Anelise and Brad
When Anelise and Brad tied the knot, they made it a weekend celebration hiring one large house for their bridal party to stay and get ready in. Lovers of the bayside town of Sorrento, their escape from the hullabaloo of the city, they chose their sacred place for their marriage and didn’t Mother Nature deliver? Blue skies, crystal blue waters and sunshine! Their beautiful, balloon filled wedding day was captured by Lauren Marshall of LJM Photography.
Anelise tells the story of how they came to be. “Brad and I were introduced by a mutual friend, it was pretty much love at first sight J We hit it off very quickly (7 years ago now) and we are lucky enough to have found a partner who brings out the best in us. We want the same things in life and have the same values which makes every success one we can share and celebrate together. Anyone who can make you laugh and smile every day is a keeper in my books.”
Anelise and Brad hired Casino Royal in Blairgowrie for their wedding weekend, Anelise remembering, “Brad and I knew that we wanted a coastal wedding, we have had so many great times near the ocean. Sorrento has always been a place where we have escaped the city chaos and been able to switch off and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.We wanted our wedding to really relate to how people know us as a couple, it was really a big party. We each had six friends in our bridal party, friends from interstate and overseas travelled to join the fun.
We all arrived two days before the wedding and stayed in an amazing house down the road from the venue called Casino Royale. We had some fun times before the big day and everyone had the chance to get to know each other and relax. Our Bridal house meant we could have the whole bridal party (yep all 14 of us!) in the one place for 5 days and really enjoy the celebrations without it all being rush rush rush in one afternoon. It was perfect for the Sunday brunch for guests too.”
Anelise wore a custom gown by Ania G Couture while her bridesmaids wore custom made gowns from Seduce.
The groom and groomsmen wore Studio Italia suits.
Anelise and Brad chose All Smiles Café Sorrento for their ceremony and reception, noting, “All Smiles was exactly what we were looking for, on the beach, laid-back vibe and an amazing outlook!”
Anelise walked down the aisle to Foy Vance, ‘Be The Song’.
Jill Wilson of Jill Wilson Weddings performed the marriage ceremony.
A balloon release signaled the end of the ceremony, Anelise remembering, “Guests were treated to cocktails between the ceremony and reception while the bridal party had some quick happy snaps taken on the sand with our amazing balloon props.”
Anelise notes, “It was very humbling to know how much people care about us and that they wanted to share in our big day. I was expecting to be stressed and nervous about the whole experience but I found that just knowing Brad was going to be at the end of the aisle was all I needed to keep the smile on my face, the other things don’t matter, just go with the flow and it will all work out!”
The reception continued inside All Smiles with guests enjoying a lolly buffet, photobooth and plenty of other fun touches all arranged by the bride and her maid of honour Erin Clark (0425 783 059). Anelise remembers, “My Maid of Honour (Erin) is magnificent with events and planning so she made sure so many of the intricate details were in place: decorations, accessories for photo booth, jewellery, pre-wedding bridesmaid’s outfits (mini satin robes from my sis), just to name a few.”
More photographs were captured as the sun set over the water.
For their first dance, Anelise remarks, “Our song was “Only To Be With You” by Roachford. Its an oldie but a goodie. Brad and I had a few dance lessons just to give us some flow for the first couple of minutes. We wanted to be able to surprise everyone but also have some fun with a great song that we knew everyone would get into the swing of.”
Dancing and much merriment continued long into the night, Anelise explaining, “The rest of the evening was filled with our family and friends circulating past the spoilt-for-choice dessert/lolly bar, the vodka infused slushy machines, fantastic photobooth and the always busy dancefloor. As the majority of our guests were staying the night in nearby holiday homes we were all picked up by buses and headed back to the bridal house for some more drinks and good times. The following day we held a brunch at the house, catered for with a Mexican & Spanish flair, think mini tacos, nacho tower, seafood paella & chocolate dipped churros mmmmmm…what more could we ask for!”
Congratulations on your marriage Anelise and Brad! Thank you for sharing your story with us! Thank you also to Lauren Marshall of LJM Photography for sharing today’s wedding!
This made me so happy. What a lovely day they created. Best wishes xxx
What a beautiful wedding !!!