If ever there was a romantic way to describe a wedding day or imagine the courtship of two people, it has to be: the pilot marries the doctor. Just saying it out loud feels like scene from a hollywood movie. Although it’s been a little while since their wedding, I just had to share this perfect day on the blog.
What made it the perfect day? There were a lot of things; the laughter, friends and family, the locations, the gorgeous guests, an amazing gown but none of these are really what makes one wedding more perfect than another. What made this day perfect was the little hand squeezes between Luke and Chantelle, the quick glances and sweet smiles. These two simply belong together and it was plain to see.
Instead of me rambling about the day through my words, I asked Chantelle and Luke to share a little more of their story to go along with the photos I captured. There’s romance at every turn. Here’s Chantelle…
What’s the story behind the two of you, how and where did you meet?
I had been friends with Luke’s brother and girlfriend (now wife) for a couple of years. We met at Luke’s brothers wedding in Mulwala nearly 6 years ago.
Can you tell me about the proposal?
Great story, it was my birthday, mid June. Luke woke me early, told me to wear something nice and pack a bag.
So, I was a total girl about it, stressing about what to wear, what to pack, how to do my hair. Eventually Luke gets me out the door and into the car, we jump on the F3 towards Sydney.
After about 10 minutes in on the freeway, he pulls over and blindfolds me and puts ear plugs in my ears. I’m giggling in the car, telling him he’ll be arrested for abducting me. Eventually, we pull off the freeway and I’m walked out of the car down a ramp and then the blindfold is removed.
There, at the jetty, is our small speedboat, packed and ready. We get in the boat and drive away, leaving the car behind. I start to realise Luke has some help at this point, that he’d asked 2 of his best mates to be involved. We drive the boat around the Hawkesbury River and pull up at Berowra Waters Inn. We go inside for an amazing 10 course degustation and have a giggle at his friends picking up the boat out the front whilst trying to hide.
Then at some stage during lunch, Luke suggests we go outside to “look at the view”. I was a bit suspicious, he had a look on his face that meant he was up to something. I was thinking that there was going to be a big cake and some friends outside to sing happy birthday, but instead, there is Luke, down on one knee.
He had the ring box open, but backwards, he was choking up over a beautifully written and carefully rehearsed speech and my response….. so shocked that the moment I’d dreamed of with him was actually here…. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no – Poor Luke actually had to stop and check “So, was that a yes?” Of course it was a yes!
Where was your wedding ceremony and why there?
We’re both Catholic and wanted a Catholic Wedding, Holy Cross Church in South Kincumber is picture perfect and was just right size for our Wedding. Our family priest was unable to attend at the last minute, so Father Jim McKeon stood in and did a fantastic job. We involved the majority of our 19 nieces & nephews in the ceremony, it was truly special!
Where was your wedding reception and why there?
The Reception was at Reef Restaurant, Terrigal. It was an easy choice, we wanted our wedding to be here in Terrigal as 90% of our guests were travelling from Sydney or interstate to attend. Reef is a great space, excellent food and friendly service.
Were you going for a certain theme or style?
We wanted a home grown casual feel about the reception. I had chosen a daisy theme long ago which I tied in through the reception. It was important to us that our guests would feel comfortable, relaxed and have a great time.
Can you tell me about your wedding dress?
My dress was a dream. Made by Rose Zurzolo Couture in Melbourne. It was the first dress I had tried on and several wedding dress shopping “experiences” later, I couldn’t go past the dress and I couldn’t go past working with Rose. She was incredibly easy to work with and created an amazing gown. Rose even assisted with veil and jewellery and she was happy to work around my interstate schedule. The dress speaks for itself.
Brides Shoes by?
Alan Pinkus Champagne coloured bridal shoes. 2 tips – make sure they’re not too tall & bring spare flats to the reception if you’re not a regular heel wearer!
Accessories by?
My main accessory was the guipure daisy flower in my hair. It was taken from my Mum’s wedding dress which was hand made by my Nan, so that was a special feature/theme for me.
Who was your makeup artist and what were your instructions when booking – what were you after?
We used Kristen Hartz for makeup. A colleague had booked and recommended Kristen. I wanted a natural look, and Kristen delivered that perfectly, I’m really pleased with the pictures.
Groomsmen Suits by?
Luke had the suits tailor made in Hong Kong.
What lead you to choose the wedding cake you did?
I made my own cake. We wanted Cupcakes to go along with our Dessert Bar to keep it casual and fun. I was determined to make my own as I love to bake. So, with some tips from a few people I made 140 cupcakes, French Vanilla with Raspberry Swirl and Lemon Icing, complete with home made Daisy toppers and then I made the top tier, fruit cake. Had some much needed Mum and Mum-in-law help with all of this too.
What did you have for your Bomboniere?
My friends and family have raved about my Ploughman’s chutney for a couple of years, so this was an easy choice, but a hard task. Mum & I made 70 jars of chutney for the wedding, it was fun receiving photos of friends devouring their chutney in the weeks following.
Can you tell me about your flowers?
Again with the home grown theme, we did our own flowers. I had a team of Mum, both of my sisters and bridesmaids and we put them together the day before.
Can you describe the photography part of the day?
Easy. Andrew knows his job and does it well!
We had made a fuss about not having too many posed/stiff photos, that we wanted candid pictures to reflect our casual style. Andrew delivered a perfect amount of each. He made us comfortable in front of the camera and took shots when we weren’t aware of his presence.
Our album is amazing, such a treasure to keep forever.
What led you to choose Impact Images for your photography?
We had met with a few photographers. Andrew was professional, yet easy to chat to, his photos were excellent, his albums amazing and not a soft lense in site 🙂
We’re so happy with our pictures that we’ve since recommended Andrew to our friends.
Do you have a memorable moment from the day?
Too many to even start… A lot of squeezing each others hands and giggling to ourselves through the day.
Can you tell me a little about your honeymoon?
Luke organised the whole thing in secret.
Twice during the preparations on the wedding day I had a knock at the door with a delivery of a single rose. Each was rose with the name of each honeymoon destination. The last rose was in the car on the way to the church. Such a romantic!
We went to Mexico, New York & Hawaii.
What the most important piece of advice you would like to share with brides to be?
- Delegate
- Family are priceless in these events
- Write a time schedule of the big day and stick it on the fridge so everyone knows the plan
- Purposefully take time out during the day, hold your man’s hand, stand back and take it all in
- Breathe, it’s supposed to be fun
If you had the chance to redo the whole thing again, would you change anything?
I’d squeeze in a few extra hours to enjoy more of it.
