Hey, it Andrew here… I’m the one that puts these blog posts together but Corey is the photographer for this beautiful Central Coast wedding. Although I wasn’t part of the day, the honesty, advice, love and helpful hints that Alice has put into this post makes me feel like I was there for every step of the way. Reading a few of the quotes, there’s absolutely no denying, this was a dream day for Alice and Joel at their Shelly Beach Golf Club wedding.
Below are some questions I put to Alice, along with her beautiful, helpful answers to help with your wedding plans.
What’s the story behind the two of you?
We met through a mutual friend. I lived in Sydney and I came to visit her. I then met Joel and we hit it off straight away!
I actually moved in with him two weeks later.
Can you tell me about the proposal?
Joel took me looking for rings one day out of the blue and I picked the one I liked.
Then, he surprised me a few months later (mind you, it’s worse knowing you are getting a ring because every day you think is this the day? haha) whilst we were just chatting, sitting on the bed, he got down on one knee and asked if I would be his wife.
It was very intimate and just us two, the way we always like it.
Where was your wedding ceremony and why there?
Our wedding ceremony was at the Shelly Beach Golf Course.
Seeing your husband cry when he’s saying why he loves you so much is the most amazing thing you can ever experience!
Joel and I are locals at the Golf club and we have seen a few weddings there. All the weddings have been uniquely beautiful. The golf course itself is beautiful for photos and you can see views of the ocean. There are lots of areas for spectacular photos! As you can see of course 😉
It also has sentimental value for Joel. His friend passed away at Shelly Beach and his plaque is on the Golf course so it did feel like he was around to bless us on the day.
Where was your wedding reception and why there?
Our wedding reception was also at Shelly Beach Golf Club. The reception room overlooks the golf course and the beach. It can hold up to 100 people and the event coordinator, Merryn, is amazing! She is very efficient and willing to help with anything you ask.
Were you going with a certain theme or style with your wedding?
My favourite colour is purple so I chose a lovely purple colour for the bridesmaids and matched the ribbons on the chairs with a similar colour.
I wore Ivory so the chair covers and table covers were white.
I also had a bird cage for the wishing well so I kept with that theme and put mini bird cages as the table centrepieces and also had doves as the name cards on the tables. The doves were placed on each wine glass. This style of name cards can be found on eBay.
Can you tell me about your wedding dress and any advice you have for other brides looking for their perfect gown?
I bought my dress from Belles and Beaux Newcastle. They have great designers in store. Mine was a Stella York design.
Things to know:
- When you go into the store, the gowns you try on are just samples. You actually have to wait up to 18 weeks for your dress to be made. So DO NOT leave it late! Get this done first! As you will need alterations after this. By the way, the alterations for the hem cost around $300 so make sure you budget this into the dress as well.
- DO NOT GO ONLINE for your dress. I met so many brides at the store that had gone online for their dress for the same designer and it was terrible so they were rushing getting alterations days before the wedding!
- Buy the dress the size you are NOW. You can always get alterations 2 dress sizes smaller.
- Put into your budget the cost of your dress cleaning after the wedding. It costs around $300! I didn’t and got quite a shock.
Where did you find your wedding shoes and do you have any advice for brides looking for their bridal shoes?
I found my shoes online from eBay as I couldn’t find any in Ivory that I liked in stores. It also wasn’t the season for my type of shoes. You have to be prepared for trial and error though.
Where did you find your jewellery and accessories?
I got my earrings, sash and gail at Bells and Beaux where I bought my dress. They were just perfect when I tried them on with my dress.
and at that moment I had no fears of spending the rest of my life with him!
Who did your hair and what led you to the style you chose?
Selina Siedleski did my hair. She has her own work from home business at Shelly beach. She has been doing my hair for a while now and she is a great colourist. She knows me very well and she also does a lot of weddings.
I went for an up-do as my dress was strapless. I also wanted to be the total opposite to my bridesmaids. They had their hair down and curly.
Who was your makeup artist and what were your instructions when booking – what were you after?
Alex McLachlan did my makeup. She has done my makeup a lot of times at Napoleon Perdis at Tuggerah. When someone knows what you like and knows you well, it makes a lot of difference to the outcome.
I asked for a natural sun-kissed look, brown eye shadows, natural tan lips.
I did use fake eyelashes but I would recommend getting eyelash extensions by Glamour Lash’s at Terrigal. Someone told me fake eyelashes look better and they do not! I now get eyelash extensions from Glamour Lash’s and love them!
Where did you find the guys suits? Were they purchased or hired and why?
I went to a bridal fair at Somersby and met Elke at Diamond Weddings. I then took Joel there to see if there were any suits he liked. Elke was very helpful.
The groomsmen hired theirs but Joel bought his so he could wear it later and also for sentimental value.
I also wanted to match the men’s ties exactly to my bridesmaids dresses. I bought the fabric and Elke offered to get them made as long as she could keep them once they were done. It was a WIN WIN situation.
Can you tell me about your flowers/bouquets?
I met Lisa Bednal from Blooms and Twine at the Bridal Fair at Somersby as well. I bonded with her immediately and loved her presence.
I showed her the colours I wanted which were purple and ivory and she then showed me flowers that matched those colours. I picked the ones I liked and the style of bouquet and that was it. The bouquets looked amazing!
I just love him so much that I was so happy and calm when I saw him, he’s all I wanted to see
What led you to choose the wedding cake you did?
I always see cakes at parties and I never eat them. I always find there is always a lot left over as well. I wanted a cake that everyone liked and was that just added a little dessert after the meal. Not a stomach filler that made no one want to dance!
I chose the croquembeuche and it worked like a charm. It tasted amazing! This was done by David at Hemsley’s Wedding Cakes.
The only disappointment was the chef left spaces in between the rolls so you could see the tin and Joel was NOT impressed. A chef should know to use whatever they can to fill this.
What did you have for your Bomboniere?
I actually forgot about the Bomboniere till a few days before and my bridesmaid asked me about it. I did nothing about it as I thought who really uses their Bombonier’s anyway. It’s also an added cost that adds up very quickly.
No one complained and no one even realised. A lot of people actually took their name card that was placed on their wine glass (the bird I mention up above).
Can you describe the photography part of the day?
The photos started early and feel like they never finish haha but they are worth it! Corey from Impact Images was amazing!
What led you to choose impact Images for your photography?
I originally met Tenneille from Impact Images at the Bridal Fair at Somersby. My mother and I loved a photograph done by Andrew and I knew this was the place for me! Joel and I then met Corey and we both clicked with him straight away.
He has done a lot of weddings at the Shelly Beach Golf Course as well. He was really calm and happy to be there. His vibe bounced off him to us and the bridesmaids/groomsmen.
Can you tell me about your most memorable moment of the day?
The most memorable moment is when I found Joel’s eyes when I reached the walkway/white carpet. I just love him so much that I was so happy and calm when I saw him, he’s all I wanted to see, and at that moment I had no fears of spending the rest of my life with him!
Also, our vows. I often replay them in my head and picture those moments.
Seeing your husband cry when he’s saying why he loves you so much is the most amazing thing you can ever experience!
Can you tell me a little about your honeymoon?
We travelled for 4 weeks to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Cancun, Mexico and Hawaii. It was an amazing trip! Lots of sun, beach, nightlife, sightseeing and shopping – the right mix for Joel and I. It was expensive but it was worth it.
Our wishing well went towards our honeymoon as we didn’t need anything else and it was really helpful. You only have one honeymoon (well, hopefully haha) and you need the most time together without normal day to day lives to really enjoy the after marriage bliss.
What is the most important piece of advice you could share with brides to be?
Do not STRESS and be VERY organised. Try to pick things by yourself as when you get advice it often will confuse you more than if you just picked what you wanted in the first place!
If you had to redo the whole thing again, what changes would you make?
I would have paid for a videographer. I am disappointed that I can’t re-watch a video of our vows and see people’s reactions.
Other than that I loved every part of it!
NOTE: Andrew here again. If your’e looking at hiring a wedding videographer/cinematographer for your wedding, I can happily recommend Aria from Aria Video and Andrew from Switch Multi Media – both great guys, creative and love what they do.
