“Our beautiful wedding day was the culmination of George and me spending eight years in a long distance relationship between Australia and England. Long flights, long periods apart and one special day to celebrate with our family and friends, showing the world that we made it!”
“When we started planning our day, we wanted it to be a real reflection of us. With involvement from family and friends, we did away with some of the traditions and instead focused on lots of personal elements that reflected our story.”
Alissa’s gown was purchased from Hobnob Bridal, whilst her gorgeous flower girl wore a custom made dress purchased from Etsy.
“The highlight of my outfit was the Jimmy Choo heels, given to me as a gift on the morning of our wedding from my husband! He knows me too well!”
After many frustrating weeks trying to find the venue and vendors to create their dream day, Alissa and George enlisted the help of wedding planner, Lara from White Events. “Lara was such a huge help to us throughout our planning process and on the day, helping us find venues, dresses, decorations, furniture hire, everything! She made the day absolutely seamless and took the stress out of it for us and our family; everyone who arrived at the house on the morning of the wedding was surprised at how calm we all were!”
“We had a wonderful family friend Dannielle from Colour Empire Make Up Artistry do our make-up, whilst our wedding planner’s sister, Claire from Beehive Bridal, was responsible for our amazing hair styles. I also had a silk flower head piece handmade and designed by Holly Barker Millinery.“
The bridesmaids’ dresses were ordered online through Weddington Way. “I wanted all the girls to have a style of dress that suited them and their personality and it worked out perfectly on the day.”
Alissa and George’s ceremony backdrop was an old wooden mantelpiece decorated with a floral arrangement made by Alissa’s mum and photographs of both of their parents on their wedding days. “It was so special saying our vows with the images of our parents in the background. We also displayed more photographs from our parents’ and families’ weddings on a long table at our reception.”
“We were so lucky to have so many family and friends (and most of our bridal party!) travel from overseas to share the day with us. We held a brunch for all our overseas guests the day after the wedding to say thank you and spend a little more time with them before we left for our honeymoon.”
Celebrating how they met on a Navy/Sea Cadet summer camp in Canada when they were 17 years old, the couple chose a nautical Canadian theme for their wedding. “We chose a suitably nautical location on the Pier 21 foreshore in North Fremantle for our ceremony, whilst Little Creatures Brewery was the perfect choice for our reception.”
“We decorated the tables with white lanterns and gold and bronze maple leaves. The bridal table was decorated with candles in glass hurricane vases whilst romantic twinkle lights were strung up behind us. Our navy and white striped table runners were handmade by my Mum.”
“All of the tables were named after places that were important to us, such as Plymouth, where we had our first apartment together. The table cards included a story on the back of why that place was important to us.”
The couple’s seating chart was a world map, with each of the table names pinned on it. “We gave our guests ‘Make Your Own S’mores’ favours which celebrated one of our fondest memories from when we met in Canada.”
Alissa and George’s cake was handmade by Alissa’s best friend’s Mum and decorated with individual gold maple leaves.
“One of the best decisions we made for our wedding was booking our photographer, Fiona Vail Photography. Words cannot express what a wonderful addition Fiona was to our day, not only as a photographer but as a lasting friend. She captured amazing, candid memories and subtly blended in so that we (and our guests!) never felt awkward being in front of the camera.”
Ms Chinoiserie Says: Congratulations Alissa and George! Your heartfelt wedding included some very special and sentimental touches that were important to you both: I love the maple leaves and the S’Mores!
About Alissa: After a long lead up to our wedding I had a few details planned out in my mind and imagined navy blue, gold, fairy lights and foliage, but mainly I wanted our guests to walk into our wedding and say, ‘This looks like them!’ I wanted to enjoy the planning process and the day so I tried to be a calm bride and not sweat the small stuff!
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