I knew having any staged shots would just made Dean and I both look awkward. He was open to all our suggestions and was just as excited about the day and effort we put in as we were. He totally got our style and vibe and knew the types of photos we would love.”

“I did a lot of DIY for our wedding. Being a web designer, I was so excited to be able to create my own elements for the wedding. I had designed our invitations, the bomboniere tags, the wishing well sign, the seating chart, the menus – the list goes on! I also sourced a lot of the decorations used, like the table setting. I had purchased hessian runners from eBay, jars from Gumtree and had our lovely neighbour cut wooden slices for our centrepieces. All this just worked perfectly with our rustic theme. I couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out!”

Guests received favors of Violet Chocolates. “The bomboniere was provided by my mum’s shop, Violet Chocolates. She packed 3 little handmade chocolates in a clear box. I wrote a Thank You note for all our guests.”

The newlyweds chose Sydney Dance Lounge for their wedding reception, Anda noting, “I had gone to an exhibition a year earlier at one of the warehouse piers in Walsh Bay. When I walked in I had goosebumps and said to my friend “I want to get married here”. It had the vibe and character we wanted so I was determined to find a venue in the same location with the same vibe. We decided to visit Sydney Dance Lounge and instantly fell in love. It was the only reception place we had visited but the only one after so much research online that we felt was completely perfect and true to our personalities as well.”

Anda loved, “Walking in to our reception and being surrounded by our close friends and family. That was the happiest moment of my life thus far. We walked in to “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit and it was so true – there was no place I’d rather be but right there in that moment with my husband. I can’t put into words how I felt seeing everyone clapping and smiling as we walked in.”

Of their first dance, Anda remembers, “Our first dance was to “So In Love” by Curtis Mayfield. Dean had picked the song, it was a bit more upbeat than usual wedding songs which I loved. I had never heard of the song before but after I read the lyrics was convinced it was perfect. During the dance Dean said to me “it feels like it’s just us two, like no one else is here”, I was so worried that I would be nervous with everyone watching us – but he was right, it was just us two in that moment.”