Adna & Ben

It is the touches of glam, Adna’s enormous cheek to cheek smile and the relaxed, but beautiful vibe of the day that drew us to this modern Sydney glam wedding.  Captured beautifully by Tealily Photography, the garden ceremony kicked off the day before guests celebrated at a classic sit down reception by the water.

Adna tells their online meeting story. “Embarrassingly enough, we met via Facebook. Ben was friends with my cousin, so I sussed him out and then asked him out. We met up a few weeks after in person, just after I had my wisdom teeth removed. I kept quiet the entire date because I could feel my stitches becoming loose and bleeding and Ben just thought I was playing hard to get.”

The bride chose a strapless lace gown designed by Norma Bridal Couture , accessorised with a gold crown by Viktoria Novak, she tells “I wanted a classic vintage feel dress, with a nice fitted body and mermaid flare. I went to so many stores and tried on so many dresses that I started getting overwhelmed and second guessing what I wanted. I had already paid a deposit on a dress at another store, when, on a whim, I decided to see Norma at Norma Bridal Couture. After seeing Norma I ended up losing my deposit at the other store and getting my dress made for me instead of purchasing one off the rack. No regrets- I was so in love with my dress.”

Adna walked down the aisle to Dream Lover by Bobbi Darin.

Adna and Ben chose McKell Park, Darling Point  for their wedding ceremony, telling “Both of us have a cruisy ‘She’ll be right’ kind of personality – which really wasn’t helpful when planning a wedding, haha. Everything was left till last minute and we only booked our ceremony venue 6 weeks out from the wedding – everything I had enquired about was booked out! I wouldn’t have even heard of our venue had it not been for the ever helpful Trish from Tealily Photography who suggested I try McKell Park- and her suggestion was perfect. It was an established and manicured garden, with lots of trees, right on the water with views of the city and away from the public.”

Wed By Kez officiated the ceremony, of which the bride remarks “We wanted an uplifting, short, fun ceremony filled with laughs, and that’s exactly what we got. Our celebrant really understood us – she was amazing.”

Of their photographers, Adna remarks “Tealily have a candid style – which was perfect as neither of us wanted cameras in our faces. I didn’t even notice them most of the time. Our photographers Renata and Gabriella from Tealily were so lovely and warm as well, as was our Videographer Andrew from Bottle Brush Films. He made me giggle so many times throughout the day and was always smiling – I had felt like he was one of my closest friends and we were so relaxed around him.”

Adna and Ben celebrated with guests at Simmer On The Bay, Adna noting “I’ve been in love with our venue – Simmer on the Bay ever since I first saw it in a wedding magazine – a year or two before we were even engaged, ha! It was rustic, warm and inviting and conveniently located with a beautiful view. Both Ben and I are foodies, so what sealed the deal were the menu and wine options. Best. Wedding. Food. EVER!”

Elisma Rose styled the romantic floral arrangements for the day, Adna telling “Our florist Elisma was amazing. She was so sweet and we met up a few times throughout – as I was freaking out and being a panicked bride – and she was just so reassuring. And boy, did she deliver. The florals were a dream come true – I couldn’t have envisioned it better. It was just magic.”

“I loved the warm ambience, the spontaneous moments, seeing our guests having fun, my new husband and those moments where our eyes met from across the room – aww.”

“During our speeches, we got a few laughs from our guests when we mentioned we hadn’t booked anywhere to stay for our first night as a married couple. They thought we were joking until a couple of them saw us just hanging out the front of our venue, calling nearby hotels to see if they had any rooms available. It was typical us, and although it doesn’t sound romantic- it was. It was just the two of us, feet swinging off the wharf, sitting next to each other end enjoying the stillness of the moment.”

Of the first dance, Adna remembers “Our venue had a separate floor/room as the dance floor which was great. It was like an amphitheatre – everyone could see us but we couldn’t really see them, so it felt like we were the only ones in the room. Which we kind of were haha. It was one of my favourite parts of the night. We chose to have our first dance to Flightless Bird by Iron & Wine. It has a special meaning to us.”

“We made sure we had lots of traditional Bosnian dancing! Both of us are Balkan so there was lots of rowdiness and cardio while everyone danced the ‘Kolo’. I also made sure I didn’t go home without sitting and dancing on Ben’s shoulders as I didn’t think I really had an appropriate reason to do it at any other time haha.”

Congratulations on your marriage Adna and Ben! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Tealily Photography  for sharing today’s wedding!