IMG_2911Tamara and Tim

Tim and I are high school sweethearts – we have known each other since I first arrived at the school in Year 8. After going to one of his best friend’s parties in Year 11, we decided that we wanted to be together. It wasn’t until Tim decided to spend his life savings to come to my home island – Norfolk Island – to meet all my family and participate in our local traditions that I knew he was a keeper! Fast forward seven years and Tim got down on one knee at Cronulla Beach and asked me the greatest question of my life. To become his wife. On our ninth anniversary, we were married in front of all our family and friends at Bilgola Beach.

After getting super excited about going dress shopping, I rushed into the purchase too quickly and brought the first dress that caught my eye. Although it was a beautiful gown, I had doubts over the next year and a half which made me realise it was not the gown for me! Seven weeks before our wedding, I decided to put my mind at ease and try on some other dresses to compare. And as soon as I stepped into Dressence they found me the most beautiful Provonias gown which I purchased off the rack. This was best decision of my life, especially seeing Tim’s face as I walked down the aisle!

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After trying on many different styles of rings, Tim went to Royal Diamonds and designed my ring for me. He definitely knows me so well as it is the most beautiful ring ever. He then designed the wedding band to wrap around the ring, fitting it perfectly.

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Tim and his groomsmen wore navy suits with crisp white shirts and red braces to match back to the bridesmaids’ dresses.

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Our photographer was Sabino Mena Barreto. He and his team captured amazing photos – and produced our wedding video. They were so down to earth.

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We chose Bilgola Beach out of luck. As I grew up on Norfolk Island and Tim and I now live near the beach there was no doubt in our minds that we would be having a beach wedding, the only problem was where! We wanted to go a bit further away from home so we looked north and south for one to suit our style. My Mum and I had driven past Bilgola Beach turn off on our way home from checking possible reception venues around Palm Beach. My Mum mentioned that we should turn around and go and have a look at the beach we just drove past. I reluctantly agreed (as it was getting late and I wanted to beat peak hour!) but I am forever grateful for her suggestion because as soon as we arrived I knew that was the spot where Tim and I were going to be married!

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We asked Circle of Love Weddings to create our ceremony set up for us and I dealt directly with Kim. She brought my vision to life; nothing was ever too hard for her, especially since she had to carry everything onto the beach to set up!

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White House Flowers created the all of our amazing bouquets, buttonholes, centrepieces and decor. Jessie has the most amazing vision when it comes to creating floral designs to suit your style. I went into Jessie with some basic ideas of what I was thinking I wanted and then decided to leave the rest to her. What she came up with was beyond my expectations. She did so much for us on our day and made everything look amazing!

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We created the seating plan ourselves with some old window frames that we found at the markets. After cleaning them up a bit we pegged our guests’ names on to some twine – and when they took their place names away, they replaced it with a polaroid picture and a message on the back which doubled as our guest book. That now hangs on our wall in our house!

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Bill from Sweet Connoisseur created our delicious cake for us. He made the most delicious cake and was so generous and kind to work with. I still have people commenting about how yummy the cake was.

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We chose Dunes Resturant and Kiosk at Palm Beach for our reception. New owners took over a few weeks before our wedding and they were absolutely amazing. They were on top of everything we had already organised and so keen for anything else we wanted. They even organised for the bridal party to have shots as a toast for one of the speeches. The atmosphere and decor of the whole restaurant suited our style to a tee with its beautiful rustic look and not to mention the delicious food. We had the most amazing end to our perfect day.

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Ms Chinoiserie Says: Congratulations Tamara and Tim on your romantic beach wedding; the contrast of the red and navy against the pale sand looks so pretty!

About Tamara: I love the beach and watching movies. I grew up on Norfolk Island before starting high school in Brisbane and then moving to Sydney where I met my now husband. We travelled all through Asia and parts of America before buying an apartment across the road from the beach!