Naomi & Chris

For me, there are few urban places that offer as much peace as a nursery, and it turns out, that for Naomi and Chris, the stunning Glasshaus was just the right recipe for their relaxed, urban wedding. The urban nursery setting working beautifully to host a wedding that was less about formality and more about friendship, relaxation and the most gorgeous of love stories to unfold. Alex of Motta Weddings was there to capture the day that was filled with the best kind of  surprises.

Chris popped the ever so big question on the trip to the bride’s home country of Sri Lanka. Naomi fills us in. “We were on holiday in Sri Lanka in August 2017, it was Chris’ first time and a chance for me to show him the country my family came from and where I spent a lot of my time as a child. We were travelling around the island of Sri Lanka and ended up in the town of Ella for Chris’ birthday. I had planned a surprise and booked an amazing villa that looked out over the mountains with our own infinity pool. The scenery and the setting were just amazing. After we had settled in we decided to sit outside our villa with a drink and watch the sunset. As we took in the beautiful moment, Chris started to play a song that has a lot of sentimental meaning to both of us, and then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was beyond perfect, he had picked the right moment. Just us two, in a stunning setting, in a moment that I will always cherish forever.”

The greenery vibe of the day kicked off with the stationery designed by the sister of the groom. “Chris’ sister, Danielle who is a very talented graphic designer was amazing at designing our Save the dates, invitations, menus, the welcome board and our seating chart. She brought our vision to life through her designs for each element so incredibly well” tells Naomi.

The bride found her stunningly simple gown at Fame and Partners, finding the most gorgeous piece to accommodate an extra surprise. She explains “At the beginning of the year, Chris and I found out some amazing news, that we were pregnant!  On the day of our wedding, I was 4.5 months pregnant. This also meant that finding a dress was a little more difficult that I had anticipated, not knowing what size I would be on the day, and how big my belly would be. All I wanted for the day was to wear a simple, white dress that was going to be comfortable and loose around my waist. This did prove to be hard to find, as I didn’t want a traditional wedding dress, I relied on what styles the retail stores had for that season. I shopped relentlessly for a few months, with nothing I saw meeting my requirements. Until I finally found the dress I ended up buying, about a month out from the wedding, it was such a huge relief – it was simple, elegant and so comfortable to wear on the day. Exactly what I was looking for.”

Naomi worked with Glasshaus to create an Australian native filled bouquet. “We wanted natives for my bouquet and for Chris’ boutonniere. After trawling through images for inspiration for both, the Glasshaus created exactly what I wanted. Having the large Protea as the centrepiece for my bouquet really created the statement I wanted to dress up my look with my dress and jewellery being so simple” she tells.

 

The magic space of Glasshaus set the scene for Naomi and Chris, the bride remembering “We initially chose to have our ceremony at Glasshaus Outside and our reception at the Glasshaus Inside. However, the day before our wedding the weather was so terrible the roof blew off at the Outside venue, and with the risk of bad weather again on our wedding day we chose to do both the ceremony and the reception at the Glasshaus Inside. The venue bent over backwards to ensure we were still happy with how everything flowed on the day and how it was all set up. The Glasshaus venue really does speak for itself. The greenery of the plants and the warehouse feel really suited the style and atmosphere that we wanted for our wedding. There was not a lot more we had to do to really dress up the venue, other than our table settings. It was perfect for what we wanted.”

Naomi walked down the aisle with her father to Bon Iver’s “Holocene” Naomi explaining “My dad walked me down the aisle, and we walked down to Holocene by Bon Iver, a song that holds sentimental meaning to both Chris and me.”

Naomi and Chris chose Anthony Cribbes to officiate their wedding, They tell “Like the rest of our wedding, we wanted our ceremony to be laid back and intimate. Anthony Cribbes our celebrant was fantastic. His energy and his ability to capture our story in a humorous yet romantic way were just perfect. We had lots of guests after the ceremony commenting on how great he was. It was also so nice to watch our guests laughing along with his stories and really enjoying the moment with Chris and I.”

Guests celebrated the newlyweds with a decadent spread by the groom’s mother. Naomi tells “Chris’ mum created the most fantastic cheese and charcuterie table for after the ceremony that all our guests still talk about to this day. The love and effort she put into each element and the array of amazing French cheeses was thoroughly enjoyed by all our guests. Given how abundant the spread was, and that there was not much left after about an hour of guests grazing says a lot. It meant a lot to have her contribute to our day in such a unique way, with something she has a natural talent for.”

 

“We were so happy with how Alex Motta had captured the whole day” says Naomi. “The photos were natural and candid and we felt he had really managed to capture every moment of us and our guests. Looking through the photos I really feel like I can relive the day and night over and over. He also blended in well to the crowd, giving him the ability to capture all those moments so well.”

Guests dined on a feast catered by Pot & Pan Culinary Tailoring at long wooden tables. Naomi tells “The vibe was relaxed, simple but elegant, intimate. We wanted our guests to feel like they were at a fancy dinner party rather than a traditional wedding.”

 

A big congratulations Naomi and Chris! Thank you for sharing your magic day with us! Thank you also to Motta Weddings for today’s stunning photographs!