Phoebe and Manuel

Thursday is such a good day- the next day is that lovely day when you know you’re just about done for the week but you still have enough time to be very productive! Phoebe and Manuel are our newlyweds this afternoon- I must say I am incredibly jealous of Phoebe’s beautiful red hair and succulents in her bouquet. So dreamy! Phoebe and Manuel married on the 12 year anniversary of the day they met! (At church where Manuel walked in with his mother and two brothers!) The couple were married by Phoebe’s grandfather who remains the senior pastor.

Phoebe recounts the proposal story. “Manuel led me to believe that he was interstate for his work for a whole week and would not be back until very late Saturday night. At the same time, my father invited me out to lunch on Saturday and suggested somewhere nice on the water. So on the Saturday my father took me to Berowra Waters where we were to have lunch, and as soon as I hopped out of his car he drove off and left me there. When I turned around Manuel was there to surprise me.

After I told him off for lying to me we enjoyed a picnic by the lake, took a boat ride to the Berowra Waters Inn where we had a six-course degustation. At this point all my suspicions of a marriage proposal were gone as he seemed too calm and nothing had happened by the time we got back to his car.

Just as I let my guard down and accepted that it was just a very nice surprise, he drove to Berowra Valley Regional Park where we went to the look out. I was looking at the view and when I turned around, there was Manuel down on one knee with a stunning diamond ring in hand.

I was in such shock that I instantly said no and had to go find a park bench to sit on to try and breathe and digest everything that had just happened. I eventually came to my senses and the rest is history!”

Today’s photographs are by Infinity Photography who have caught a beautiful mix of posed and beautifully natural photos with such elegance!

Phoebe’s incredible succulent bouquet was created by Buds & Bowers. Phoebe says “Buds and Bowers in Surry Hills created bouquets and button holes that included combinations of off white and dusty purple David Austin roses, silver succulents, Brunii berries and camellia leaves. Considering that our wedding day was the day before Valentines Day, I was impressed at how Buds and Bowers went out of their way to bend over backwards for us. Highly recommended. I love how they were able to help me come up with something a little different too.”

Phoebe wore a soft, floaty gown from Pronovias.  Phoebe recalls “My dress was designed and made by Pronovias in Spain. I purchased it from Fashions by Farina in Sydney. It had six layers of the most beautiful fabric and I had cap sleeves added to suit my style.”

Phoebe’s maids wore custom made purple gowns. She says “I was finding it difficult to find a bridesmaids dress that I liked and would suit my two bridesmaids. I wanted a full-length gown that was elegant yet flattering to both of my friends. Just when I was about to settle for something that I didn’t love, I saw a picture of the perfect dress for three times what I was wanting to pay for. So I took the picture and with my mum’s help, found a dressmaker who would work with me to customise the dress to suit my wedding and my bridesmaids. We purchased all the fabric from Tessuti Fabrics in Surry Hills.”

Phoebe and Manuel chose a traditional church wedding. Phoebe says “We were married at All Saints Anglican Church, North Parramatta. The church has a magnificent pipe organ that we included in the congregational singing during the service. My brother and Manuel’s brothers were ushers and we had family and friends from near and far at the ceremony. It was perfect.”

Phoebe says “We had a graphic of the letter’s “S.D.G.” included in many aspects of our wedding including our ceremony programs and favour boxes at the reception. SDG stands for ‘Soli Deo Gloria’, which is a Latin term for “Glory to God Alone”. Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel both wrote “SDG” on many of their musical manuscripts to dedicate them to God and to remind themselves that it is Him who causes every good thing to come to being. We wanted to do the same with our special day.”

The reception was filled with blooms. Phoebe recalls “A florist who my parents and I always buy incredibly fresh and unique flowers from at the Everleigh Farmers Markets, allowed us to come to her flower farm where she grows and picks all her flowers. We went there the day before the wedding and bought hundreds of different kinds of flowers (mostly following a colour scheme of purple, cream and green with occasional soft pinks and oranges).

The reception venue let us bring them all in the day before the wedding and we arranged them in vases that we had borrowed from friends and family members. The room was just full of flowers!”

Phoebe and Manuel held their reception at Terrey Hills Golf and Country Club. Phoebe says “We wanted our wedding reception to be relaxed and enjoyable, so we threw out the idea of awkward arranged seating and had more of a cocktail style arrangement with canapes with two mains served in Chinese takeaway boxes so that people could move around and talk while they ate. We are so glad we did this as everyone made new friends and was comfortable.”

The couple had two special cakes! Phoebe explains “Rather than a typical wedding cake that might look amazing but taste average, we had a dark chocolate ganache slice with flourless chocolate biscuit and pistachios from La Renaissance Patisserie. They were wonderful and have made the most unbelievable cakes for my family and me for most significant occasions including my 18th birthday and our engagement party.

We also had a ‘cheese’ cake that was a range of different cheeses stacked on top of each other with fresh fruit. A wonderful deli near my parent’s house created it and added little slits down one side to make it easier to cut and serve.”

The first dance was a highlight for Phoebe. “Because of work commitments leading right up until our wedding day, we only had time for one dance lesson before the reception. Manuel was away on business for the week of our wedding, so we were both practicing our dancing with imaginary partners. At our reception, we danced to a recording of Louis Armstrong singing Moon River, and magically the dance was perfect (including the dip at the end!) and one of the most special memories of my life. Time really did stop for that first dance, it was such a precious moment.

For our favours we had a lolly bar, which was very popular. Thanks to Polka Dot Bride for giving me the idea of a lolly bar! Everyone was given a white paper bag that had our names and “S.D.G.” printed on them and they filled them with their choice of lollies. We also sent everyone home with a piece of cake.”

Congratulations Phoebe and Manuel! Thank you for allowing us to share your wedding day on Polka Dot Bride with your lovely stories and heartfelt words! Thank you also to Infinity Photography for today’s images!