Amy & Joey

Amy and Joey wanted a wedding that was, in their words “a thoughtful mix of traditional, contemporary elegance and whimsical romance styles.” They didn’t want to take away from the serious nature of the day, working to honour the different facets of their lives – from a traditional church ceremony, an intimate Chinese tea ceremony and the grand Museum Of Contemporary Art reception. Each element of the day, captured with stunning beauty by  Kevin Lue unfold as we tell their story.

Amy and Joey met at work, the groom proposing as a surprise birthday treat. Amy telling the story “Joey enlisted the help of some very close friends to stage a birthday day out where we planned to go kayaking from Manly to a remote, inaccessible-by-car beach called Store Beach. We had been there before so I knew that we needed to get to the kayak hire place on time to take full advantage of the 4-hour kayak hire. However, on the morning, the time he had agreed to pick me up had passed and when I called him, he pretended to have been asleep making me annoyed and mad that we were going to be late. In fact, I got so annoyed, I decided to drive and pick him up instead, not knowing that he was intentionally stalling so that we’d be late enough to tell the others to go ahead without us.

We finally got to the kayak hire place and proceeded to kayak to the beach where we had to navigate around quite a few yachts that had docked there. These boats were blocking my view to the beach until the last minute where I saw a big love heart on the beach made with origami birds that Joey had made. This was his way of recreating the boat scene from the Notebook (my favourite romantic movie). It was that moment that I realised what was happening so I did an emotional 180-degree turn to be so happy I started crying. When we got to the beach, we stepped into the love heart and he got down on one knee and popped the question.”

The bride chose a strapless ballgown designed by Karen Willis Holmes. She explains “My wedding dress was the ‘Saskia’ gown from Karen Willis Holmes. It had a classic A-Line slightly princess-y shape but its details made it unique. I chose the ‘Saskia’ gown because it fit my criteria perfectly. It was a classic and traditional shape but the rest of the details were incredibly unique. It had a slightly angular slightly sweetheart neckline lined with scalloped lace, the corset was tied at the back with crisscrossed ribbon, and the skirt had a beautiful latte coloured underlay and the softest and lightest ivory tulle layered asymmetrically on top. The lace on the upper bodice had this whimsical and romantic beautiful detail about it and the ladies at KwH had put in a few beads to make it glitter in the light. It made me feel incredibly classic, beautiful and unique on the wedding day.”

Amy and Joey chose St Thomas’ Anglican Church for their ceremony venue, noting “St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney is a grand church that was able to fit all 300+ of our guests who came to witness us tie the knot and make a lifelong promise to each other and to God. It had this beautiful sandstone structure, stained glass windows and a long aisle for me to walk down.”

“The processional song that played was a live band adapted version of ‘Here comes the Sun’ by the Beatles where the first bridesmaid walked in to the sound of one instrument and every subsequent bridesmaid that walked in had an instrument added until the crescendo when the bride walked down the aisle with my father” reminisces Amy of her walk down the aisle.

The ceremony was filled with tradition – just how the newlyweds wanted it. The bride explaining “Whilst I wanted the grand sandstone church and beautiful florals to make the ceremony feel elegant and traditional, I wanted the ceremony to also feel solemn and hopefully through the content i.e. the songs, prayers, vows, Bible readings and sermon, our guests would have seen how serious we were about the covenant of marriage. The reading was from Romans 12:1-2, 9-13, 21.”

Amy worked with floral designer Teapealala, noting  “The flowers I chose were a combination of carnations, roses, dahlias, garden and spray roses and burgundy wine scabiosas in shades of burgundy, dusty rose, peaches and whites. These played wonderfully into the romantic and whimsical atmosphere to the day and complimented the venues and bridesmaid dresses that I chose.”

After the traditional ceremony, guests gathered at the Chinese Garden of Friendship for a Chinese Tea Ceremony. Amy explaining “The Chinese Garden of Friendship is a beautiful and tranquil garden hidden in the heart of Sydney which has a lake surrounded by greenery and Chinese structures that reflect the Chinese heritage and culture. It was a perfect location for our traditional Chinese tea ceremony where we serve tea showing respect to our elders.”

Of their photographer, Amy remarks “Kevin (Kevin Lue Photography) was always very professional but at the same time made us feel super comfortable like a good friend. His candid photography style mixed in with his flexibility to add in some shots that I specially requested was perfect for us and produced an incredible set of photos for us to remember our wedding by.”

And finally, the celebrations culminated in a festive celebration at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Amy telling “The Foundation Hall at the MCA is a beautifully unique ballroom with 7 metre high ceilings and blends 1930s Art Deco style with a distinctive contemporary edge. It has an attached terrace that overlooks Circular Quay and has an amazing view of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.”

“Our first dance was a mixture of foxtrot and slow jive. The song we chose was L.O.V.E by Michael Buble” tells the bride of the newlywed’s first dance.

Congratulations Amy and Joey! Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us! Thank you also to  Kevin Lue for sharing today’s beautiful imagery!