We’re not sure where to start with the list of loves from Lucy and Nadia’s sparkling wedding day. From the live performance that unfolded as they walked down the aisle, the hand-carved Chuppah they wed under. The surprise serenade, the endless cocktails, the sparkling gowns. Friends there is so much to dive into for this story and it all starts with the theme. Says Lucy “Our theme was ‘Express Yourself.’ We wanted our guests to feel comfortable to come dressed in anything that made them feel relaxed and sexy. Our friends are a kooky, creative bunch and we did not want to dictate what colour or theme they should wear. It was a destination wedding and we wanted them to feel comfortable and truly themselves.”

And this wedding? It was truly a team effort- right down to the couple enlisting The Wedding & Event Creators to plan the day and friend High Impact Headshots to capture it. Says Lucy “We worked to our strengths. Nadia did alcohol, food, and table planning. I did the ceremony, music, and entertainment. We loved working together on all of it, and we loved doing it our way. What we also know about each other is that we usually start at different ends and work our way to meet in the middle. It was a nice process to reach a perfect blend of each of our needs and vision.”

The couple first met at an Italian festival. Lucy recalls “I was performing alongside her friends for the Italian festival, playing the role of bridesmaid, wearing a Lycra yellow fitted dress, a mono-brow and a fake moustache. The performance was a mock Romeo and Juliet, then the friends who were playing the role of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ officially married in front of 30,000 people at the festival followed by a street party reception back in their laneway in Darlinghurst. Nadia came to the reception with her best friend Tim, met me and sparks flew.”

Nadia chose one of the most romantic cities on Earth – Venice in Italy to propose to Lucy. “It was a Laurel and Hardy scenario of planned scenarios gone wrong. The moment came one morning over buffet breakfast in Venice, at a beautiful boutique hotel, followed by a gondola ride and a walk through the streets of Venice, smiling, holding hands and riding the wave of joy, elation and love.”

The couple were surrounded by several of their favourites on the day. Explains Lucy “Our wedding party were made up of closest friends. We both had the best men as our closest confidantes. We wanted them to look great by our sides but also add contrast. The wedding party wore white, they could wear whatever they wanted, as long as it was white. We wanted them to stand out compared to the rest of the guests, as they were our chosen party, we also wanted them to feel like they were the special chosen ones on the day.”

Both Lucy and Nadia wore incredible custom-made dresses made by dear friend Robbie.  “We wanted to have our dresses custom made so we chose our material first, we wanted to wear something fabulous and comfortable that would suit our different styles and compliment our different shapes. We wanted to have dresses that expressed our individuality as well as look great together. After we chose the material we made the dress with Nadia’s best friend Robbie, who among many things, happens to be a fabulous bridal dressmaker. He worked his magic with the material and our body shape so we looked and felt fabulous. Wearing white was never an option, we didn’t want to be ‘traditional’ we wanted to wear exactly what made us feel, us…Our dresses were black and silver and gold.”

“We walked down the aisle together” remembers Lucy. “Our wedding party went first 2 by 2, so they could have fun together, then our children walked down together and then we followed. It is very nerve-wracking walking on your own, walking with a person is more fun and they could relax, have fun and get into the music more.

Our friend Christa Hughes is an amazing jazz singer, she sang ‘Feeling Good’ by Nina Simone and it was a fabulous moment, walking out and hearing her sing across the valley, then being excitedly welcomed by all our family and friends standing, clapping, screaming and crying… It was perfect. I had planned that moment to a ‘tee’ and it was perfect, one of my favourite moments from the day, as a celebrant, I am always planning this moment with my couples.”

The day was filled with nods to the couple’s family, and culture. “We had a friend, who is an amazing sculptor and he lent us his chuppah to stand under. Nadia is Jewish so we had some elements of that tradition., we smashed the glass at the end of the ceremony. We raised a toast to Nadia’s father, who passed away earlier that year. We all drank a Limoncello to toast, as this was his favourite drink.”

   

The ceremony, full of beautiful moments, was officiated by Cecily Hardy. “I wanted to walk in together to experience every moment with my greatest love. I wanted her right there so we could experience all the moments together. From the walk-in, the ceremony, and the walk-out. We wanted a relaxed vibe, but with warmth, humour, and sentimentality.

We wanted our personalities reflected in the ceremony. Nadia is more sentimental and spiritual, I am more of a joker, it was all in there. We wanted to celebrate our last 13 years together, all we have achieved together, our love, our children, and our chosen family. It felt like the ultimate celebration of our love with all the people we adore. We didn’t want readings as we had so many speeches later.”

These two have SO much advice you need to take. “Choose a venue that is truly you. We looked at a few venues, all over the place, from up in the mountains to lower Sydney, but when we saw Seacliff House, we knew this was the place, as it was just us, beach, ocean, pool, we could have our dog there, and we could have everybody in the one spot for a weekend of celebrations. It was perfect for what we wanted to create. Make a list of what is the most important and work backward. For us, it was food, alcohol, and music. It was having a place we could put on a great party, where we could spend the whole weekend away.

Work with vendors who get you and are lovely from the first interaction, if they aren’t, then move on. In my experience, those first interactions will dictate what they are like to deal with the whole time. I tell all my wedding couples this, do not leave each other’s side straight after you are announced as married, your guests want to congratulate you together, and your photographer will love you for it, as they can get photos of you both hugging people. My only regret from the day is that we somehow lost each other amidst the crowds.”

Of their photographer, Lucy shares “Phat is a friend of ours. He is a ninja on the lens, but more than that, he is a really lovely fellow and brings the right energy to our functions. We have used him before for weddings, and functions, and he is a perfect mix to the night. He shoots more documentary-style and captures the unplanned moments. We are not a cheesy, pose couple, so we like this style more.”

The day and all of its festivities were held at Seacliff House. Says Lucy  “Seacliff House is perfect. You can bring all the vendors in you want, we liked that we could personalise everything and not be restricted by the vendors. We both love the beach and the ocean, this is our happy place, so Gerringong is perfect. It is also big enough for people to easily get accommodation but feel like they were somewhere different and enjoy the surroundings and have a holiday themselves.

We loved that we had accommodation for our wedding party and a few select friends to stay with. We hired the house for four nights and that was part of what made it perfect for us, we got to spend time with the people we loved. The wedding celebrations spanned over over 3 days and it was the perfect place to have all of it.”

The flowers and decor were all put together by friends. “We opted to DIY the flowers, we didn’t have bouquets or ceremony flowers, we had small DIY posies on the tables. Our friend, Tim was the designer behind the magic, he bought all the flowers from the flower markets then we placed the flowers in recycled jars we’ve been collecting over time and the tables looked perfect. Plus at the end of the night, our guests could take a little posie home if they wanted. Tim also made jam and bath salts which were on the table and people could take them home too.”

Lucy and Nadia made the most of the pros, handing the planning of their day over to The Wedding & Event Creators . “They were all so great to deal with from the very first conversation to the day. They understood our vibe and wanted us to see it through the way we wanted. South Coast people are lovely to deal with.

Standouts would be Jo at Garnish Catering, she is our sort of person, no bullsh*t, professional, and she even cried on the day. Her food is outstanding, we had foodies there, and they were impressed. Henry Clive Caravan Bar Boys were a total delight, their staff were friendly and just what we wanted. We wanted the staff to feel like they were guests, not hired help, their cocktails were splendid, and the alcohol was fantastic. The Wedding & Event Creators were so lovely, and the coordinator on the day was perfect, and relaxed, I never heard her say ‘no.’ It was always ‘yes,’ and she just understood us. Muma Megs was a rockstar later in the night, she is a glamour puss and rocks a great mic, the guests were raving about the music.”

As for Nadia? She had endless amazing memories for the day. “I loved having our friends stay for the whole weekend. I loved the pre-wedding catch-up the day before when our families got to hang out in a relaxed environment as the excitement started to build It was great because they felt a whole lot more familiar on the day. There were so many highlights for me but I loved having the opportunity to talk about how much I loved my wife and my wedding party. I had friends by my side I’ve had for 30 years and I wanted them to know how important they were to me.

I loved Lucy surprising me by singing ‘I Put a Spell on You’ at the end of her speech and I loved everyone getting up for the first dance… I especially loved the recovery party the next day where we had DJs and cocktails and food by the pool and got to reminisce about how extraordinary it all was.”

There was no first dance, but there was a jam-packed dance floor thanks to Muma Megs. “We did not do a first dance but we opened up the dance floor with Muma Megs and her fabulous trumpeter playing Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. It got everyone on the dance floor immediately.”

Congratulations to you both Lucy and Nadia. What an incredible story to be able to share. Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us and thank you to High Impact Headshots and The Wedding & Event Creators for sharing this beauty of a day with us.