Dazzling Romantic Wedding in Adelaide

Meeting on the top floor of the library at the University of South Australia, Joanne and Wayne’s relationship is built on many years of friendship and respect. “It was not until Wayne helped me work on my Bensons Radiology job application and interview practice that we suddenly became closer. Interview practice became lunch catch-ups, soon followed by snorkelling expeditions at Port Noarlunga/Willunga and strawberry picking at Hahndorf.”

And if their beginnings weren’t cute enough, Wayne’s proposal plan (and quick thinking) should be enough to seal the (cute) deal! “It was our 6th year anniversary and Wayne had planned a little getaway at a seafront Airbnb called The Jetty at Port Willunga. There were plenty of surprise dates leading up to the proposal. This included a winery trip to The Cube in McLaren Vale, a gourmet dinner at the Start of Greece overlooking the beach, an adventurous day with SUP (stand-up paddle boarding) and relaxing massages. Dinner was booked for the night of the proposal at a secret location. Unfortunately, Wayne misplaced his car keys resulting in calling his parents to drive all the way from Adelaide to give him the spare. Given the delay, we didn’t make the dinner reservation, and the original plan became an absolute shamble. After stressing out and not being able to find any available restaurants on Saturday night, I suggested that I didn’t mind what we ate and was happy just to order pizza and eat it on our balcony,” Joanne recalled. “Wayne, being the helpless romantic, reluctantly agreed, on one condition: that he wanted to make it “fancy” for our 6th year anniversary. I had to put on my best outfit, nice dinner plates, fancy cutlery and background music with candles were a must! After a beautiful sunset dinner, Wayne closed the blinds of the balcony and disappeared into the living room, restricting access for me as he had something “prepared”. He blindfolded me and led us inside to a beautifully set up interior filled with photos of previous memories together, fairy lights and rose petals. This was when he got down on one knee and asked: “Will you grow old with me?” The moment felt so surreal, almost as if it was a dream!”

This friendship bloomed into a beautiful love story and created the partners in crime we see today. Their wedding was a romantic, rustic and dazzling event – that got everyone on their feet celebrating! Capturing the fun energy of the day was Marie from Lifesketch Weddings.

Wayne wore a tan tailor-man two-piece custom suit from Oscar Hunt. It was perfect for the relaxed yet formal look he was going for, paired with a custom white shirt also from Oscar Hunt. The whole look was completed with a knit brown bow tie, silk pocket square, chocolate brown leather suspenders, dark brown Aquila Alberto Loafers and accented by a Rolex GMT-Master II – Oystersteel. His wedding party, Jason and Leon, wore matching Oscar Hunt shirts, pink bowties, matching suspenders, tan chinos and Aquila Fernando Brown Penny Loafers.

To kick off the wedding festivities they held an intimate Chinese tea ceremony in the morning at Joanne’s parents’ home – the home that she had grown up in as a single child. For this, Joanne wore a custom red traditional Chinese dress with gold floral embroidery, in a mermaid cut. “We paid respect for our close family and those that came from overseas. The bridesmaids prepared traditional door games for the groom and groomsmen. The meaning behind this is that in order to marry the bride, the groom has to complete a list of challenges. There was also the exchange of Chinese wedding gifts. Each gift had a specific meaning such as: good health, good luck and happiness.”

Something Joanne and Wayne connected over was food and they reflect this with their wide selection of food throughout the day – starting at the tea ceremony. “At the tea ceremony in the morning, we had catering by the amazing crew from The Filipino Project. If mountains of Le Chon, spring rolls, stir-fried noodles, BBQ chicken skewers, fried rice weren’t enough, we also had even more Chinese-style roast pork and roast duck sourced from Keong Kee Peking Duck BBQ in Croydon.”

For the ceremony, Joanne wore a custom A-line lace dress, in an ivory tone with floral detailing. The removable mesh skirt allowed her to move and dance her heart out. Her wedding party, Michelle and Hao, wore blush pink satin infinity dresses paired with tan heels.

Following the tea ceremony, Joanne and Wayne had a private first look, at a secluded stone cottage in Fullarton. They then joined the bridal party at Koyo, a Japanese fusion restaurant. for a quick bite to eat, some cocktails and some more photos.

Their ceremony was a gorgeous outdoor garden wedding, with a boho-themed arbour decorated with preserved flowers. Their florals throughout the day were these romantic preserved flowers from MJ Florals. The atmosphere was set by the acoustic guitarist who serenaded guests with covers of popular love songs.

Starting the ceremony off on the right foot – Wayne, Jason and Leon surprised the guests as they strutted their way down the aisle wearing black Ray Bans, to the beat of “Buttery” by Crazy Town. Jason and Leon had matching fanny packs filled with petals that they scattered while dancing – as they were the flower girls.

Jo followed them down the aisle soon enough, accompanied by her parents to the tunes of “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” by Kinna Grannis, performed live by their guitarist (and friend) Sandra Pham.

They exchanged personalised vows during the ceremony, that they had memorised for the occasion so they enjoy the moment and make the experience more special.

There was also a dessert table with various dessert cups from The Filipino Project, which was then followed by canapes from the National Wine Centre.

Their photographer and cinematographer, LifeSketch Films, did an amazing job capturing the essence of this event. Here’s what the couple had to say: “It honestly felt like we were hanging out with mates, rather than having professional photographers following us around. This made the photography process so much more fun and natural. These guys were incredible and made us feel so special!!”

After the garden ceremony was completed – it was party time. The reception was held at Hickinbotham Hall in the National Wine Centre. It was styled so that the huge gloss dance floor was the centre of the entire room. Surrounding the dance floor were round tables decorated with the same boho-style preserved dried flowers and candlelights to add a subtle glow to the space.

The bombonieres they went with to thank their guests weren’t a physical item, they instead opted to give the gift of giving. “On behalf of each guest we donated to the Australian Cancer Council South Australia, Rare Cancer Fund. We had sentimental ties to this cause with the recent loss of a family member to a rare type of cancer, only days leading up to the wedding. On each table we placed a photo frame containing a picture from our engagement shoot, with details of the donation as well as a QR code for guests to follow should they want to learn more about what their contribution was going to.”

Joanne and Wayne surprised their guests by announcing that they were going to be the MCs for the night! This was soon followed by the wedding party entering with a choreographed piece by the Adelaide Bachata Academy Dance School. “Wedding Dress” by Taeyang blasted the speakers as the group performed a Latin-based bachata fusion dance.

One of Joanne’s favourite memories was this: “Being the MCs of the wedding, with multiple surprise performances embedded from start to finish. We shared the microphone and the floor with the speakers, creating a unique dialogue that made the whole experience even more wholesome and touching. All our guests commented after our wedding and said they felt like they were at a Fringe Show!”

The choreography didn’t end with the welcome dance. One of Jo’s uncles put together a surprise Kung-Fu solo dance performance that was also thrown into the mix – the audience loved it as much as he loved creating it.

As the night continued, Joanne (with her hip-hop/jazz/Latin dance background) surprised Wayne with a self-choreographed, dazzling hip-hop dance routine that blew everyone out of the water.

If three surprise dances weren’t enough – here’s another one! Their ‘official’ first dance was a hip-hop/salsa-inspired remix (of “Sexy Love” by Ne-Yo, “Lay It Down” by Lloyd and “Dilemma” by Nelly) choreographed by Edmund Chau from Pure Funk Dance School. This one required an outfit change from the couple, Wayne only changing out of his loafers and into a fresh pair of white Nike Air Force Ones. Joanne on the other hand had a full outfit change into a sexy two-piece: a white corset with silver crystal embellishments and white flowy high-waisted pants – and, of course, a fresh pair of white Nike Air Force Ones.

Another memory that stood out to Joanne was this: “Wayne got an unexpected lap dance by one of our guy friends. He placed Wayne’s head in between his chest and his body rolled against him. Wayne’s reaction was priceless!!! He did not know how to respond afterwards. Given Wayne has never had a drop of alcohol in his entire life, his sober state allowed this memory to imprint into him for the rest of his life.”

One of their favourite planning memories surrounded them MCing! “Although we wrote a guide of what we wanted to say at each particular point, at the end of the day we winged it and disregarded any notes or running sheet that we had pre-planned. We wanted to create something that was fun, unique, entertaining and totally represented us. We had a great focus on transitions, ensuring that music was always on in the background to maintain the vibe for the whole night.”