Congratulations to Michaela & Scott on their one year anniversary!! How time flies so fast!!
And to celebrate, I wanted to officially publish Michaela's stunning blog on her wedding! A love story and words of wisdom direct from the bride herself.
Every aspect of the wedding was all about effortless LOVE, and being with those that meant the most to them.
With the venue being right on the beach, guests indulged in beautiful food whilst listening to live music, surrounded by the relaxing views of the ocean.
The styling was all about beach elegance, and whilst Michaela did some DIY styling herself (which can be tough!), she still kept calm and carried on!
We could all benefit from some of Michaela's words of wisdom and tips for planning brides!
Alison xx
And to celebrate, I wanted to officially publish Michaela's stunning blog on her wedding! A love story and words of wisdom direct from the bride herself.
Every aspect of the wedding was all about effortless LOVE, and being with those that meant the most to them.
With the venue being right on the beach, guests indulged in beautiful food whilst listening to live music, surrounded by the relaxing views of the ocean.
The styling was all about beach elegance, and whilst Michaela did some DIY styling herself (which can be tough!), she still kept calm and carried on!
We could all benefit from some of Michaela's words of wisdom and tips for planning brides!
Alison xx
My husband Scott and I first crossed paths in 2006, but were properly introduced by mutual friends at a New Years Eve party 5 years later.
As our "official" new years eve meeting had taken place on a basketball court, Scott proposed in such a sentimental way. He proudly made a big sign in the shape of a basketball that said in lit festoon light globes "Will you marry me?" He tied it to a tree on a cliff top overlooking the ocean at Shellharbour NSW where he surprised me with an engagement ring by the incredibly talented jeweller Matthew Ely www.matthewely.com.au.
Choosing the wedding venue was a no brainer for us. Scotts Head, a stunning coastal village up the Northern Coast, was the beach where my Mum and Dad met as teenagers. It's a beautiful place that Scott and I had both been visiting on weekends away from Sydney since we met. We both love the ocean and spend all of our spare time at the beach, so it just fit us perfectly.
As our "official" new years eve meeting had taken place on a basketball court, Scott proposed in such a sentimental way. He proudly made a big sign in the shape of a basketball that said in lit festoon light globes "Will you marry me?" He tied it to a tree on a cliff top overlooking the ocean at Shellharbour NSW where he surprised me with an engagement ring by the incredibly talented jeweller Matthew Ely www.matthewely.com.au.
Choosing the wedding venue was a no brainer for us. Scotts Head, a stunning coastal village up the Northern Coast, was the beach where my Mum and Dad met as teenagers. It's a beautiful place that Scott and I had both been visiting on weekends away from Sydney since we met. We both love the ocean and spend all of our spare time at the beach, so it just fit us perfectly.
Finding the perfect photographer was important to us, so we did the most research on our photographer. We love photography, but don't particularly love having our photos taken. If Scott had his way, our wedding would have been photography free. We found Ben Wyeth www.benwyeth.com.au and immediately fell in love with his style. He had shot a lot of coastal weddings, and had so many beautiful candid moments captured in his portfolio.
I proposed to my bridesmaids by having the girls over for a High Tea at my house. Although, I'm terrible at secrets and really, they all knew why they were there!
We had 7 bridesmaids and 4 groomsmen. It was important to us to have our closest friends standing next to us on the day and we weren't fussed on having exactly even numbers.
We had 7 bridesmaids and 4 groomsmen. It was important to us to have our closest friends standing next to us on the day and we weren't fussed on having exactly even numbers.
With so many of bridesmaids, we didn't want them all in the same style of dress. We loved the look of complete mis-matched bridesmaids.
About an hour after choosing my Pronovias, Perfect Day Bridal www.perfectdaybridal.com.au wedding dress, my Maid of Honour and I went shopping and found the beautiful bridesmaid dresses by Shona Joy www.shonajoy.com.au.
All of the dresses were in a stunning Oyster colour and we were able to choose 4 different styles which was perfect for our beach wedding.
Scott wanted to incorporate his Scottish heritage into his outfit, but wasn't completely sold on the idea of wearing a kilt, so he opted for a subtle tartan suit. Trying to find a tartan suit in the boutiques at that time was near impossible (of course they are everywhere now!), so we decided to have it tailor made to measure, and found Institchu tailors www.institchu.com who were reasonably priced and very helpful.
Choosing the groomsmen attire was harder as we never really liked the casual beach wedding look. It couldn't be too formal, but we definitely didn't want the shorts, thongs, untucked shirt look either. We opted to have the boys wear the same tartan pants as Scott's suit with a tailored white shirt and grey suspenders.
About an hour after choosing my Pronovias, Perfect Day Bridal www.perfectdaybridal.com.au wedding dress, my Maid of Honour and I went shopping and found the beautiful bridesmaid dresses by Shona Joy www.shonajoy.com.au.
All of the dresses were in a stunning Oyster colour and we were able to choose 4 different styles which was perfect for our beach wedding.
Scott wanted to incorporate his Scottish heritage into his outfit, but wasn't completely sold on the idea of wearing a kilt, so he opted for a subtle tartan suit. Trying to find a tartan suit in the boutiques at that time was near impossible (of course they are everywhere now!), so we decided to have it tailor made to measure, and found Institchu tailors www.institchu.com who were reasonably priced and very helpful.
Choosing the groomsmen attire was harder as we never really liked the casual beach wedding look. It couldn't be too formal, but we definitely didn't want the shorts, thongs, untucked shirt look either. We opted to have the boys wear the same tartan pants as Scott's suit with a tailored white shirt and grey suspenders.
The weather for our outdoor wedding day was very unpredictable. Overall, we were very relaxed about the day, especially as we had an indoor ceremony back up plan in case of wet weather. We had planned and created the day that we both dreamt of, but at the end of the day, all we really wanted was to marry each other, whether that be inside with rain, or outside with perfect weather. Lucky for us we had perfect weather and had our planned beach wedding.
Alison Hughes Weddings www.alisonhughesweddings.com was our planner and floral décor stylist. I had a vision of how the décor and floral styling would look when put together, but the execution and attention to the finer details by Alison Hughes Weddings was perfection!
Alison recommended Kimberley from the Marmalade Sky www.themarmaladesky.com.au for our bridal party flowers, who was fabulous!
From the very first meeting, both Alison and Kimberley really understood the style we wanted to achieve and it's clear they are truly passionate about what they do!
Our wedding completely decked out with Australian native flowers. I love proteas, so the main flowers used throughout were of course various kinds of proteas, such as king proteas and repens proteas. All the foliage was mainly silver dollar gum, leucadendron and
thryptomene.
Alison recommended Kimberley from the Marmalade Sky www.themarmaladesky.com.au for our bridal party flowers, who was fabulous!
From the very first meeting, both Alison and Kimberley really understood the style we wanted to achieve and it's clear they are truly passionate about what they do!
Our wedding completely decked out with Australian native flowers. I love proteas, so the main flowers used throughout were of course various kinds of proteas, such as king proteas and repens proteas. All the foliage was mainly silver dollar gum, leucadendron and
thryptomene.
Kim Piper www.kimpipercelebrant.com was our celebrant. We loved how she made the ceremony really personal and tailored it to our individual personalities. She was the celebrant for my cousin's wedding, and we were so impressed, we knew she'd be the perfect celebrant for our day.
The most beautiful moment of the day was standing on the beach during our ceremony sharing our vows. Even though there were 130 people there watching us, it felt like it was just us.
We really loved sourcing and creating the styling for the reception décor. We knew we wanted quite minimal/effortless styling for our reception with lots of greenery, crystal cut glassware, gold and timber accents and soft neutral tones.
The tables were styled with timber name plates, minimalist menus and table numbers with gold accents, crystal cut glassware and white candles.
We positioned the bridal table in the middle of the room with guest tables around us, as Scott and I never really liked the idea of being front and centre on a table for all to look at. Plus we thought it was nice to include the partners of the bridal party. They were all such close friends it was just like a big family dinner.
The tables were styled with timber name plates, minimalist menus and table numbers with gold accents, crystal cut glassware and white candles.
We positioned the bridal table in the middle of the room with guest tables around us, as Scott and I never really liked the idea of being front and centre on a table for all to look at. Plus we thought it was nice to include the partners of the bridal party. They were all such close friends it was just like a big family dinner.
Sam from The Sugar Kitchen www.thesugarkitchen.com.au designed our wedding cake which was amazing! It was three tiers of different flavours - first tier was orange and almond, second tier was coconut, and bottom tier was chocolate mud. It was soooo good I was tempted to get a second cake just because!!
Both MC's were friends of ours from High School. I'd highly recommend choosing MC's you personally know for your wedding. Because they will know you and your family so well, it means the reception can be so much more personal with inside jokes to keep everyone entertained.
Tips to brides and grooms out there planning their wedding would be... to have fun with it! Pinterest and Instagram are your friends, but stay true to your original vision and don't get side tracked or carried away with unnecessary items/services/completely new ideas. There is so much out there and it is really easy to lose sight of your initial vision for the day.
If you can, enlist the help of a wedding planner like Alison Hughes Weddings. It was such a huge help to be able to bounce ideas off a trusted experienced professional. The endless list of industry contacts, the budget spreadsheets and checklists she provided me with were also helpful.
Finally, Ben Wyeth our photographer was so easy going and captured the day and night perfectly. Looking back on the photos from the day through his lense is just like reliving the day.
Michaela xx
If you can, enlist the help of a wedding planner like Alison Hughes Weddings. It was such a huge help to be able to bounce ideas off a trusted experienced professional. The endless list of industry contacts, the budget spreadsheets and checklists she provided me with were also helpful.
Finally, Ben Wyeth our photographer was so easy going and captured the day and night perfectly. Looking back on the photos from the day through his lense is just like reliving the day.
Michaela xx
Photographer
Ben Wyeth Photography www.benwyeth.com.au
Wedding planning and floral styling
Alison Hughes Weddings www.alisonhughesweddings.com
Bridal party flowers
The Marmalade Sky www.themarmaladesky.com.au
Bridal Gown Boutique
Perfect Day Bridal www.perfectdaybridal.com.au
Groom & Groomsmen Attire
Institchu www.institchu.com
Bridesmaid Dresses
Shona Joy www.shonajoy.com.au
Décor Hire
Rosie Pose Event Hire www.rosieposeeventhire.com.au
Make up artist
Project Make Up www.projectmakeup.com.au
Hair Stylist
Blondies Dolls www.facebook.com/blondiesdollsnambuccaheads
Celebrant
Kim Piper www.kimpipercelebrant.com
Cake
The Sugar Kitchen www.thesugarkitchen.com.au
Ben Wyeth Photography www.benwyeth.com.au
Wedding planning and floral styling
Alison Hughes Weddings www.alisonhughesweddings.com
Bridal party flowers
The Marmalade Sky www.themarmaladesky.com.au
Bridal Gown Boutique
Perfect Day Bridal www.perfectdaybridal.com.au
Groom & Groomsmen Attire
Institchu www.institchu.com
Bridesmaid Dresses
Shona Joy www.shonajoy.com.au
Décor Hire
Rosie Pose Event Hire www.rosieposeeventhire.com.au
Make up artist
Project Make Up www.projectmakeup.com.au
Hair Stylist
Blondies Dolls www.facebook.com/blondiesdollsnambuccaheads
Celebrant
Kim Piper www.kimpipercelebrant.com
Cake
The Sugar Kitchen www.thesugarkitchen.com.au
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