Seventeen years of love, laughter, and raising a beautiful blended family – Cherise and Norm’s journey together has been rich with meaning long before their intimate beach wedding in Shoal Bay. For them, marriage was never the goal but rather a milestone they slowly made their way toward, hand in hand. When the time felt right, they gathered their nearest and dearest for a heartfelt celebration by the ocean, blending deep sentiment with relaxed coastal charm. With thoughtful details, a commitment to keeping things personal, and a dream team of vendors, their wedding truly reflects the life they’ve built together!

Having raised their kids together, Cherise and Norm thought it would be nice to finally call each other husband and wife. “I’ve always felt it’s a privilege to be able to call someone your wife or husband. It’s pretty special if someone is happy to be your wife or husband!”

Cherise and Norm live in Victoria, close to all of their children and grandchildren, but chose to travel up to Shoal Bay in New South Wales to tie the knot! They were incredibly thankful for everyone who travelled with them, so they created refreshment packs to show their gratitude. Cherise purchased plain cream pouches and embroidered each guest’s name on the pouches. Each pack was filled with goodies from sunscreens, lip products, eye pads, lollies, and, to finish it all off – a handwritten note with thanks and admiration. Each kit was finished with a newlywed newspaper that Cherise had customised from an Etsy template!

Ashley from Ashley Sequeira Makeup artfully enhanced Cherise’s look, and Cherise loved her from moment one. She was calm, engaging, and personable and worked well with the hair stylist on the day. Her makeup was well applied and lasted the day with no touch-ups required. She was a fortunate find on Instagram.”

The other half of her beauty team included her hairdresser of 14 years – Andrew, from Minks Studio. After struggling to book a hairstylist for this intimate beach wedding, He pipped up and offered to fly up and do everyone’s hair. “He knows my hair well, and I was so pleased he offered me this option. His Virgin Airlines flight was changed at the last minute, flying him via Brisbane instead of direct to Newcastle, which, instead of arriving at 8:20 am, he would’ve arrived at lunchtime – so the flight was cancelled and refunded,” she explained. “We managed to get him a ticket to fly to Sydney the night before late after work, stay in Sydney, and hire a car to drive 3 hours from Sydney to Shoal Bay for an 8:30 start!! Thanking him for his commitment to his job and me. He could’ve easily said sorry, I’m not prepared to do that.”

Cherise knew she wanted to look and feel good on the day, but since it wasn’t her first rodeo, she leaned toward a non-traditional dress. “I thought I’d choose a dress with colour as I’m older; I felt like a bridesmaid or wedding guest in the dresses. I thought the one day you could go to a wedding in white or cream is yours – so why not! I didn’t want a low back, and it was difficult to find the perfect dress with the front I liked and back, so I bought two in the same fabric from Shona Joy, which are reasonably priced, and had a seamstress alter the low scoop back. I chose a floor-length plain cream, long-sleeved silky dress with a slight train,” she shared. “The dress I know I will never wear again, so I didn’t want to spend a lot on it, but the accessories I will use many times. I spent my money there. I brought Zimmermann earrings and had my family jeweller of about 60 years extend the length, so they sat on my dress near my clavicle and two pairs of Zimmermann shoes. Gold stilettos were for off the beach, and gold ballet flats for the beach, both with the same styling of gold orchid flower embellishments. My daughter had previously gifted me chunky solid gold-coloured bangles.”

Norm opted for a very classic navy suit from MJ Bale, paired with a white cotton shirt he left slightly unbuttoned for a relaxed look. For the beach ceremony portion of the day, he was barefoot, later wearing a navy pair of suede shoes from Hugo Boss.

Wanting to keep things simple and small, Cherise and Norm opted out of a wedding party and asked their guests to dress up to celebrate their marriage (sandy toes are essential, though!).

Before the ceremony, everyone met in the Cane Room at the Shoal Bay Country Club for drinks and a mini photoshoot. “I liked the building and thought capturing it in some photos would be nice. My favourite was of Norm and I standing outside a window of the Country Club. That photo captures him well. He isn’t comfortable in front of a camera, so getting a relaxed, natural photo of him is hard. That one is a goody! We both look natural, relaxed and happy.”

The beach has always been a happy place for this blended family, having taken many coastal holidays around Australia together. “We had our five children, their partners, and grandchildren accompany us, so we needed a place big enough for us all to sleep. We all live in Victoria, and none of us had ever heard of Shoal Bay, but the accommodation was nice, with an amazing view over the water. I was keen on a beach wedding and were happy to travel. We wanted to make a weekend of it, so we chose a long weekend. So we had the location, now we needed the rest!”

After living together for almost 17 years, it was no surprise to any of the guests that Cherise and Norm entered the beach ceremony together.

Their celebrant, Alan Murrell, ran their relaxed, intimate beach ceremony. “Our celebrant Alan communicated well during the planning and kindly met us at the ceremony location the day prior and went through the ceremony. Having officiated at many ceremonies before, his guidance was most helpful and much appreciated. He knew what he was doing. The paperwork was smoothly sorted. There was no sense of stress at all.”

Both Cherise and Norm read a short personal passage of their devotion, and their youngest grandchildren handed over the wedding rings in an adorable twist. “One concern we had was the weather. If the beach would be filled with Cabanas and if I’d be weening my way through a sea of striped cabanas. One friend said that would make a nice photo. My response was no that is not the vibe I’m going for! Secluded beach is the vibe! On arrival, there was one cabana, and the sun was shining. Thankfully, our photographer avoided the cabana in any photos, but a guest captured that one cabana on the beach as we walked across to the celebrant and guests.”

The five things that made Cherise and Norm’s intimate beach wedding so special were:

“1. Our adult children have taken us marrying in their stride. My daughter travelled to Shoal Bay and spent a few days looking at the area with me. It was such a special time, and I will treasure it forever.

2. Having time to look at ideas on social media for ideas and outlets. Being able to choose what I/we want not what others want as opposed to when I was younger. I felt we planned this wedding not our parents ( with no disrespect)who were paying at the time. (bless them).

3. Our closest small number of family and friends coming away with us and sharing the occasion over a long weekend. People who love us and were really happy to also be there. That the people surrounding us really stepped up to ensure we had a wonderful day and it was. Everything came together just as we wanted.

4. Being older and in a different financial situation to my first wedding and choosing smaller guest numbers, means I’ve been able to have a few extra trimmings and have been given a beautiful engagement ring I admire every time I look at my hand.

5. Our vows we wrote for each other being sincere and from our hearts meant the most.”

For Cherise, the most important vendor of the day was the photographer. And luckily for this couple – they LOVED Martine Payne, their photographer! Cherise even had some thoughts on the importance of photos in general that we loved to hear. “The photos become the memory outside of your head. As time goes by, memory fades, and it’s nice to have something tangible to look at and reminisce, especially as we age and loved ones pass away. For the younger brides you will look back in years to come and admire how beautiful you are in your youth and your children, should you have them, will treasure those wedding photos of you. A hard copy preserved on quality paper will be invaluable to you and your family in time.

I’d seen some photos Martine had done and liked her style of photography. I follow her Instagram and love seeing each new post; I like the way she captures the colour, people, the details of the surroundings and her editing. The lighting for each mood of each image tells its own story. Not to mention she’s lovely! Her Body Project work capturing diversity in women’s bodies of various ages and shapes signalled that she wasn’t all about the perfect female media image, which made me feel more comfortable having her photograph me, who definitely does not meet that perceived standard! Martine’s communication after the event has also been very engaging, and that speaks volumes to me. She is genuine and wants you to be happy with her product. Take a look at her Instagram. You won’t be disappointed if booking her!!”

Cherise and Norm were so happy with their vendor dream team for this intimate beach wedding. They had this piece of advice for future couples: “I think it’s important to take your time finding your vendors, read reviews, ask the local area vendors (a few) who they recommend, and book early. It’s important to feel comfortable with your vendors.”

Amy and Sara from A Beautiful Occasion were the creators behind all of these beautiful florals, including Cherise’s bouquet. “We had flowers for the signing table chairs, my husband’s suit, and the top of our cake. I forwarded them pictures of the arrangements I was hoping for and colours. Their floral arrangements were extremely fresh, and Amy and Sara brought the tables alive. It looked magnificent. The colour of the blue Hydrangeas was stunning with the white flowers and Queen Anne Lace blend on crisp white tablecloths.”

For desserts, Cherise and Norm picked out a four-tier donut cake with a plain white fondant cake decorated with fresh flowers. “The fondant iced cake was done by one of my daughter’s work friends at the 11th hour after a failed attempt by myself, which I am most grateful for. A Beautiful Occasion supplied the fresh floral arrangement for the top of the fondant iced cake and some flowers to be placed individually amongst the donuts.”

To finish the celebrations, Cherise and Norm hired The Wilderness Chef to prepare a meal for everyone to enjoy. They also worked with Simply Seated to hire all the tables, seating, tableware and glassware. “Throughout the planning, Nicole Moulder from Simply Seated and I exchanged many emails. Having the same contact person helped with continuity and ease of conversation. One of the most important things at a wedding is the food. People remember the food and vibes. Not if the serviettes match the plates, although that was still important to me (said with a laugh!). The food mattered! The Wilderness Chef had this capacity. This team aren’t rookies; they are professional and work like a well-oiled machine. The staff is lovely. Our meal was superb and plentiful. In fact, it exceeded my expectations.”

Congratulations to Cherise and Norm on this incredible intimate beach wedding! Thanks to Martine Payne Photography for capturing and sharing these beautiful moments with us.