Wedding Cheese Cake from Formaggi Ocello

I just adore this last photo- that gorgeous gown against the rugged Rocky mountains- so romantic!

Photo credit: Mark Seliger for Vogue

Mike and Soner married on August 27th, six years to the very date they fell in love. True romantics, the couple kept their wedding day graceful and timeless- “the heart of our wedding day was all about our love for each other” Mine and Soner exchanged heartfelt vows by the Lily Pond at Centennial Parklands and celebrated by Sydney Harbour with an intimate reception at Ottoman Cuisine.
Mine’s stunning Oscar De La Renta gown

“When Soner and I were engaged, we exchanged promise rings bound by a red ribbon. This tradition continues on the wedding day. My brother and I shared a wonderful moment where he tied a red ribbon around my waist as a symbol of my love, promise and faithfulness to my groom, as in Soner is the only one that can untie that knot!”

“A Turkish wedding is meant to be a public display that a celebration of marriage is taking place. Outside my parents home we had musicians and a crowd of family and friends awaiting Soner’s arrival with his entourage to carry out the “gelin alma” tradition, literally meaning to get the bride and start the party! The bride’s family play funny games by deliberately forcing the groom to succumb to comical demands or even requests for money, otherwise he cannot enter the threshold!
Eventually Soner stumbled inside and I will never forget the ecstatic expression on his face when we finally got to see each other – I reacted with sheer excitement as soon as I saw my handsome groomy! My father walkd me out my childhood home which then triggered the dancing on the front yard.” – Mine

Mine and Soner incorporated their Turkish heritage into their wedding day with clever and unique touches; “Soner and I both grew up in Sydney however because of our Turkish heritage we wanted to implement some of our culture for a personalised touch. Our stationary included details of the Istanbul and Sydney skyline which represented our love for both cities. We had the same skyline design on our cake made by the talented artists from Cake Occasions – it was absolutely exquisite and yummy too!

A traditional Turkish band wowed our guests and kept them dancing through the night. “We had traditional drums and pipes going off at one point during the night and all our guests held one another to do the “halay” which is a traditional Turkish folk dance. It was a great moment seeing everyone with their big genuine smiles as they circled around us on the dance floor!”- Mine

Mine on the wedding venues:
“We had a lovely ceremony with our close family and friends by the Lily Pond at Centennial Parklands. It was the perfect outdoor setting I was looking for. The surroundings were gorgeous without the need for any additional decor. We exchanged heartfelt vows in Turkish based on our promise to love, respect, trust and commit to each other for the rest of our lives. At the end of the ceremony when our celebrant announced us as husband and wife, it was such a surreal and powerful moment!

We knew exactly where we wanted to have our reception, an intimate venue that had its own ambience. Ottomans Cuisine at Walsh Bay was our first and only choice for this reason. The decor is a combination of modern and old with exposed timber beams and a ceiling adorned with hanging tulip lamps. There is nothing prettier than a floor to ceiling view of the Sydney Harbour and it was lovely to be able to step outside onto the terrace with our guests.”

The Wedding Favours:
“For our favours, we had custom made copper “cezves” (Turkish coffee pot) with our names and wedding date engraved on the outer side. We added satchels of Turkish coffee, sugared almonds and instructions on how to brew the perfect cup which was a real hit with our guests!”

On the first dance:
“We had our first dance to “Yellow” by Coldplay. We interpret this song as a romantic devotion to each other as it speaks of an unconditional love of someone making you feel “yellow” on the inside – and I was absolutely glowing on the inside and outside from happiness!”

On the special moments:
“I had a teary moment when my sister shared a touching story of our parents when they said goodbye to Turkey and started a new life in Australia. It was a story of my father’s strength and my mother’s courage and spirit – I felt a great sense of pride being their daughter and to be part of such a beautiful loving family.”

Wedding surprises:
“Soner gave me the best wedding surprise by singing “You Make Me Smile” by Uncle Kracker. It was totally unexpected because whenever we’re in the car together, I am always the one rocking the radio and hitting the high notes with terrible execution. I would tease him and make a point of it that he never sings along so I was absolutely blown away and cuddled him straight after his sweet gesture!”

On the photography:
“We felt very strong about having a candid style of photography. We wanted to have beautiful romantic shots using natural light so we were confident Tealily Photography were the perfect choice to achieve this. Every beautiful moment and emotion was captured and we didn’t even know they were there! They are so highly talented and enthusiastic, we couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Mine & Soner’s Wedding Style Guide
Photographer: Tealily Photography, Sydney
Videographer: Steven Mileski
Dress: Oscar De La Renta
Brides shoes: Jimmy Choo
Venue: Ottoman Cuisine, Walsh Bay
Suits: Calibre
Bridesmaids dresses: Carla Zampatti
Stationery: Watermarx Letterpress, Brookvale
Cake: Cake Occasions, Paddington
Make up: Captivating Looks

The vibrant red blooms are a unique touch, and the shoot is undoubtedly glam, but my favourite element is the winter inspiration with those gorgeous furs and the cool (if not a little gloomy and overcast) setting. Australian couples are innately drawn to the sun and the sea for their wedding day celebrations, but I have always found a winter wedding so chic- here’s the proof!

Floral Styling: Museli & Yoghurt
Photography: Stewart Leishman.
Bride’s gown: Lusan Mandongas

Be sure to check back soon, there’s more from this glam wedding to come!

Credit: Welsch Photography

A 1pm ceremony at St Aidan’s Anglican Church in Annandale was followed by an afternoon tea celebration catered by friends for our 300 guests. The reception was a sit-down dinner for 100 of Megan and Frankie’s nearest and dearest at Sugaroom restaurant in Pyrmont.

From Megan on her gorgeous wedding dress:
“I am fortunate enough to have a seamstress for a grandmother! Though initially I wanted lace, when my mother and I went to the Vietnamese fabric shops in Cabramatta we stumbled upon the pintucked Dupion silk and knew we’d found ‘the one’! We travelled up the coast to my grandma’s house a few times for fittings, and I discovered there is no better feeling than having a dress made especially for you!”

Her fixation with bows!:
“I wore black Kate Spade heels with a bow that I fell in love with on a trip to New York last year and I silver bow and pearl earrings bought from Etsy”

The Flowers:
“We were thrilled, the flowers were exactly what I had envisioned. The owner [of Florist, Red Fragrance Floral Design] Charlie is a friend of a friend, and was so enthusiastic, easygoing and helpful! I had a simple bouquet of white carnations bound in ribbon made from my dress material, the girls had posies of pink and white carnations, and the boys all had boutonnieres of green succulents.”

Special memories:
“Especially for our wedding day, my uncle restored the Rover that my nana and grandfather drove in the 60s! They have both passed away now so it was a lovely connection to drive to our wedding in their family car. [I also] wore my nana’s diamond wedding ring set that she left me when she passed away.”

Staying on budget:
“Keeping to a small budget was a priority so we DIY’ed as much as possible and loved the chance to be creative! The whole family was involved in drinking 100 Italian juice bottles that were used as individual vases/place settings at our reception. My mum and I arranged the flowers and other decorations at the ceremony and reception. My mother-in-law Tina is a graphic designer and helped me produce the invitations and all the stationery for the whole wedding which all featured a tandem bicycle motif. We also designed our own engagement and wedding rings. Our wedding was a real collaboration of all our family and friends’ talents!”

The Music:
“I walked down the aisle to ‘Strawberry Swing’ by Coldplay and we walked out to ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ by the Beach Boys. A band of friends from our church played the hymns in the ceremony, and our friends Emma and Will played ‘The Swan’ by Camille Saint-Saens on piano and cello while we signed the register. We kept it simple as we are both classical musicians and didn’t want too many of our muso friends to have to ‘work’ on our wedding day!”

Favourite Memories:
“After the busy preparations, I just loved feeling so relaxed all day, and so happy to be with our loved ones, many of whom had travelled a long way to share the day with us! Our favourite memory, besides saying our vows and sealing the deal, would have to be floating away from the reception in a water taxi at the end of the night, waving goodbye to all our friends and family on the shore then turning to each other and really realising we were married! It sounds so clichéd but it was the best feeling!”

Megan & Frankie’s Wedding Style Guide
Venue: Sugaroom
Photographer: Nerida McMurray Photography
Florist: Red Fragrance Floral Design
Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade
Groom’s Suit: Herringbone
Cake: Adriano Zumbo
Hair: Emma Attenborough
Make-Up: Hayley Dutton

The spectacular grounds of Athol Gardens provided a stunning setting for the couple’s photos. Disused train-carriages and a classic red telephone booth were perfect props for the fun-loving couple.

Hiona’s show-stopping silk and chantilly lace gown from Rhonda Hemmingway was exactly to her vision; “I never wanted to wear white.  It just didn’t feel like me. My criteria was; I wanted to be able to walk (and boogie) in it, I wanted to be comfortable and I wanted to be able to wear it again.  I knew the style I wanted but it was just a matter of finding someone who could make it. (Rhonda) reminded me of my mum and I instantly felt like she knew what I wanted.”

Despite an unbridled passion for stilettos, Hiona chose red & black cowboy boots- even before she’d found her dressmaker! “They were the first pair I tried on and they were perfect.  I wanted to wear cowboy boots because I didn’t fancy the idea of traversing the garden lawn in stiletto heels. Plus, we were in the country – how could I not?!”

A cocktail-style reception followed the ceremony, with many different designated areas for guests to celebrate, easily navigated with a signpost painstakingly created by the bride.
“As we weren’t having a sit-down dinner, we wanted to make sure people had somewhere to sit if they wanted to.  Inside there were large tables that were lightly decorated with the flowers in biscuit tins and tealight candles in votive glasses.
Outside there was an array of garden furniture and some hay bales which we had brought in.  My mum made white covers for each of the hay bales which we secured with a thick, black satin ribbon.”

Table centrepieces,  featuring bright blooms of Aster Daisies, Cornflowers, Roses, Freesias and Hydrangea foliage (to name only a few!), were arranged in a selection of vintage biscuit tins, part of the groom’s Mother’s enviable collection of vintage homewares.  Other flowers were scattered throughout the venue and were arranged in the array of glass bottles we had collected.  I designed and made little tags to tie around each bottle with some natural twine.  On the tags were lyrics and quotes that had particular meaning to Ev and me.

A dessert table was laden with toffee apples, caramel slice, coconut ice, rocky road, miniature lemon tarts, brownies, meringues, coconut macarons, lovingly created by the Evan’s sisters and Mother, and served in crystal bowls and silver cake tiers. “Rather than a formal wedding cake, I wanted a dessert table for the guests to indulge in at will.  The ‘wedding cake’ itself was made by my lovely mamma and it was a delicious flourless chocolate cake topped with fresh strawberries”

A custom made photo-booth was set-up underneath a wisteria archway in the garden. A collection of props and wares provided much hilarity as guests hammed it up for the camera in vintage furs, quirky hats and glamorous feather fans and boas. The camera was unmanned so the guests could have their own fun.

Hiona & Evan’s Wedding Style Guide
Photography: Cameron Spencer, an award winning sports photographer for Getty, and close friend of the groom
Venue: Athol Gardens
Wedding gown: Rhonda Hemmingway
Bride’s shoes: Route 66
Flowers: Sydney Flower Markets/Alice Hudson, a school friend of the bride and talented florist
Hair: Kate Campbell, a hairdresser friend of the bride

Fiona, creator of Vintage Tea Parties & Events, has lovingly collated a beautiful collection of china, inspired by a gift of fine china-trios from her Grandmother. Each piece, whether patterned, plain or floral creates an elegant and whimsical atmosphere.

The mouth-watering menu features Scones with Jam & Cream, Finger Sandwiches, and other classic high tea favourites. Personally, I’m drawn to the deliciously named Peach Meringue Sponge Cake and Mini Pecan Pie… oh, and the Chocolate Caramel Fudge Cake sounds good too!

The best part though? They can even set up and pack-away for you! Perfection!

Cake by One Sweet Girl

From The Owl offers a highly edited selection of stylish homewares, art, books and even bicycles!

From the Owl also offers a Wishing Well option where guests to write a message for a more personal way to gift money. Creators, Marisa and Alex have thought of every detail for your wedding day, even providing couples with a personalised mini-site to share their wedding details.