With a colour palette of champagne and white, a black-tie dress code and a venue overlooking the water in Perth, there is not much that could be said for Amanda and Brandon’s Perth waterside wedding, but that it was elegance at its finest.

The couple, who chose Amy Skinner wanted a wedding day that honoured all the traditions of a wedding, but that switched things up with plenty of fun twists. Amanda explaining “We had rock paper scissors for who did the vows first, a bouquet toss where everyone got a rose, a compliment for every guest etc. We wanted the atmosphere to be relaxed but still formal. We had lawn games and cocktails to kick off the party and a band that partied long into the night. The atmosphere was romantic and intimate with candles and flowers everywhere. Our theme was a “white” wedding (ironic given that our surname is now White) with white roses, a neutral palette and classic attire.”

After meeting through a mutual friend, the way that Brandon proposed is utterly romantic – the groom planning a night away, whisking Amanda away for a romantic night in the city. Amanda remembers “Brandon organised an entire outfit – dress, shoes, clutch, coat and surprised me one Friday night with a note asking me to get dressed and that we would be going out to dinner.

We went to C Restaurant for a beautiful dinner and then went to Kings Park after where he proposed under the stars. The next morning there was a surprise puppy to top off the engagement!”

The couple hosted their wedding at Matilda Bay, their ceremony at Matilda Bay reserve and their reception right next door at Bayside Kitchen.  “The view over look’s Perth city and is arguably one of the best views in Perth” explains Amanda. “We wanted somewhere relaxed but beautiful and where we could have the ceremony and reception at the same location.”

Brandon and his groomsmen set the elegant vibe for the day with classic black tuxedos from Ferrari Formal. Explains the bride “From the very beginning Brandon and his wedding party were to be wearing tuxedos. We had a very neutral theme so chose a black and white tux with a detailed shirt and black bow tie. A super classic and sexy look.”

Amanda walked down the aisle to a friend playing “Comptine d`un autre ete – l`apres-midi” from Amélie with her father by her side. “I’ve always loved the piece and its super moving” she explains.

“Our celebrant was one of our favourite vendors” raves Amanda of officiant Louise Ward. “We clicked with her when we met her and knew that she would bring such a great vibe for our ceremony. We wanted the ceremony to be very focused on our guests and our future as opposed to the traditional back story. Our guests knew us very well and already knew “our story”. Our celebrant was relaxed but funny. We had a mix of real life, deep feels and humour in our ceremony. We had comments asking if the celebrant was a family member which was the ultimate compliment.”

Amanda wore a beautiful fitted Alamour the Label gown which she found at Brides Selection. “I saw my wedding dress online but was very open to trying on all dresses. I went to do a preliminary try on with a work friend before the big try on with my bridal party. The very first dress I tried on I kept coming back to. There was something that drew me to it. It was a ball dress technically, not a wedding dress so I bought it a few days later intending to go wedding dress shopping again. I never did!

I showed my wedding party and my mum the dress and they all loved it so it became the one. I added some custom buttons down the back and because my dress was modern I added a three-metre long veil for a classic look.”

The elegance continued to the flowers – the bride and bridesmaids carrying bouquets of white, long stem roses by Miss Jane Flowers. “The bouquets were all white long stem roses created by Miss Jane Flowers” shares the bride. “Classic, simple and beautiful. The buttonholes, table flowers and all the other flowers were done by the bride. 200 roses and dried florals adorned the tables. In my bouquet was beaded details from my mum’s wedding.”

The beautiful shots by photographer Amy prove how well these three got along, says Amanda. “We did an engagement shoot with our photographer Amy and we hit it off from the moment we met. She was great and just as adventurous as us tromping through rocks, cliffs and fences through the shoot. When she arrived on our wedding day it was like seeing an old friend again. She knew us, what we liked and didn’t like and was a gem on the day. Neither of us like being in front of a camera so it was key for us to feel at ease.”

There is one piece of advice we always give couples here at Polka Dot Wedding, and it turns out, it is the very same advice that Amanda has passed on to you. “Pick three things each that are important to each of you i.e. dress, food, music. When stuck deciding if it doesn’t relate to the top 3; don’t splurge. If it does, pay the extra and make up the difference in your budget somewhere else.

And make sure the wedding is for you! I didn’t love the sentiment of the bouquet toss so I changed it up and threw a bouquet that came apart into single flowers so everyone got a single stem. We did this for many elements of our wedding – shook them up and made them our own.”

Amanda created much of the decor herself. “I made the seating plan sign, menu cards, table numbers, accent mirror, wishing well, wedding party gifts, table florals & buttonholes, oh and the cake! I loved crafting every small detail that overall made such a difference to the wedding. I’m very organised and detail-focused so I had a 30 tab excel document with every little detail! We loved being the first ones into the venue to see the amazing set up by my beautiful friend Nicole and my work team.”

“Our photographer and celebrant were beyond amazing but were lucky enough to have amazing suppliers for the whole day, from hair and makeup to the gentleman who drove us to the ceremony, they were all so good. I ensured I assembled a squad who all had a similar laidback professional vibe which on the day made such a difference to the overall day.”

For the couple, every guest needed to understand their importance. “We wanted to be focused on the people who were there with us. Each guest had made an impact on our lives and we wanted to celebrate that. In our speech, we individually thanked each guest for something specific. i.e thank you, Sally, for always making an amazing potato bake. It sounds super boring but we both chose funny and personal moments and our guests loved it! We had so many comments about how it made their night.”

The newlyweds blew their guests away with an epic first dance, fitting with the bride doubling as a choreographer! She tells “Our first dance was one of our wow moments. We had a big over the shoulder lift that was the highlight of the dance and got quite a cheer from the crowd. I choreographed a dance to “Never tear us apart” by INXS. We were both super nervous about our first dance as the location of the dancefloor changed slightly on the night. Thankfully it went off without a hitch!”

A big congratulations to you both Amanda and Brandon! Thank you for sharing your story with us, Thank you to the lovely Amy Skinner too; what beautiful images we are so honoured to share!