Maria and Julian

For Maria, the part of the proposal that meant the most, was when Julian honoured her heritage. “After dessert, Julian surprised me by asking me: “Quieres casarte conmigo?” (Would you marry me in Spanish, my native language).” And not only did he learn a little Spanish for the love of his life, but he also popped the question at the very place where these two lovebirds spent their first date – and ultimately, where they would tie the knot and celebrate with a beautiful black tie luncheon wedding.

“Julian chose a beautiful sunny day to take me for lunch to the same setting where we had our first date – Bathers Pavilion in Balmoral. We had a nice relaxing lunch remembering the happiest and more memorable times we had together” tells the bride of what was the beginning of their wedding story together.

With Clarzzique Photography behind the camera and Form Over Function on all things planning and styling, it was always going to be a most memorable occasion. There were (very) first dances, sunshine filled skies, surprise speeches and plenty of personal, beautiful moments as this story unfolded.

Julian’s children, Charlotte and Henley played a special role in the day – both acting as ring bearers for the occasion.

 

Maria chose a beaded gown by Essence Of Australia noting “I was always clear that I wanted a lace-free dress. Choosing a nice wedding dress for a morning wedding is very hard work!
After trying a few dresses, the shop assistant was very good at identifying the style of dress that I was after and she got me to try my dress. I fell in love with its open back and the shape of the dress immediately!
From the moment I saw myself in the mirror in that dress I knew that was it and there was no looking back – I did not have to try any other dresses – that was the one!”

Julian and Maria chose Christ Church Lavender Bay with it’s close proximity to their reception venue as their ceremony location. The bride to be walking down the aisle with her father to Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

 

The couple wanted a family-centric vibe to the day, Maria explaining “We wanted our ceremony to be very intimate and for our guests to feel the immense love we have for each other. We had a very small wedding where all the guests felt like part of our extended family.
We had two readings: Ephesians 5:21-31 read by Justine, Julian’s sister and 1 John 4:7-12 read by my sister Clara.”

“Clarissa and her team were fantastic” tells Maria of the couple’s photographers. “They managed to capture the love and happiness we were all feeling and also so many candid moments during the ceremony and lunch while making sure guests did not feel intruded upon.”

Maria and Julian chose to celebrate with their guests with a lunchtime reception at Bathers Pavillion. Maria telling “It was very easy to choose the venue to celebrate our wedding as we already had so many precious memories from Balmoral and Bather’s Pavilion more specifically. We also love the food at Bather’s so it was a no-brainer for us to have our intimate wedding lunch there. We loved having a simple and intimate reception in a beautifully decorated venue with amazing food.”

Form Over Function styled the reception with plenty of copper & black details right down to the copper chairs!) and fresh white florals. Stylist Alicia telling “The brief was white. In early summer in Sydney that can mean only one thing – peonies! So it meant I could take the pick of summer’s best blooms – peonies, David Austen roses, heirloom garden roses, dahlias and the joy of black pearl lilies. The look was lush, full, generous.” Maria adding “Form Over Function did such a fantastic job with the decoration of the venue – I was speechless! Form Over Function was great with the stationery, styling and flowers they did for us, and organising and coordinating cars, DJ, photo booth and our wedding cake dessert bar and gift boxes.”

The newlywed’s first dance? Not just their first dance as a married couple! “Our first dance was to Alicia Key’s If I ain’t got you. We couldn’t have found a song that describes what we feel for each other more closely than this one. Funnily enough, it was our actual first dance… EVER!”

“There is a photo taken at the end of the day where Julian is kissing my forehead – I just can’t get enough of that one!”

Yay, thank you for sharing the stories of your day Maria and Julian! Thank you also to Clarzzique Photography and Form Over Function for sharing today’s celebration with us!