A modern, fresh take on black tie was the styling directive for this romantic Italian wedding, and we adore every image! Captured beautifully by Narrative Fine Art, the joy and love simply bounce of the screen, with each detail put together to create a magnificent day!

Though both from Sydney, Dominic and Isabel met in Melbourne while on a holiday with mutual friends. Christmas of 2016 turned out to be very memorable, with Isabel remembering, ”we sat down to exchange gifts over a cup of tea and Dom presented me with a great big box. In front of my whole family, I opened this box which contained another box, which contained a beautiful Alexander Wang handbag. Lo and behold, the bag beheld an even more important box. And so Dom proposed to me in front of my entire family. Turns out Dom had asked my Dad a good two weeks beforehand, so I was just as surprised as my mum and sister were! After saying ‘I do’, this has to be one of the most memorable days in my life!”

The bridal gown came from Pallas Couture, with Isabel sharing, ”having a custom-made couture gown was something I had always dreamed of, and nothing was too challenging for the team. My dress featured two types of unique French lace, custom appliqued by Chanel in the boutique. With a structured, boned bodice featuring gorgeous sheer panels, the skirt fell softly from my waist, with the softest, cloud like silk tulle skirt. Having a church wedding, I wanted a drama-infused train and Pallas delivered on that front. Most importantly, the skirt bustled beautifully creating a completely different look for the dress, but also allowing me to dance the night away comfortably, without feeling heavy or worrying the loops would break my skirt. I had my mum’s beautiful Mariana Hardwick vintage headpiece from her wedding dusted off and modernised by the amazing Ann Shoebridge Milliner. I’m so glad I got to wear something of mum’s, it’s such a unique headpiece that no-one has! My grandma also made me my garter which was very special!” The groom wore a custom suit from The Suit Shop.

The bride and groom chose to hold their ceremony at Loreto Kirribilli Chapel, which held sentimental value, as the bride’s parents had also been wed there. Isabel tells, ”we had a traditional catholic mass, facilitated by our family priest and Dom’s former school principal Fr Chris Middleton. We wanted it to be a joyous occasion (not overly serious), light, bright, young and cheerful. Having a priest that knows you both well makes all the difference. We chose string trio Sydney Ensemble as our music for the church. My bridesmaids and flowergirls walked to ‘Largo from Winter (The Four Seasons)’ by Vivaldi, and I walked down to Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’. My dad walked me down the aisle.” Including their family where they could, both grandfathers were in the offertory procession.

Capturing the day beautifully, the bride and groom were over the moon with the results from Narrative Fine Art! They share, ”we loved their photography aesthetic and their passion for art photography also. I was not after a series of staged photos, I wanted artistic candid’s with different backdrops. Jarred and Zac captured our day perfectly. To sum it up, their photos are natural, timeless and treasured. Based in Queensland, Jarred made the time to come down to Sydney to get to know us, which was great as, come wedding day, we were familiar with each other and could pre-empt the way he worked.”

”Jarred understood my style immediately (after some help from a Pinterest board). We trusted him so much that we left the locations for the location shots completely up to him. He took us to an empty car park in North Sydney and Lavender Bay where we got an amazing combination of photographs with our bridal party, and artistic shots of just Dom and I. We are absolutely rapt with our wedding photos and could not recommend the team more highly.”

Mosman being their hometown, Sergeants’ Mess was not only a favoured option, but convenient too! Isabel tells of the styling, ”for florals we were after a wild yet refined feel, featuring loads of greenery, white orchids, roses, dahlias, natives and, of course, silver dollar! Our florist Flowers By Drosia was phenomenal and seriously went above and beyond for us. As the dress code was black tie, we styled the room to this effect but with a modern twist. Throughout the planning I liked to describe it as black tie glam with an edge.”

Getting crafty, the bride was heavily involved in the overall look of the wedding, with DIY projects a-plenty. She tells, ”I designed and prepared all the graphics for the wedding stationery and the fabulous crew at D&D Letterpress helped facilitate the print of them. Dom and I packaged them all up and wax-sealed each invite individually. Having seen the amazing marble coaster trend, Dom and I were adamant that this was a feature we wanted to include for our place cards and bonbonniere! Together with our stylist, we agreed that I could do it. So, I taught myself calligraphy and hand-wrote all 250 marble coasters for our guests. I also designed and laser-cut all the acrylic signage for the wedding and food stations.”

Nothing was overlooked on the day, with guests being spoilt for choice. Isabel shares, ”as Dominic’s family are in the food and beverage retail industry, the food, service, atmosphere and vibe of the reception was paramount. Sergeants’ Mess were phenomenal, and together with our AMAZING stylist, Tooti Jacobs from Events to a T, we were able to put together the most incredible sashimi and oyster station, cheese station, whiskey bar, dessert bar and (of course) an Aperol Spritz bar. What more could you want on a 30 degree autumn day? We wanted a classic, memorable song for our first dance. After much deliberation, we chose ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ by Frank Sinatra. My parents danced to ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ by Frank Sinatra so this was a nice homage to them while also creating a new memory for ourselves.”

A big and beautiful wedding takes a lot of talented people to put together, and the bride and groom were absolutely thrilled with those they chose to work with. They tell, ”we made sure we had Brown Sugar Music perform as our band. They played  three sets with only one DJ set in between and are hands down the best in the business. The old-school classics had everyone out of their seat. I couldn’t have done it without our stylist, Tooti from Events to a T and the amazing Sophie and Teresa from Sergeants’ Mess. I had a particular look and feel in mind and Tooti transformed the venue and worked with our florist professionally, efficiently and fantastically. She was full of amazing ideas and I trusted her 100%.”

Having fun was an important aspect for Dominic and Isabel, with the bride sharing of her love for Italian weddings. She shares, ”Having spent time around Dom’s family and having gone to many Italian weddings, I was always desperate to show my family how much fun an Italian wedding is and hoped that maybe one day at my own wedding I would dance the tarantella with my dad and have the crowd wave their napkins in the air! Dom and our MC, Robert Galati, managed to pull off the napkin waving. He had the whole crowd twirling their napkins in the air to ‘That’s Amore’ by Dean Martin. Some of our friends got so excited they were standing on the chairs waving their napkins!” Of her favourite moment, Isabel says, ”it would be impossible to name one! Getting ready with our family and friends, saying ‘I do’, the atmosphere, dancing, sharing unbelievable memories with our family and friends.

The whole day was truly magical.” Soda Films captured the day on film.

Thank you to our stunning bride and groom for sharing your wedding day with us, and congratulations! Thank you also to Narrative Fine Art & Soda Films for sharing your beautiful imagery.