Hayley and Phil’s elegant cocktail style wedding was tailored beautifully to their desire for a relaxed evening with their overseas guests. Their day featured a gorgeous navy and rose palette, stunning modern gown and a creative cake bar you’ll eat with your eyes!
The Planning Experience
“I really loved the early stages of wedding planning, looking for a venue and selecting suppliers, and looking through other people’s photos for inspiration. The more challenging part was when it came to the smaller details, and making everything work together. At this point I could see how a wedding planner would have been handy. We were very lucky that our venue and suppliers were all organised and very easy going – everything just worked. We met some amazing people, and loved having them be part of our special day.”
Finding The One
“I think I always knew where I would find my dress. I would often walk past Samantha Wynne admiring the beautiful bridal gowns and hoping that one day, I would have a reason to go inside. When I got engaged I was very excited to make an appointment. It was important to me to be comfortable on the day, knowing it would be quite warm and to make sure the dress worked well with our relaxed theme. Samantha understood what I was after and by the third dress, I knew I found the one. I tried on dresses at a few other stores, just for peace of mind, but nothing came close.”
The Ceremony
“With the styling of the church, we kept it really simple. We both love the church as it is, and thinks its beauty speaks for itself. We just asked the church florist to add some simple pew decorations of baby’s breath and tulle to finish it off.”
A Special Date
“When it came to choosing a date for our wedding, we picked the 21/11 as it was the birthday of two of my grandparents. They were both very important to me, and were no longer with us, so it was lovely to be able to choose a date that had special meaning to us and our family.”
Favourite Moments
“We had bridal party portrait photos taken in a beautiful field, with wild grass, and the tulle of my dress ended up covered in large prickles. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get them out or that my dress would be ruined, and of course Phil sat and picked everyone last one of them out before we entered the reception. I just sat back and thought, this is my husband and one of the many reasons I love him.
The speeches were amazing, I don’t think we have ever laughed so hard. I remember being a little worried about them, and now when I look back it was one of the best parts of the day!”
The Flowers
Relaxed, garden style bouquets, with David Austin roses and peonies, in neutral tones with soft grey and green foliage.
Reception Styling
“We decided to go with a cocktail style wedding. This was the first time our families had met, so we wanted to create an environment where guests could mingle and get to know each other.
We wanted a lovely spring Australian wedding, with lots of gorgeous garden blooms and foliage, and a venue where guests could enjoy the outdoors. We also wanted to include Phil’s home, so we had a few special touches like a traditional Irish welcome on the entry chalkboard and a poster map of our home towns.”
Cake Display
“We decided not to opt for a traditional wedding cake. Instead we had four delicious cakes, creating a cake bar. It went well with our relaxed theme, and ensured we had something to suit every guest’s taste. We chose chocolate and salted caramel, chocolate and raspberry, lemon and coconut meringue, and carrot cake. It was an absolute hit.”
Best Advice
1. It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all the wedding options and ideas, but pick a few things that are really important to you, and that will help you create the day you want.
2. Understand there will be things out of your control on the day, not everything will be perfect, and be ok with that. We had a few hiccups, which we now laugh about and have made for great stories about the day.
3. The day really does go in a flash! The day after, take some time together and write down a few special memories about the day, things that might not have been captured by photos, but that you will want to remember always.
Location: WA | Photography: Liz Jorquera | Ceremony: St Joseph’s Church, Subiaco | Reception: Broads Restaurant | Dress: Samantha Wynne | Hair: Harper Hair & Tan | Makeup: Kristy Ogram Makeup Artist | Suits: Roger David | Flowers & Styling: Poppy and Willow | Cakes: The Flour Press | Invitations: Minted | Ceremony Music: Dolce Ensembles