Isabel & Chris

It was a relaxed wedding day for lovers Isabel & Chris as they wed in a joyful Manly wedding. With a love of the great outdoors, the couple chose a garden setting for their ceremony, before dining together with friends at a stunning waterside venue. Every moment captured by Florent Vidal.

Isabel starts the story with the story of how she and Chris met, “We met at university despite studying entirely different degrees. It was the UTS Halloween Party in 2011. He was a gridiron player and I was a cat. He caught my eye early in the night and I was surprised later on when he approached me with a very smooth opening line: “Hi, I’m Chris.”

The bride chose a lace gown by Essence of Australia from Accapella Bridal. She remembers “It took me a while to find a dress I liked. I didn’t want anything big or overstated so I thought I’d be going with something A-line or similar, and I knew I loved lace. I also knew strapless wasn’t for me. But it wasn’t until Connie of Accapella Bridal suggested I try this dress on that I knew it was the one. It was exactly me and exactly right for our wedding. I got so many compliments on the stunning back on the day!”

Isabel walked down the aisle to “Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey, played by a string quartet arranged by one of our dearest friends.”

Isabel and Chris chose Little Manly Point Park for their wedding, remembering “We’re both quite outdoorsy so we knew from the start we wanted the ceremony to be in a park and for the reception to feel very open and light. We chose Little Manly Point Park for the ceremony and got married under a beautiful big tree with a view of the water and the city in the background.”

Lisa Parker officiated the ceremony, of which the bride describes as “The ceremony had such a joyful vibe and lots of laughs, largely thanks to our wonderful celebrant, Lisa Parker. We wrote our own vows and it was very personal. I thought I’d cry the whole way through but it wasn’t until the readings by brother Cameron and Chris’ sister Sophie that the tears started to flow! Cam read lyrics from Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest” and Sophie, being a yoga teacher, read a short yoga text about love.“

“It was torrentially raining in the morning and it looked like our dream of an outdoor wedding wasn’t going to happen! Then, amazingly, at about midday, it cleared right up and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Like it was meant to be! Also, when Chris arrived at the park to set up with the groomsmen, it was taken by an engagement party. Luckily we had reserved the park and they were happy to move, but there were certainly a few hiccups before everything came together perfectly!”

Of their photographer, Isabel remarks “Florent Vidal was our photographer, and he was exactly what we had hoped for. His focus was on capturing the day, candidly, without having us pose too much. In the morning while we were each getting ready, it was as though he wasn’t even there! And yet he managed to capture so many beautiful shots that really show the emotion of the day, and those are the shots we’ll cherish the most.”

Reception celebrations got underway as the sun set at the waterside Beachside Dojo Isabel noting ” It really grabbed us with its relaxed vibe, delicious food and great outlook.”

Isabel remembers “We really wanted it to be a celebration of not only our love for each other but also of our love for the people who make up our world, so we made choices to include our closest friends in special ways and it was very meaningful. Two of our dearest friends performed music on the day, our maid of honour and best man were the witnesses to our marriage, my lifelong friend Jonathon was our MC and my talented bridesmaid Alice made us a beautiful cake. We also wanted to include our siblings so they gave readings at the ceremony, while our parents spoke at the reception.”

Japonica styled floral arrangements for the day, including garlands of greenery adorning each table. “Neither of us particularly enjoyed the planning process but we were lucky with finding wonderful vendors pretty quickly. We went with our instincts in choosing vendors and it paid off every time. I would recommend every vendor we chose to our friends in the future, but I must say our celebrant, Lisa Parker, did a stand out job and brought joy and excitement to the planning process and the day. Japonica’s flowers and greenery were also stunning.”

Of their first dance, Isabel fills us in. “We chose “Wasn’t Expecting That” by Jamie Lawson, arranged and performed by our best man and his lovely girlfriend. We both have two left feet so it wasn’t the most elegant performance, but it was a very meaningful song choice and we had plenty of laughs!”

Congratulations Isabel and Chris! Thank you for taking the time to share your day with us! Thank you also to Florent Vidal for sharing today’s celebration!