Toni and Simon’s Spring Harbourside Wedding

Toni & Simon

Simon and I like to say that we met through a mutual friend, which we did, but it was during the last act of Future Music Festival in 2007. Needless to say, we weren’t looking our best as it had been raining all day, but love still blossomed!

My beautiful gown was from Lisa Gowing and I chose lovely floaty dresses in a light lilac from Bridesmaids Only for my bridesmaids. We all  got ready at The Langham in the Rocks and we noticed quite suddenly at one point that the suite had become rather smoky. Quite a lot of steam was coming out of one of the hair straighteners, so we immediately opened the balcony doors. A few minutes later, two firemen barged in with the duty manager and general manager, to find my bridesmaids and me in our dressing gowns, informing us that the ‘silent’ smoke alarms had gone off and wanted to know what on earth we were getting up to! Needless to say, we spent the rest of our time having our hair styled outside on the balcony.

Our wedding was the happiest day of our lives! The ceremony was behind the Mosman Rowing Club at the Spit West Reserve, Pearl Bay. It was quite private and away from the main road and cars. Carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers in lilacs and soft pinks from Petal and Pod, I walked down the aisle to Canon in D, played by our String Quartet, Jasmine Strings. My Dad turned 90 this year but he was still able to walk me down the aisle. A few years ago I didn’t think that would be possible. Some of our closest friends live overseas, so it was really special that they made the effort and travelled a huge distance to be there for us.

We wanted to add a special touch to our ceremony (other than Boss, the pug; we love pugs!) Simon’s school friend is a minister – we were hoping that he could marry us, but as he hasn’t been ordained, it wasn’t possible. He was still able to lead the ceremony though, and share some stories of Simon and him growing up. Our lovely celebrant Lisa Parker stepped in when it came to the formal proceedings, but it was nice that Paul was able to participate as much as he did in our ceremony.

We chose Milk and Honey Photography to take our pictures. Anni and George were amazing! As soon as we met Anni, we felt at ease and knew that she would make us feel comfortable on what would be the most important day of our lives. Both photographers were in no way intrusive and both captured some really special moments.

The reception was held across the road at Zest At The Spit, which made it nice and easy for our guests. Laura at Zest was also a pleasure to deal with, and the General Manager Sean ensured everything went flawlessly on the night. The magical setting on the water with fairy lights and hundreds of candles was exactly what we were looking for.

Chloe from Luka Candles created our beautiful favours. We picked two fragrances that we liked and Chloe helped us create small candles in glass jars with cork tops for our guests; she produced stickers using our logo for our candles, which Fine Invitations created.

Our wedding cake was made weeks in advance by Simon’s grandma – it’s a famous Russian cake called ‘Mikado’ which takes a number of days to make. Ever since meeting Simon and being welcomed into his family, I hope and wish for Mikado cake every Christmas! It is easily my favourite cake, and unlike any cake I have ever tasted.

Simon prepared a speech in Russian, especially for his Russian relatives. He practiced and perfected it with a friend who also speaks Russian. Tears of happiness were streaming down his family’s faces!

Our first dance was a lot of fun but very nerve-wracking! We had lessons from Ian at Logan Dance Sydney in Randwick, who was wonderful! We danced to ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations. It incorporated some Latin elements and the ‘Cha Cha’. The thought of doing the rotarie chasse/bunny hops in my stiletto heels gave me the shivers! But thankfully we pulled it off. One minute and 45 seconds into the song, ‘My Girl’ faded and transitioned into a famous Russian song, which sent the crowd roaring with our Russian moves! We danced the night away to music from The White Tree – it was a wonderful day!

Ms Chinoiserie Says: Congratulations Toni and Simon; such a wonderfully happy day that included so many heartfelt sentiments – the Mikado cake looks so delicious!