Sarah & Sean
I am the first to admit I fell head over heels for Sarah and Sean’s wedding. The rainy waterside ceremony, the bride’s gorgeous black and white look, the sweet restaurant reception, the beautiful blooms. It’s all mixed in with the sweetest of stories and the beautiful photographs captured by Lara and Susie Photography .
Sarah fills us in with the story of how she and Sean came to be. “Sean and I met in the kitchen! I had recently just moved and didn’t know a soul. So to meet some new people I moved into a share house with 3 complete strangers. Sean came over to “have Chinese with a mate” aka suss out the new girl! He was in the kitchen doing the dishes (which he still does nearly every night!) and we spoke for ages… well mainly I spoke because he had a never ending line of questions for me! We got to see each other again only a short while later when he came to a party at the share house.
We were inseparable that night and watched the sun come up in the back yard lying on a deflated alcohol coated jumping castle talking about anything and everything. He asked me on a date the night after the party to which I actually declined! But bless his cotton socks, he didn’t give up!
For the next 12 months, he made sure to stay out of the friend zone and made his intentions clear to me and to anyone else who would listen and some that wouldn’t! 12 months in and I finally realised what an amazing man he was! We started out the relationship with a one-month backpacking trip through Europe and as they say, the rest is history!”
“To be honest, I was blown away by every vendor we came across and used! From Shirley at Diamonds International Chermside who made it a breeze designing an absolutely stunning engagement ring and wedding band, to my extremely talented makeup artist Sam who listened to us girls and made us all feel beautiful! Not to mention Wendy the florist! The photos speak for themselves as to how absolutely stunning those flowers really were!”
Sarah chose a skirt and veil by Nancy Khau Boutique and added a black long sleeve top from Missguided. She explains, “My mum, sisters, cousin, best friend and now Mother in Law went to countless wedding dress stores and tried on so many beautiful gowns and I just never had ‘that moment’. After much deliberation, I finally decided I wanted a two piece, enter Nancy Khau Boutique. She made me a stunning skirt that fit like a glove and during one of the fittings I tried the skirt on with my favourite trusty black t-shirt and there was my moment! I felt so comfortable and so “me”. It actually took me a while to be ok with the idea of wearing something that wasn’t traditional!
For a while, I got caught up in doing what I thought I was expected to do for a wedding. But I just couldn’t stop thinking about the skirt with a black top! I ended up finding the perfect cropped, off the shoulder black top online and then at the last minute Nancy made my exquisite lace trimmed veil. I’m so thankful I wore what I wanted and what I felt comfortable in, and not what I thought I “should” wear.”
“It was pretty special to have a ‘first look’ with both Mum and Dad. I had decided to keep the fact that I was wearing a black and white outfit a secret from my mum (which was tough) so it was lovely to finally show her on the day!”
Sarah and Sean chose Secrets on the Lake for their ceremony. Sarah remarks, “We had our ceremony at Secrets on the Lake Montville and it was absolutely beautiful! They offer a great DIY package for small intimate weddings were you are literally left to do as you please with their helpful staff there if needed. The actual location is STUNNING! Their gardens are impeccably manicured and are right on the banks of the Lake Baroon Pocket Dam. From the moment Sean and I set foot into the gardens, we knew it’s where we were going to get married!”
Sarah walked down the aisle to “First Day” by Mark Wilkinson.
Mary Bruce officiated the ceremony. “We wanted our ceremony to be simple and to be relaxed, and Mary made sure of that! Because we had only ten guests in total Mary was able to make our ceremony so personal and intimate where each person was acknowledged for the part they played in our life and our relationship. We laughed, mostly at each other and a few tears were shed, it was honestly amazing! I randomly came across a reading online and Sean and I adored it, it was called “Marriage is not beautiful”. It was very raw and honest.”
“The most important part of the day to us was the vows and promises that we made to each other. We wrote our own vows and it was a truly special moment to exchange such personal promises to each other in front of our immediate family. I’m still thankful that Sean promised in his vows to kill every spider for me! Another special detail we included with the help of Mary was a ring blessing. Because it was such an intimate ceremony we asked each of our family members to hold our rings and put their positive thoughts, well wishes and love into them.”
Of their photographer, Sarah gushes, “Lara was sensational and we honestly could not have imagined having anyone but her there on the day! She turned up early, stayed late and joined in on our jokes! We love that she captured some of those epic shoots which show the beautiful scenery but most of all we are so thankful that she captured the real unplanned moments, the ugly tears, the nerves, those looks, the hugs and hand shakes and ALL of those belly full, mouth open, eye squinting, nose crinkling laughs. I know it sounds corny but she really captured everyone the way we know and love them!”
Guests enjoyed lawn games in the garden before the ceremony, the bride remembering, “We use to play bocce it at Christmas when I was a kid and in our family we have a rule that everyone has to throw the bocce balls the same way as the person who goes first even if that means backwards and through your legs.”
Guets gathered for dinner at Gypsy’s Table . Sarah remembers, “I don’t think I can express in words just how amazing this restaurant is. Sean and I dined here two nights in a row the weekend we were engaged and we couldn’t wait to go back! Leesa the chef/owner is an amazing women. She cooks with seasonal, local produce, she personally goes to the farms, picks her own herbs and spices from the dirt, stops and has tea every week with the old mushroom farmer and puts so much care and attention into her meals! We had a feast! There was no better way to celebrate the beginning of our marriage then sharing an amazing meal with our loved ones!”
“Sean and I decided to keep things as simple, real and casual as possible. This meant that at no time did we ever feel stressed about anything, at all! We kept our ‘planning’ to a complete minimum and it meant we were really able to focus on what was important, each other! ”
Sarah and Sean, thank you so much for allowing us to share your day! A big thank you also to Lara and Susie Photography for sharing this gorgeous celebration!
Oh Sarah, you looked so beautiful! Very brave of you to go with a two-piece outfit – but why not? It’s your day! It displays your unique style. Thank you for sharing.