On the Sunshine Coast in September last year, Rashini and Patrick put together an intimate wedding celebration, utterly bursting at the seams with joy. With family and close friends only, the bride and groom were wed in a laid-back atmosphere, with some hints of Sri Lankan traditions thrown in. Adriana Watson Photography captured the magic.

Rashini and Patrick met through mutual friends. Rashini remembers, ”We were friends first. I didn’t realise Patrick was trying to ask me out for a while, I kept inviting other friends when we made plans.” As for the proposal, the romance, as with the rest of this story, is all encompassing! She tells, ”Patrick organised a private session at a small local observatory, saying it was a birthday present for me, I’ve always been interested in Astronomy. He had planned to propose under the stars but when we got there I was so absorbed in what I was seeing and chatted intensely to the observatory owner for hours. So Patrick ended up proposing in the freezing dark in the car park. Afterwards we had to get in the car and turn on the lights so I could see the ring.”

The groom wore a tailored suit by Institchu,  with a grey tie and rose buttonhole with geraldton wax, as the bride took time with family to be dressed traditionally. She shares, ”I wore a white sari – it’s the traditional wedding attire for a Sri Lankan bride. I was dressed by my aunts, which was quite a lengthy process.”

Choosing the involvement of their beloved puppy as one of their favourite moments from the day, including the couple’s dog in the celebrations was a definite highlight. Rashini tells, ”There was no wedding party but our puppy, Millie, was the ring bearer. She wore a special collar made by me. We wanted to include our Millie and chose a venue that was pet friendly with this in mind. Both the ceremony and the reception was held at Hideaway Weddings. It was the first venue we looked at and we loved it for how green and lush the outdoor area were and how cosy the reception hall was. The staff were fantastic as well.”

With only close friends and family at the ceremony, this joy filled wedding was both casual and intimate. The bride tells, ”Our celebrant kept things very lighthearted. We started by greeting each others parents, then exchanged vows and rings (delivered by our puppy). My aunts sang a ceremonial Sri Lankan wedding blessing as my parents tied our fingers together with golden thread and poured over some blessed water – a Sri Lankan tradition of ‘tying the knot’. We then presented our parents with some gifts. There were three readings by my best friend Josh, Pat’s sister Emma and my cousin Nimasha – who wrote a poem especially for us. Both my parents walked me down the aisle, to ‘The Book of Love’ by Peter Gabriel.”

Flowers, place settings, and decorations were all put together by family, beautifully and with love. Rashini shares, ”The flowers were organised by the my sister and bought from the local markets a few days before the wedding. I wore my mother’s pearls and the flowers in my hair included Pat’s grandmother’s favourite flowers, Geraldton Wax.”

Capturing the love and joy at Patrick and Rashini’s wedding was Adriana Watson Photography. The bride remembers, ”We chose her after a recommendation from a friend. As soon as we met her we loved her bubbly nature and also her gorgeous dog Vida. We knew she would make sure that she captured all the important people and the moments of our wedding and we weren’t disappointed! Adriana and Roxie Hotten, our celebrant, were both amazing and a pleasure to work with! Enesi from NSLV, our musician – we hired him after hearing him sing at a restaurant, he was absolutely amazing and brought the house down!”

Family pulled together many of the details on the day, as did Hideaway Weddings. Rashini admits, ”I did not like wedding planning at all – so we chose a venue that did most of the work for us!” And of their top moments of the day, all meaningful in different ways, the newlyweds listed, ”Having our family there – including cousins who came from Europe, how much effort everyone put in to make sure we had a perfect day, and that we got to continue the celebrations the following day with a brunch at our place!” The best tip from joy-filled bride? ”Don’t stress about the details – if you are relaxed and happy, your wedding day will be amazing!”

Thank you to our gorgeous bride and groom for sharing your stunning wedding day with us, and congratulations! Thank you also to Adriana Watson Photography for your beautiful images.