Our wedding was relaxed! Happy! And filled with lots of dancing! I hoped the day would be relaxed and it really was. I started the day with a run and James started the day with brunch. We decided not to have formal bridal party photos after the ceremony, but rather enjoyed canapes and drinks with the bridal party where our photographers captured some relaxed photos of us. It gave us all time to relax and really take the day in before the guests arrived for the reception.

My favourite parts were listening to the beautiful speeches., Seeing our guests all on the dancefloor.And the best of all was having our daughter Lottie be such a big part of the day.

One of my favourite memories is having my family altogether the night before for a relaxed dinner filled with lots of excitement and having them all a part of the preparations the morning of.

I couldn’t see myself as the traditional bridal type, so One Day Bridal was the perfect choice for me. I wanted a dress that was semi-functional, so I wasn’t restricted and could pick up, cuddle and dance with Lottie throughout the day. I decided against a veil and my brother suggested statement earrings for me from Celine as a fun replacement. The weekend before the wedding, we spent a day together shopping for the perfect pair and what was a very generous and thoughtful wedding gift from him absolutely made my outfit on the day! The last minute thought created a really special and memorable touch to the day.

James’ look was classic, timeless but modern. He chose a suit from Hugo Boss.  It was actually the first and only one he tried on!

We had Rob Muirhead on piano accompanied with vocals by Beck Elliston. I walked down the aisle to Sting’s “Fields of Gold”, inspired by Eva Cassidy’s cover. Rob and Beck sang a duet of The Prayer while we signed the registry and our guests were so overwhelmed by their performance, they all broke out in applause… even our priest! James added “Watching Lottie and Sarah walk down the aisle and the car ride to the reception, where we had a moment to ourselves to really take the ceremony In were easily my favourite moments.”

We were wed at Xavier College Memorial Chapel. James went to Xavier, so it was important to him to get married there.

I enjoyed planning every element of the wedding, particularly dress shopping with my mum, aunty and sisters! I found the planning really enjoyable! As event planning is a big part of my job, our ‘poor’ suppliers received a mega-to-the-minute run-sheet a week out and I am pleased to say the day couldn’t have run any better!

We had Emilia Sala and Tania Jovanovic capture the day. They captured an incredible amount of beautiful photos! My favourites have to be my family arriving at the church, I have no recollection of the photographer even being there! And a photo of when Lottie met James at the end of the altar.

My two sisters were my bridesmaids – Jane and Alice and Lottie, our daughter, was our flower girl. They all wore white, but each had their own style. James had two of his good friends as his groomsmen – Nick and Tom.

We chose Fenix Restaurant for our reception because it was a modern space, very close proximity to home which made logistics with Lottie very stress-free and convenient for our babysitter.

Lottie is a little dancing queen, so it was so important we included her in a dance set before she retired with the babysitter. There was always a risk she would be shy with a crowd around her but instead, she was absolutely in her element dancing and clapping the guests along! Not to mention yelling “One More, One More” to the DJ!

We had Rutherford Entertainment‘s Dan Martin DJ and he pulled out his Saxophone throughout the night which was a real highlight!

We hired Birdy Floral Stylist to style the reception and create the flowers for the day. My brief to Bridget was fresh, classic, crisp whites and greens with a splash of gold!

Bridget created an environment of clusters of white and gold unique vases filled with crisp whites and a splash of green. She also created a beautiful green lush foliage feature that dripped from the gold bar structure.

We wanted plenty of dancing, so once the bridal party were introduced, we had everyone dance for a few songs before guests officially sat down. We had our ‘first dance’ with our daughter Lottie to one of her favourite songs – Maroon 5, “What lovers do” feat SZA. James and I then had a dance together after we cut the cake to James Bay “If you ever want to be in love”.

If I had to give any advice to future brides and grooms, it would be to take some time together to really take the day in. We were told how fast it would go, so we made sure we took time to enjoy every stage of the day.