Taylia and Chris
St Mary’s Cathedral and Lamont's Bishops House, Perth, WA
photos captured by: Ben Yew styling by: White Events and Natural Art Flowers
FIRST IMPRESSIONS | Organised by mutual friends Taylia and Chris met on a 'Spring in the Valley' wine tour through the Swan Valley in Perth. "Our first interaction involved Chris offering me a warm beer while waiting to board the wine tour bus at the beginning of the tour. He immediately followed by insulting my outfit, telling me it was not within the 'flower power' theme of the day (it was, for the record)."
Needless to say Taylia's first impression; "I wasn't overly impressed and wanted nothing more than to sit away from him on the bus (mainly to nurse a hangover from the night before)." Chris however persisted, and they bonded over a common desire to obtain food at the first winery. It also turned out they had something in common, as Chris had also been out the night before and was nursing his own hangover.
After spending time together throughout the day, it was at their final stop that Chris asked Taylia for her number. "I thought I gave it to him, but it was only after returning to my friends that I realised that I had given Chris the fake number used by my alter ego 'Jasmine' (saved for guys I wasn't interested in)."
Acting quickly, Taylia ran back to find Chris and let him know she gave him the wrong number. “A surprised Chris responded by allowing me to correct the number, then giving me his remaining wine tokens in exchange for my beer ones and accompanying me to the bar (leaving a much better impression than earlier).
At the end of the wine tour, we parted ways, and I wondered if I'd hear from Chris again after accidentally giving him 'Jasmine's' number… True to his word, he took me out for a drink the following weekend.”
PROPOSAL SURPRISES | Chris proposed almost 8.5 years later at their favourite restaurant in Perth, Nobu. A dessert platter arrived at the end of the meal with 'Tay, will you marry me?' written on it. "It took me by complete surprise as were we having a 'staycation' at Crown Towers Perth with my family at the time and we'd been joking around in the hotel pool earlier in the day about how he was never going to propose. He had also orchestrated a few situations in the previous few months (e.g. a surprise helicopter ride over New York City when we were in the USA and a trip to Bali) where I was sure he was going to propose, but he didn't. So, I was very disappointed at those times and caught off guard when he finally did it in such a low key manner!"
ENGAGING PLANNERS | Both Chris and Taylia had very little time to devote to planning due to their careers. They engaged wedding planner and stylist, Lara White of White Events to see their vision and plans to fruition. "I had an idea of the suppliers I wanted to use for some things from speaking with married friends and doing my own research, but Lara filled in all the blanks and made our day come to life," said Taylia.
CLOSE TO HOME | Taylia and Chris married at their local parish with their reception venue located close by. Chosen not only for its location but it also worked beautifully with their theme of 'Secret Garden / Enchanted Forest'.
Located in Perth's CBD which Taylia and Chris have always lived and worked in or around during their relationship. “So it just felt right that we'd have our reception there. The reception venue also had an excellent reputation as a wedding venue and was well known for high-quality service, food and alcohol.”
“A highlight of the ceremony was seeing Chris’ face as I walked down the aisle with my father.”
STATIONERY | Off-white uncoated paper with hand torn edging was designed in Baskerville font in charcoal grey. "We wanted the stationery to look like it could have been left out in a garden."
The seating plan was finished on thick card and with slanted edges at the bottom. "We loved how this looked amongst the greenery at the entrance to the main area of our venue for our guests to see as they walked in after the cocktail hour."
Taylia and Chris also went with a mobile-friendly wedding website for additional information not included on the invitations and for RSVPs. "We thought it made the process far easier as most people are online these days, and it was easy for them to access the wedding information and RSVP online or on their mobiles. We also found it simple to track RSVPs this way."
DREAM GOWN | Taylia wore three wedding dresses with plans originally of only wearing two.
"I did a lot of research when deciding the style of my wedding gown. What I wanted and whom I wanted it to be designed and made by. I wanted it to tie in with the 'Secret Garden / Enchanted Forest' theme. So, I started by trying on ready-to-wear gowns in wedding boutiques in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne to see what suited my body type and the styles, designs and colours I liked best." Her inspiration drawn from Dior 1950s, the gown was a full oversized skirt with a strapless bodice highlighting the waist and a long train. Three-dimensional floral lace was added to match the theme. "I wanted the veil longer than the dress train, with double layers so I could wear the top layer over my face as I walked down the aisle.” After meeting with couture designers in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne to discuss her vision, Steven Khalil saw her vision perfectly, and custom designed and created her dream dress.
STOPPING TRAFFIC | Taylia and Chris had to stop four lanes of traffic in the middle of St Georges Terrace in the Perth CBD to get her and the dress across the road from COMO The Treasury to the Supreme Court Gardens during the photos.
DANCING DRESS | After the fitting for her first wedding gown, Taylia quickly realised that there was no way she was going to be able to dance the first dance with Chris and chose to wear her second gown by Martina Liana which was a lot lighter and dance-friendly. "I ended up keeping it on for the remainder of the reception. By chance, it was a similar style and cut to my first dress."
AFTER PARTY | Taylia had always intended on having a dress for their after party. Custom designed and made by Alvin Fernandez of ae'lkemi (now Meraki Official). A fitted cocktail dress with a pencil skirt that sat just below her knees made for ease of movement. Taylia chose a sheer floral 3D lace similar to her first wedding dress.
LET'S EAT CAKE | Their three-tiered cake was served as part of the dessert and the top tier was 'Barry' chocolate (similar to mud cake), the second tier was sublime lime and coconut, and the bottom tier was salted caramel. Taylia and Chris followed an old tradition and kept the top tier to freeze and eat on their first anniversary.
STYLING 'Secret Garden / Enchanted Forest' | An abundance of greenery with grey, white and dusty pink/rose coloured flowers set the tone. The furniture, linen and elements were kept to grey, white and perspex to compliment their theme and style.
"I knew instantly from seeing Rebecca Grace's work that I wanted Natural Art Flowers to be our florist. That was one of the first things I was sure about, and we locked in. Everything then fell into place around that decision. "
Their brief to their florist and stylists was their chosen theme and colour scheme and to include white orchids somewhere. Taylia also knew she wanted her bouquet to have flowers that hung down at the front. "We left the rest up to Bec and Lara to decide, we knew they were the experts and trusted their judgement – they didn't disappoint!"
A marquee frame with a transparent roof was constructed so they could fill the room with lots of greenery and floral arrangements. Lighting hanging from the ceiling was a central feature adding a little magic to their night. With the roof being their main styling feature, decorations on the tables were kept minimal with small arrangements of greenery, scattered candles, silver cutlery and crystal water tumblers.
CHAMPAGNE FLOWING | One of their favourite touches was the Champagne tower they had ready at the beginning of the reception. "When Chris and I entered the reception, we poured the champagne into it and then had it served to our guests."
REMINDERS OF YOU | 'Taylia's something old, something borrowed, and something blue was a white gold ring with a sapphire and diamonds that her mother was given by her parents on her 21st birthday. "It meant a lot for me to be able to wear it on the day as both my grandparents on my mother's side are no longer with us. I felt like I had a small piece of them with me on the day."
Her other borrowed was a pair of yellow gold and diamond earrings from her mother that reminded her of my dad's parents as they were yellow gold. “My grandmother on my father's side used to wear a lot of yellow gold jewellery. Unfortunately, my father's parents are also no longer with us, so again it felt like I had a little piece of them with me on the day too.”
FORMAL AFFAIR | With the ceremony held in the Cathedral, they chose a black tie affair for the men. Chris wore Pal Zileri tuxedo with peak lapels which was made-to-measure from Parker & Co. in Perth. Chris wanted a hand-tied bowtie preferring the look and finish. His Calibre patent black dress shoes completed the look. As a surprise Taylia had his best man surprise him with her gift while he was getting ready, a pair of Hermès silver 'H' cufflinks.
BRIDESMAIDS | Bridesmaids wore Sorella Vita dresses in dusty pink/rose colour to tie in with the theme and colour palette. "I felt that colour matched all their complexions. I wanted them to wear an ethereal/fairy style. It was quite difficult to find this style of dress as many bridesmaid dresses then were a wrap/draped style."
AND ALL THE GROOMSMEN | With Chris wearing a black tuxedo, they wanted the groomsmen to wear one as well. Taylia and Chris were aware that expecting them to buy one or them buying one was a bit much in terms of budget. On recommendation from Parker & Co., the groomsmen hired their tuxedos, shirts and bowties from Tony Barlow Formal Hire in Perth.
THE LITTLE ONES| Flowergirl's outfit tied into their theme and was similar to Taylia's wedding dress. Their Ring Bearer wore similar style as the groom and groomsmen in black tuxedos with bowties. "We purchased his shirt from Bardot kids as it was part of a onesie (great design and recommend this for other brides with baby boys in their bridal party as it kept his shirt tucked in the whole time).”
NAP TIME | "Our Ring Bearer was fast asleep at the beginning of the ceremony and had to be carried down the aisle in a 'plank like state' so as not to wake him up (otherwise he'd cry during the ceremony).”
a little advice
"I gave this advice to my sister and her husband at their wedding recently - try and take the time to absorb the day as it goes so quickly. If you need to, take some time out together to enjoy the evening, and don't feel pressured to say hello to or spend time with people that you feel obliged to or haven't spoken to yet. Everyone is here for you and understands how stressful this day can be."
IF THE SHOE FITS | Taylia wore Giuseppe Zanotti 'Cruel' sandals in silver with Swarovski crystals worn with her first wedding gown. "I'd been eyeing them off for a while and was waiting for a reason to buy them, and they were one of my first purchases for my wedding outfit after Chris proposed." Half-way through the photos, Taylia changed into a pair of Prada white platform sneakers purchased from net-a-porter. "I knew there was no way I would last the entire day in 12-inch heels with the weight of the dress and would need sneakers at some point."
The after party dress was worn with silver Sophia Webster 'Lilico sandals'. "I loved how they had the 3D flowers to tie in with the theme and my third dress.”
DJ | The DJ created a mash-up of Frank Ocean's 'Thinkin Bout You' and Disclosure's 'Latch' for our first dance. "We chose these songs as we both liked them and thought about each other when they played. They represented different stages of our relationship."
Their DJ played a couple of Italian songs early in the night to add a bit of fun in celebration to Taylia's Italian heritage.
"We had the most fantastic DJ, DJ Aslan (aka Ash Keogh). He was a master at getting everyone on the dance floor and keeping the guests on the dance floor throughout the evening."
LESSONS | Taylia and Chris arranged for a dance teacher to assist them with a choreographed routine for their first dance. "While we are by no means dancers, we just didn't want to get up for our first dance and do a 'Year 10 dance style two-step'. It was also a lot of fun learning the routine and dance moves together."
Playing as they entered the reception for the first time was 'Mars' by Hervé and Fake Blood. "We chose this because it was always our song we'd dance to together when we first met."
CREDIT TO
first gown: Steven Khalil Couture, stevenkhalil.com
first gown: Martina Liana, essensedesigns.com/martina-liana
third gown: ae'lkemi (now Meraki Official), merakiofficial.com.au
shoes: Guiseppe Zanotti, giuseppezanotti.com; Sophia Webster, sophiawebster.com;
Prada, net-a-porter.com
photographer: Ben Yew Photography, benyew.com
ceremony location: St Mary's Cathedral, Perth, WA, stmaryscathedralperth.com.au
groom's attire: Pal Zileri Made-to-Measure from Parker & Co., parkerco.com.au
venue: Lamont's Bishops House, Perth, WA, lamonts.com.au
after party venue: Treasury Lounge & Bar at COMO the Treasury, Perth, WA, comohotels.com
planner & stylist: White Events, whiteevents.com.au
lighting: Micktric Events, micktrics.com.au
furniture: Hire Society, hiresociety.com.au
chairs: M Events, meventshire.com
dance floor: Perth Dance Floors, perthdancefloors.com.au
linen: The Tailored Table, facebook.com/thetailoredtable
draping: Owl + Bear - www.owlandbear.com.au
champagne tower: Euphoric Events, euphoricevents.com.au
lectern: OMG Events, omgevents.com.au
photobooth: Events by Platinum, eventsbyplatinum.com.au
floral: Natural Art Flowers, naturalartflowers.com.au
cake and dessert table: The Cake and I, thecakeandi.com.au
stationery: Paper Fusion, paperfusion.com.au
wedding website: Bliss & Bone, blissandbone.com
groomsmen's outfits: Tony Barlow, tonybarlow.com.au/
bridesmaids' outfits: Sorella Vita, essensedesigns.com
bridal head piece: Kezani Jewellery, kezani.com.au
ring bearer: Ollie's Place Kidswearm, olliesplace.com.au engagement & wedding rings: Michael Quy Jewellery, facebook.com/michaelquyjewellery
music: DJ Aslan (aka Ash Keogh), trfm.com.au/presenters/aslan
transport: Northside Rentals, northsiderentals.com.au
videographer: The Auburn Hour Film Co. theauburnhourfilms.com
brides hair: Lisa Thompson
brides make-up: Hendra Widjaja Bridesmaids hair:
Lisa Thompson and Bebe from The Pretty Parlour
first night and bride night before: COMO The Treasury - comohotels.com/en/thetreasury
groom night before: Crown Towers Perth, crownhotels.com.au
honeymoon: Maldives, Amilla Fushi, amilla.mv
The honeymoon will be in Europe in June/July 2019.
first dance teacher: Julie Di Camillo of Danza Pasion, danzapasion.com.au
