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Ingrid & Stephen

I love that Ingrid and Steve truly honoured what they loved to do with their relaxed beach side wedding. Choosing the place they spend the most time together – the beach, they wed with the waves crashing in the background and celebrated in the nearby surf club. The best part? The moment the bride got to surprise her groom with a lifelong dream. Jennifer Burch captured their wedding day in all its glory.

Ingrid remembers, “Coxy & I met at our surf life saving club on the northern beaches in Sydney. We both compete in surf boats and he has been my coach/sweep for the last six years.”

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Ingrid wore the Fleur by Maria Chiodo found at Marry Me Bridal. She remarks, “I popped in there for the first time by myself because it’s on my way home from work. The dress I chose happened to be the first one I tried on. I was drawn to the midriff for something a bit different and I had an eye for lace too.”

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Melinda Ovenden created the floral arrangements for the bridal party, including bouquets filled with greenery.

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Ingrid and Stephen chose Pacific Palms Surf Club beachfront for their ceremony, noting, “Coxy (Stephen) is a beach boy through and through and although I love the beach, I have always been drawn to the country, so Pacific Palms was a brilliant medium. It’s also a special place for us as we compete in The Battle of the Boats on Elizabeth Beach each year.”

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The bride arrived with her father on horseback. She explains, “Probably the one thing that stood out was being able to fulfill a dream of riding horses to my ceremony with my Dad. I had always imagined doing something a little crazy like that and it will be one of the most memorable moments of my life. I think our guests were blown away with the surprise as we kept it a secret from pretty much everybody, including my husband! I loved it. It was just perfect.”

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“Dad and I walked down the aisle to ‘Songbird’ by Eva Cassidy.”

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Lorraine Wafer officiated the ceremony, the bride remembering, “I have been to a few weddings where the ceremony seemed rushed in order to get to the pending party! Although our wedding was a huge party (!), I was hoping our ceremony could be something equally as memorable for us and our guests. Coxy and I wrote our own vows which was a really special part for us and we both feel that our guests definitely took something away with them after witnessing our marriage.”

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Of their photographer, Ingrid tells, “Jennifer worked on her own and captured so many great shots. Jen was extremely relaxed and I feel we got on really well as I was a fairly relaxed bride! Jen’s photos were beautiful. They were natural. She worked with me and my bridesmaids effortlessly and my only regret is not having her for the whole night to follow.”

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Ingrid and Stephen celebrated with their guests at Pacific Palms Surf Club.

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“My mum and I, along with a few helpers (including my 98 year young grandmother) did all the decorating, sourced the hessian for the tables and ordered the native gum for the flower arrangements.  Our wedding cake was a Croquembouche Cake made by a local lady. I had a Croquembouche for my christening, my 21st and my mum’s 60th so we stayed on theme!”

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Music was important to the couple, who chose the John Field Band  to get the party started. Ingrid notes, “We had the most fabulous band play at our wedding. They are the John Field Band and they delivered everything and more! Mark Rohanna was the pianist and he absolutely went above and beyond to make sure we covered all bases so that all went off without a hitch! Their energy was just spectacular. John Field is a brilliant front man and does a very energetic cockroach while playing the guitar. Their female vocalist Bronwyn has a brilliant voice and was electric.

Another special part of the night was having my band (Busyhands) get up and play a few funky tunes during one of the sets. I have been singing with them for six years or so now, so are a very special part of my life.

The last special tribute was singing a song for my husband as a bit of a surprise. Only my family, the John Field Band and my bridesmaids knew about it. Despite my reservations about doing such a thing, it went down very well! I sang At Last by Etta James.”

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Of the first dance, Ingrid remembers, “Our first dance was to ‘Flame Trees’ by Cold Chisel (there’s a story behind this song that came about before we got together). We are both huge Cold Chisel fans and Flame Trees is just the most beautiful rock song ever written. We then went on to dance to Do You Love Me by the Contours just to liven things up a bit!”

Congratulations Ingrid and Stephen! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us! Thank you also to Jennifer Burch for sharing today’s wedding!