Delicate & Dreamy Garden Wedding

With an abundance of white florals, a whimsical lace gown, dapper suits & sweet scented candles, Ella & Cyril’s Delicate & Dreamy Garden Wedding really was a seriously romantic affair. Ella says, “We decided we wanted something classic and timeless but still minimal at the same time,” and oh boy did they achieve this in spades. The couple’s day was set in the soft light of the garden at Lamont’s Bishops House in Perth, and their wedding photos & film were captured beautifully by NA Studios Weddings. Ella tells us how they met, and about their perfect wedding day…

We met through the dating app, Tinder. I was on a 24-hr layover in Perth and started using the app for the first time just because my colleagues and I found Perth to be boring at first. Everything closes early and thought maybe meeting a local would be fun to do activities with while we were in the city. We matched through the app but I only saw it after landing back in Doha where I was based. We then continued talking through the app and transferred to WhatsApp. A month after, I had another layover in Perth and we decided to meet in person – the rest is history.

We went for a trip to Esperance in WA and when we arrived, I could already feel something was weird or Cyril was feeling uneasy throughout the very long drive. He popped the question just right about sunset time at Twilight Bay Beach. He made me set up my camera and tripod and pretended that we were doing a video greeting for my Aunt’s birthday which was on that day. There was absolutely no one there which was really nice and romantic. I remembered him asking me how I wanted someone to propose to me and he made sure it happened exactly how I wanted it. At the beach, sunset time, and just us two. Ahhh! Romantic!

The groom wore a tuxedo from Calibre Australia. We were choosing between a white or black suit and ended up with the classic black & white suit and tie.

My husband’s wedding gift to me was his late mum’s heirloom necklace. It was given to me just before we went for our first look.

I wore a Tuscany Bridal dress off the rack as our wedding was only 5 months away so I didn’t have enough time to have it custom-made for me. I initially wanted a simple and minimalist silk/satin wedding gown just to fit the vibe I wanted for the wedding theme. But after trying on these dresses, they didn’t suit me as I was petite and small built. Then the boutique assistant showed me big princess gowns and I tried on a few. It was a lacey ivory dress with a long train that I fell in love with instantly. I’m not good at explaining details but after trying on about 3 dresses of the same kind, in the first store we’d been to, I found the dress!

I walked with both my parents waiting in the middle of the aisle to the song “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Dorthy Kwon. A fun fact is I was wearing sneakers instead of my supposed-to-be wedding heels. It was a really good last-minute idea because my heels would have sunk in the middle of the aisle as it was raining the day before the wedding.

We initially wanted a winery venue for the wedding and were looking at options, however as I was browsing through Instagram, I happened to see a photo of the marquee set up in Lamont’s Bishops House in the city. I absolutely fell in love with and it was perfect because we’d been thinking about the transportation of our guests if we’d be doing an out-of-town venue. Some of our guests were coming from overseas so Cyril and I were really happy to find a garden venue for the wedding in the city.

It was a really beautiful service. Even though we didn’t have a church wedding it still felt like one because of the people that were there and the readings that were shared that day. We also included some rites in our ceremony such as the veil, cord, and coins from traditional Catholic weddings.

We hired Nicolai Abano of NA Studios Weddings for the photo and video package and they did not disappoint. They got almost everything I wanted from the day and it was really easy and fun doing photoshoots with them. Nicolai is a family friend of my husband and became an instant friend of mine as well afterward as we share the same passion for photography. Our favourite photos would have to be the ones from our wedding shoot where it was just us.

Our wedding party consisted of close family members and best friends that we had a connection with throughout our dating years. The bridesmaids wore custom-made dresses we sourced locally in our home country, the Philippines. The groomsmen wore Politix suits and ties.

The flowers used were fresh roses, phalaenopsis, baby’s breath, Queen Anne’s lace, tea tree flowers, mumps, etc. They were absolutely beautiful and made by our close family friend, Just Simply Loving. We gave her a mood board and told her that she could decide which flowers to include and she went above our expectations. Just wow!

For our wedding favors, we opted for scented candles from our small business Foyer Candle Studio. This is a really special detail of our wedding. We made sure that we included our personalized candles as a token and gift to all of our guests for attending our special day. This turned out to be the one that they appreciated a lot – every time we visit our friends and families’ houses as we can always see it displayed in their homes.

We DIY-ed quite a few decorations and stationeries. I designed our wedding invitations and on-the-day stationery with the help of Pinterest and Instagram. We opted for a letterpress print for the wedding invites that we sourced here in Perth through Starfish Lane. For the OTD stationery, I got them printed in the Philippines and shipped here just weeks before the wedding as they were a lot more cost-effective than having them all made here. We added Instax and disposable cameras that were supposed to be going around the reception tables but ended up just having their own table where the guests took photos and left their well-wishes in our guestbook with their photos attached.

My favorite detail would be the florals. I’m not really a flower person but seeing my vision come to life and how timeless it looked in the venue made me feel really special that day. Our florist did an amazing job in creating them!

A big shoutout to our wedding planners, Sarah & Holly of Confetti & Co. Events who helped us plan the whole wedding from scratch in 5 months. All the vendors they recommended were really great and did an excellent job creating a beautiful ambiance for our wedding. Can’t thank them enough!

Our advice for other couples would be to take it easy and always go with what you want. Advice from others is good but you’re the one getting married and you should be the one making the decisions, not your family or friends. Also, keep track of your budget and always talk it out with your partner especially if you’re going over it. Lastly, enjoy the day because it goes by so quickly. Savor the moment!