Sally and Chris

Sally recalls how she and Chris met and how he proposed. “I met Chris at a mutual friend’s impromptu birthday party at a local bar 6 years ago.  I noticed him straight away, and before long we were sitting together talking and laughing, and sharing stories from our travels overseas.  I knew that night that he was someone very special.  Chris rang a week later to ask me out on a date, and that was the beginning of our relationship.

Five years later, Chris organised a surprise holiday for me to Fiji.  I didn’t know where we were going until we got to the airport.  We had a beautiful weeks holiday, and after dinner on the last night, as we walked back to our apartment along the beach, he suddenly stopped, got down on bended knee and asked me to marry him.  It absolutely took my breath away, and I happily said yes.”

Photographs today are by Claudine Sinnett of Momentscaptured Photography. I love Claudine’s classic captures today. The classic moments you want to have. And I love that Claudine traveled from the UK to shoot today’s wedding- it’s nice to have a little English touch!

The beautiful white bouquets were styled by Plumbago Flowers. Sally says “We made the invitations ourselves, as well as the Wedding Booklets.  Luckily I have a group of awesome girlfriends who were happy to come around the night before the wedding, drink champagne and help me make them.”

Sally wore a gown and jewels from Lisa Gowing with hair by Amy Turner of Agency Hair and makeup by Bonita Chan of Your Big Day “I absolutely loved my makeup.  It looked beautiful throughout the entire day, and Bonita was a pleasure to have there.  She was so friendly and relaxed, and made everyone look gorgeous.”

The groom and his best man wore Hugo Boss suits and shoes.

Sally traveled to the wedding in a Chrysler from Instyle Wedding Cars.

Sally and Chris were married at Our Lady Star Of the Sea in Watsons Bay. “We chose venues all around Watsons Bay as it is a beautiful location, as well as making it easy for the guests to go from wedding to reception, not to mention the few drinkies in between! Chris and I stayed in rooms at the Watsons Bay Hotel from the night before, and our wedding party got ready there.”

Although classic instruments were used, Sally walked down the aisle to something modern. “We had a string quartet at the church, and the played ‘Halo’ by Beyonce as I walked down the aisle.”

The intimate wedding party meant lots of fun for the newlyweds. “We had a small wedding party, just Chris’ best man Nic, and my bridesmaid Emma.  They are people that mean the most to us and our relationship.  Absolute quality, not to mention minimal drama (right girls?).  Our special moment with Emma and Nic was at the park having photos.  We were all so relaxed and happy, and we stopped and opened a bottle of champagne in the park and had a moment to celebrate with our favourite people who have supported us so much.”

Sally and Chris made the most of being by the water. “Our wedding party had photos taken at Macquarie Lighthouse, Vaucluse and Nielsen Park while our guests had a quick drink at the Watsons Bay Hotel.

Sally and Chris held their reception at Dunbar House. Sally says “It is a beautiful venue upstairs in a heritage building, a generous blank canvas of wooden floors, large windows and terrace doors opening to a balcony overlooking the bay.  We decorated the venue with lots of flowers, candlelight, plus various lounges and cocktail style furniture.  Dunbar House had amazing cocktail food and drinks packages, and at our request made a special cocktail for all guests on their arrival.  They even arranged a large area downstairs at the venue to be converted into a crèche for the younger members of the family, so their parents could have even more fun!” Decorations were styled by Romeo’s Chair.

The first dance and cake were favourite memories of Sally’s. “Of course we didn’t decide what to do for a wedding dance until the week before the wedding!  We went to Dancexcite who gave us three lessons and choreographed a dance to Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap.  It was lots of fun to do something special to a song we loved, and from all the cheering and screams of delight, I think the guests thought it was pretty good too! Our band (The Smooth Grove) was perfect.  We love good music.  Starting with two, then three piece jazz sets which is a style we adore, then moving to a seven piece dance band.  The floor was never empty.  Everyone was up dancing, and I have had so many queries from our guests about the band so they can hire them for their own event.

We also didn’t go for a standard wedding cake company.  I love cupcakes, but at a couple of weddings they have looked beautiful but not tasted so great.. and a cupcake has to be yummy!  So we ordered some cupcakes from Cupcakes on Pitt who bake fresh on the day.  Our friends picked them up, as well as a chocolate fondant cake from Croquembouche Patisserie for the top layer.  They brought them to the venue and decorated with ribbon and fresh flowers.  The cupcakes were awesome and were eaten in a flash!”

Sally and Chris held a more informal reception for their guests. “We loved the cocktail style reception as everyone looks so lovely andglamorous, having fun and mingling without feeling tied to their chairs.  The cocktail food was tasty and plentiful, and the wines and special cocktails were delicious. When you choose cocktail style, you can really get creative with your decoration of the space.”

“We really enjoyed giving our little speeches.  Neither Chris nor myself are particularly fond of public speaking, nor the usual stuffy wedding formalities.  But on our wedding, we both felt we had a few things to say to those that mean so much to us, as well as something special for one another.  Any bride that is debating whether to give a speech, all I can say is grab a glass of champagne and ‘Do It!’  I felt it was especially important since we got married in a church and the vows are fairly formal, so I wanted to tell Chris something from my heart.”

Sally’s favourite moments were the ones she stole with Chris. “During the evening, I especially loved the moments Chris and I had together.  Everything goes by so quickly, and there are so many people you talk to and dance with… so its really important to steal a moment or two together.  To stop, breathe, step back and take it all in.  Not to mention having a quiet kiss and hug together!  At one stage we ducked outside with a drink each, and practiced our dance together in the moonlight near the water, it was hilarious.  I also loved saying a very quick goodbye to all at the end of the night, and running down to a water taxi at the wharf to take us to our hotel room in the city.  The moment together as we zoomed away on the water and said goodbye to our day at Watsons Bay was magic.”

Congratulations Sally and Chris! Thank you for sharing your story with us this morning! Thank you also to Claudine Sinnett of Momentscaptured Photography for sharing today’s images!

Photos by Claudine Sinnett of Momentscaptured Photography.