The newlyweds: Kady, 28, International Flight Attendant, and Ryan, 32, Air Traffic Controller
Ceremony and reception: The Loch, Berrima, NSW
Style: Romantic, with lavish florals and a touch of rustic charm.
Guests: 70
Dress: “My dress was an ivory strapless, corseted ribbon and satin bodice with a layered tulle that flowed beyond the floor length skirt. Ribbons featured on the train.”
Dress cost: $3,500.
Photography: The Evoke Company
Hair: “My hair was out with loose effortless curls.”
Veil: “A single tier cathedral length veil.”
Lipstick: “MAC Crème Cup lipstick.”
Perfume: “Calvin Klein Euphoria – the first perfume Ryan gave me.”
Rings: “My engagement ring has a blend of white gold and platinum metal, featuring a brilliant cut 2.25 carat colourless solitaire diamond. Simple and classic. My wedding band has a full circle of diamonds and has been made to fit perfectly with my engagement ring. Ryan’s wedding band is something we designed together. It features polished and shaded metal on top then a full circle of diamonds on the outer side.”
Bridal party: “We had three in groomsmen and three bridesmaids.”
The ‘Maid’s dresses: “They wore grey, floor length dresses made of lace and silk featuring capped sleeves.”
Stationery: “Our stationery was consistent throughout with charcoal, white and green colouring, rounded edges and brown paper envelopes. It was used on the ‘Save the date’ cards to the invitations, the programs, menus and signage. We had a personalised wedding logo made up which featured on every piece of stationery, including stamps and stickers to link it all together.”
Bouquets: “We carried natural whites and greens with a romantic ‘just picked’ feel.”
Wedding eve: “Ryan’s parents hosted a South African themed rehearsal dinner on the Friday evening for the families, bridal party and their partners as a bid to his South African background. The girls and I stayed in the accommodation above the venue the night before and this is where we got ready on the wedding day. We enjoyed a bridal grazing of sweets and savouries to keep us going throughout the day.”
Ceremony: “We had a civil ceremony on the lawn, under a canopy of lush white florals and greenery. We wrote our own vows and had our very dear Mums sign the register as our witnesses. We acknowledged our support of same sex marriage – something very important to us and our guests.
My Dad made us a beautiful wooden box and Ryan’s Dad gifted us a special bottle of wine – we locked the box in front of our guests, closing inside letters to one another, to be opened in 10 years or when we may feel the need!
Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’ played as we walked back down the aisle.”
Menu:
Entree
Zucchini flowers with goat’s cheese & sage
Chargrilled haloumi squares with baked fig, parmesan & olive crumbs
Roast Beef Rolls with Bernaise sauce
Tapas
Mains
Sumac veal and pork meatballs on pecorino mash
Parmesan and lemon oil prawns
Paella laced with chicken & chorizo rolled into balls, fried & drizzled with aioli.
Stuffed grilled mushrooms filled with pancetta, parsley & manchego cheese.
Baby spring lamb cutlets with Provencal crumbs
Red wine chat potatoes with aioli
Salads
Scorched tomato fattoush
Pumpkin, zucchini ribbons and purple basil salad
Dessert
Home style cake buffet
Late night snacks
Gourmet pizza with fresh Tomatoes and basil with cherry bocconcini
Decorations: “The dining room inside the barn was a romantic garden style featuring long bare wood tables, white Bentwood chairs, hessian table runners, pillar candles on wood rounds, mason jars of flowers and candles inside hanging jars amongst the impressive installation of florals and greenery. Glass panels in an old door were used to display the seating chart, surrounded by suitcases and a cart covered in vases of flowers. The ‘Gentlemen’s Club’ by the outdoor fireplace had vintage lounges, a ‘light up’ sign, fire pits, festoon lighting, a barrel with premium scotches and Cuban cigars on top.”
Styling: “Our styling was by SHE Designs, alongside all of the flower installations and table pieces by Botany & Co.”
Entertainment: “A guitarist and singer duo played several acoustic sets throughout dinner followed by a four-piece band for the dancing.”
Music: “We had everything from acoustic to chillout, jazz, pop and rock throughout the course of the evening.”
Bridal waltz: “My sister, brother and I performed a surprise renditionof Ellie Goulding’s ‘Your Song’. I walked over to Ryan midway and we began to dance, then followed up with a Lissie’s Metallica cover ‘Nothing Else Matters’ as our official bridal waltz. The lyrics tell our story.”
Wedding cake: “We decided against a traditional wedding cake as we wanted more of a party feel than a wedding, so we had a home style cake buffet featuring The Rockefellar, Red Velvet, Candy Mountain, Caramel Mud, Lootin The Gluten, Flourless Chocolate Mud, Strawberry Blonde, Raspberry, White Chocolate and Peach Melba.”
Favours: “We provided a ‘Love Bus’ for all of our guests to transport them between their accommodation and the venue then return. We had a flower wrapping station at the end of the evening for guests to take home as many flowers as they could carry!”
Transport: “A black BMW 7 series for the boys with strictly NO white ribbons!”
Honeymoon: “We spent five nights in the Maldives and four weeks in Italy.”
Total cost of wedding: approx. $90,000
Best advice for other brides?
“Have a great wet weather option. Then no matter what the weather does it will still be fabulous! Also, don’t feel like you need to be ‘traditional’ – do what you want, it’s your party! We had three banquet tables where guests could sit wherever they liked, food was shared and we didn’t cut a cake or throw a bouquet!”
Anything you wish you’d known?
“That the Moscato would run out!”
Best decision you made?
“Having the beautiful bespoke film to treasure forever created by The Story Of Us, something so many people overlook. It filled a lot of missing gaps from the day for us. And the flowers – WOW! I told Botany & Co that I wanted it to feel like you’d stepped into a flower market. Mission accomplished!”
Last words?
“Our personal touches made the day and are the things that cost little to nothing to do. I had my Nanna’s brooch attached to my bouquet, a blue heart cut from my Pop’s old shirt sewed inside my bodice, an ‘Eat, Spray, Buff’ display inside the women’s bathroom with breath mints, perfumes and nail files and individual photographs of when we were kids replace of the ‘Men’s’ and ‘Women’s’ bathroom door signs.
The W-day Suppliers
Photographer: The Evoke Company 0431 208 859
Dress and veil: Brides By Francesca (02) 9597 2387
Shoes: Jimmy Choo, ‘Escape’, purchased at Jimmy Choo in America.
Rings: Stedman’s Fine Jewellery (02) 9427 3924
Hair: Kristen from Kristen Wells Hair Stylist 0414 447 147
Makeup: Stacey from Stacey McPherson Makeup & Tanning Artist BIO 0414 344 497
Groom’s outfit: Oscar Hunt Custom Tailors 0499 000 011
Bridesmaids dresses: Tania Olsen, ‘Latitia’, from Fashionably Yours (02) 9487 4888
Stationery: The Story Of Us (02) 9904 2779
Florist: Botany & Co 0431 454 190
Ceremony and reception: The Loch, Berrima 0427 403 187
Civil celebrant: Lorraine Wright 0432 681 057
Styling: SHE Designs http://www.shedesigns.com.au
Decorations: The Love Sign 0431 546 332
Entertainment: Press Club Band 0419 815 645
Videography: The Story Of Us (02) 9904 2779
Big day: March 22, 2014.
