Sue & Ian
With an abundance of flowers and some seriously luxe styling, this romantic Sydney wedding is sublimley celebrated! The Beautiful Collective captured every detail, including the wedding bouquet of our dreams and the sweetest flower girls to be seen!
Having met at a mutual friends party at The Winery in Surry Hills, Sue shares of their engagement. She tells, ”Initially, we never had a romantic story to speak of regarding our engagement as it was just a mutual agreement discussed after a pig-out of pizza and beer in the living room at home. I’m a romantic person at heart and I think Ian knew I was secretly disappointed that we were so practical about our engagement. Months after we announced to our friends and family of our decision to get married, we planned a weekend away to our favourite B&B in Kangaroo Valley. Ian wanted to make a stop over in Kiama, where he suggested we take a walk along the pier. My feet were hurting and I really didn’t feel like taking a walk; reluctantly, I went for the walk. As we reached the end of the pier, Ian turned to me, got down on one knee, took my hand and formally, and romantically proposed. It was so very sweet.”
The bride chose a stunning gown from Johanna Johnson. She shares, ”I tried on so many dresses before finally deciding on a deep ivory coloured vintage inspired silk gown with a matching detachable tulle over-skirt, which I wore for the ceremony, removing the over-skirt for the reception. I chose this dress for its simple elegance which did not overwhelm my petite stature, and it seemed appropriate for the theme of our intimate wedding. I loved my cathedral length veil, it made me feel like a real bride! Knowing that my wedding day will be the only time in my life that I will ever get to wear one, it was truly special to me.” The bride wore shoes from Jimmy Choo and Stuart Weitzman, while the groom wore a custom made charcoal suit from Brent Wilson with a classic silk champagne coloured tie. The couple chose to have family and close friends in their bridal party, along with the bride’s nieces as flower girls.
With a breathtaking day executed beautifully from start to finish, Sue says of their chosen vendors, ”All of them did an amazing job. They were all truly a talented team of resources and they delivered results which made our day so special.” And in choosing The Beautiful Collective to capture the day, the newlyweds could not have been happier! The bride shares, ”I found them at a bridal expo and we are so very glad we chose them. We really like their artistic, candid style of photography and they were so easy to work with. They had a great sense of humour which helped us to relax in photos.”
Choosing Gunners’ Barracks as both their ceremony and reception venues was simple for both the bride and groom, with Sue telling, ”It was our first and only choice for a wedding venue as we had often visited for High Tea. We loved the location, views and luxe interior styling of the reception room. The ceremony took place in the sandstone courtyard. Guests were treated to stunning harbour views during pre-dinner cocktails which were held on the harbour terrace, before proceeding inside to the romantic and elegantly lit chandelier draped reception room. The theme we chose and the atmosphere we wanted to create can be described as intimate, elegant, and romantic with tones of whimsical vintage in pastel shades of blush pink, peach, champagne, gold, ivory and lots of lush greenery. The outdoor ceremony was rushed due to the dark looming clouds above. Linda Marsden performed the ceremony just in time for guests to get under cover from the heavy rain.” The bride was escorted down the aisle by her brother to the song, ‘Only Time’ by Enya, played by a string trio.
Making sure all the details were thought of in the lead up, the bride loved every bit of their wedding planning. In choosing a favourite detail, she shares, ”This is hard, because I loved so much. I loved the floral suspended arbour at the ceremony, and my four foot bouquet. I also loved the sweetheart table styling. It is almost impossible for me to choose a single favourite detail!” And in telling of her memory of the day, Sue recalls, ”I remember the whole day as a wonderful, whirlwind blur. I kept stressing about the timeline and what needed to be done next, rather than living in the present and enjoying the moments of getting ready. I remember being in such a hurried panic that I forgot to take two minutes by myself to truly look at my reflection as a bride in the mirror. Days after the wedding, I had actually forgotton what I looked like on the day, until the professional photographs arrived.”
Flowers were a big part of Sue and Ian’s wedding, as the bride tells, ”I adore flowers, so during the planning of our wedding, flowers were one of the key focuses. I was obsessed with Pinterest. My florist, Alicia from Miss Fleuriste, was amazing. Her attention to detail, perfectionism and professionalism exceeded my expectations. She nailed the brief when I informed her of my artistic direction which was soft and romantic, glam with organic, whimsical, overgrown botanicals, and overflowing florals. The floral arrangements included an abundance of various roses, garden roses, anemonies, blushing brides, and berries, with lush rambling foliage and vines to create textures to look overgrown, wild and organic. Guests tables were graced with large floral centerpieces placed in gold, footed vintage urns, whilst large magnolia leaves with guests names calligraphed in gold ink script were used as place cards. I spent months having fun getting inspiration from Pinterest and wedding blogs. It was such an enjoyable, creative process and my florist was such a joy to work with.”
Although the bride had good intentions to do some DIY, she says, ”I left that talent to the professionals!” She did, however, add a gorgeous touch with some treasure she had purchased previously. Sue tells, ”I had bought several reels of blush peach coloured vintage silk ribbon from Europe during my travels a few years ago, and I really wanted to incorporate them into the wedding. We ended up using them as part of our invitations to add a personal touch. We tied the ribbons around the invitation package and the ribbons were also used to tie the napkin place settings.”
With dance lessons from Crows Nest Dance Centre under their belts, the newlyweds chose Van Morrison’s ‘Have I Told You Lately’ as their first dance. The bride shares ,”It was lovingly sung by my friend and usher, Daniel. We chose this song because it is our song and the choreography was easy to remember. We took private dance lessons for a few weeks leading up to the wedding as we both have two left feet.” The day was made even more special with family coming from interstate and internationally to celebrate with the couple. Sure tells of a highlight being, ”My courageous mother travelling four and a half hours on a plane from Darwin to attend my wedding in Sydney only months post her crippling stroke.”
Thank you to our beautiful bride and groom for sharing your gorgeous day, and congratulations! Thank you also to The Beautiful Collective for your photographs!
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