Sharon and Andrew

With so much social and visual media about these days, a couple’s primary focus can often be on what a wedding looks like rather than what it feels like. So when a couple tells me that being married to each other is all they care about, I get a little thrill of excitement.  

Adrienne Bizzarri Photography

And so it was with Andrew and Sharon. They didn’t give a hoot about the formalities, serviette colours or cake flavours – they just couldn’t wait a single second longer to call each other husband and wife.

I caught a glimpse of Sharon when she arrived at the venue to get dressed. Even in her casual summer clothes, she looked beautiful and radiated joy.  Understandably so – she was about to marry the love of her life!

Adrienne Bizzarri Photography

An hour later, Andrew and I stood in the courtyard at the Brighton Savoy with an intimate gathering of family and friends. Sharon entered on the arms of her two very proud children with a smile bigger than I ever knew possible. The only person with a smile even bigger was Andrew.

Adrienne Bizzarri Photography

After making vows to always maintain their love and friendship, Andrew and Sharon were pronounced husband and wife to cheers, applause and a whole lot of hugs. Throughout the entire ceremony, those smiles never left their faces – and once they were married, I’m willing to bet they stayed on for the rest of the day.

Adrienne Bizzarri Photography

Congratulations, Sharon and Andrew! Working with you was my absolute pleasure. Wishing you much continued happiness. xx

Sharon and Andrew, 25 February 2012
Venue: The Brighton Savoy
Photos: The ever so lovely Adrienne of Adrienne Bizzarri Photography. Adrienne is also on Facebook.

Corrie and Kevin

Corrie and Kevin. Kevin and Corrie. Even the names sound like they’re meant to be together!

Meaghan Cook Collective

Bubbly and gregarious, Corrie is a person you warm to instantly. You can’t help but be drawn in by her ever-present smile and chatty nature. Kevin, in contrast to his bride, is the strong, silent type. Cool, calm and collected, nothing fazes him. They’re a perfect match.

I first met Corrie in a city café for a chat over coffee.  When Corrie told me she intended to walk down the aisle to Marry Me by Train, the very same song I’d just posted about on Facebook as being a perfect processional song, we had a moment of happy clapping. Our bond was cemented further as we discussed our very similar names, and the fact that my name is based on my parents’ love of the name Corrie. Cue more happy clapping!

Family and friends had travelled from all over Australia to be at their wedding and there was a real buzz of excitement in the room before Corrie arrived.  Kevin had assured me that he wouldn’t get emotional during the ceremony, yet by the time Corrie had reached the top of the aisle on the arm of her Dad, I was passing tissues to both of them. Sighting the love of your life for the first time on your wedding day just does that to you.

Meaghan Cook Collective

Corrie and Kevin’s ceremony was simple and beautiful. Kevin’s sister read from Corinthians and two of Corrie’s best friends read the beautiful Holding Hands, which ends with the line ‘And lastly, these are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching out for yours.’  It was perfect.

After I pronounced them husband and wife to rapturous cheers, it took a good 10 minutes to clear the marquee. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends  – everyone was so keen to give the newlyweds a great big hug and their very best wishes.

Meaghan Cook Collective

That’s love. In every possible form.

Congratulations, Corrie and Kevin! Thank you so much for letting me be part of such a special time in your lives.

Corrie and Kevin, 7 January 2012
Venue: Roselyn Court, Essendon
Photos: Meaghan Cook Collective

My first Dum Dum De Dah dress

If you’ve been hanging around the blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve loved weddings for longer than I can remember. As a toddler I couldn’t quite get my tongue around the sounds in the word ‘wedding’, so I invented my own term  -  dum dum de dah. It, and my wedding obsession, gained such notoriety within our circle of family and friends that it is now used with frightening regularity – it’s not uncommon for my Mum to call me of an evening and ask how the day’s dum dum de dah has gone. (If you’re confused by how I came up with dum dum de dah, hum The Wedding March. Make sense now?)

On a recent mission to clear some more cupboard space, I found some photos that may better explain why my love for weddings has lasted as long as it has.

My first wedding gown, Christmas 1986.

By the time I was three, my wedding obsession had picked up speed and was hurtling along. Perhaps in the hope of calming my bridal fever, my grandmother made me a bride doll for Christmas, complete with custom-made gown and veil. I named her Annabel and she became my constant companion. I was forever fluffing her train and straightening her veil before walking her down imaginary aisles, all the while singing The Wedding March at the top of my little lungs. My sister, at that stage only a few months old and unable to go anywhere fast, was often required to be a witness. 

I could not get enough of  pretty ladies in white dresses. They looked like princesses in their diaphanous gowns and veils. I wanted to be near them. No, I wanted to be them. I didn’t want to marry a boy (gross!) or have to do any kissing (even grosser!) but I wanted to spin around in a big white puffball and wear a veil. Mum was starting to get sick of having to wash grass stains from sheets I’d tied around my waist and traipsed all over the lawn with. What to do?

Christmas 1986.

Nan to the rescue again. The following Christmas, I was given a dum dum de dah dress of my own. It was love at first sight. Lined, cap-sleeved and edged with lace, the gown had a delicate train and a hem that flounced when I walked. Not only had Nan made me the dress of my four-year-old dreams, she had also put together a bridal trousseau. The dress was complemented by a two-tiered veil, a blue garter, a ribbon-trimmed bouquet and a horseshoe to drape over my arm. Photos were taken of this baby bride with her parents, toddler sister, grandparents, uncles and aunts. I daresay the photos when I actually get married will have a lot to live up to!

Nan was no fool, she had made the gown big enough for me to grow into. She figured I wouldn’t grow out of my love of all things wedding and she was right. However, as I grew taller and taller, my sister started to play the role of bride with me as maid of honour. I LOVED this role as I got to fluff her train and, in the way that only big sisters can, order her about.  Most days you would find the two of us slow-walking down the hallway, again singing The Wedding March at the top of our lungs before little sister was married off to someone imaginary. Occasionally we would rope our neighbour into the role of groom, but he never seemed as excited about it as we were, funnily enough.

By 1989, my sister was the bride and I was maid of honour.

Three years later Nan made me another wedding gown, this time with a lace bodice, satin sleeves and a tulle underskirt. Little satin flowers had been picked out on the skirt, and the dropped waist featured an arrangement of flowers and beading at the hip. It was beloved by me, my sister and every friend either of us ever had over to play. It was a real princess gown and I’m on a mission to find more photos to share.

I still have my bride doll, Annabel, and my first wedding dress.  Every few months the dress is brought out, lovingly tried on and twirled around in before being paraded in front of family and friends.

It’s just that these days, I’m not the one doing the trying on – that role falls to my best friend’s little girl, who seems just as fascinated with weddings as her Aunty Koren still so proudly is.

Jane and David

When a couple tells you they’d like their wedding ceremony to include music by Nick Cave, The Cure, The Pixies and from the musical Rent, it’s safe to say it’s going to be one heck of a celebration.

East 13 Photography

Which is exactly what Jane and Dave’s wedding was.

After a first date that went for 9 hours, both David and Jane were sure they’d found someone special. When their second date went for even longer, they knew they’d found THAT someone special. On 5 November 2011, just over 22 months after that first fateful meeting, they became husband and wife in front of an excited and emotional gathering of friends and family.

East 13 Photography

With the ceremony location marked by a sea of bobbing balloons, Jane and David’s nieces led Jane into North Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens. Jane’s entry into the Circle of Trees on the arms of her Mum and Dad to the haunting strains of Into My Arms by Nick Cave was so beautiful that it was met with absolute silence. This is no mean feat when you consider that we were literally surrounded by dozens of picnickers on the first warm Melbourne day in months.  Everyone, however – even complete strangers – was stunned by the beauty of the moment.

Both Jane and David are  a bit cheeky so their ceremony included a few irreverent touches. One of these was the use of Edward Monkton’s picture book, A Very Lovely Love Story, as a reading. They had blown up the pictures from the book and as the story was read, new pictures were revealed.  

East 13 Photography

Further evidence of Jane and David’s cheekiness was the sneaky comments they made to each other whilst exchanging rings. I can no longer remember the exact conversation but it was enough to crack the three of us up – repeatedly!

 

At the end of the ceremony, David and Jane invited their family and friends to celebrate with them by releasing a great big cheer and dozens of balloons, which contrasted beautifully against the green spring grass and azure blue sky.

 

East 13 Photography

 

When we first got together to plan their ceremony, Jane and David told me that they wanted their wedding to be fun and ‘a celebration of love. A celebration of a love as amazing as ours but also the enormous love and gratitude we feel for our families and friends.’

 

I hope that’s what we gave them.

 

East 13 Photography

 

Congratulations, my dear friends. Love you both lots. xx

 

Jane and David, 5 November 2011

Venue: Edinburgh Gardens, North Fitzroy

Photos: Taken by the always magnificent Andrew of East 13 Photography. It was such a joy to work with you again!

 

You talkin’ to me?

I get to meet some incredible people as a celebrant. I find after I meet a new couple I usually end up hopping around our living room, exuberantly telling Dave that I just met an AMAZING couple who are SO cool and I want them to be our FRIENDS! I’m a very lucky girl to be able to interact with so many wonderful people on a regular basis.

What I’ve realised lately is that as well as being generally awesome, the couples I marry have been raised well. It seems that many of them were taught by their parents that you look at people when they’re talking to you. Rightly so. It’s a way of demonstrating that you’re listening to and interested in what someone has to say. And it’s (almost) always appropriate.

I may be going against years of etiquette and have Emily Post rolling over in her grave, but I’m going to stick my neck out right now and give you permission to break this rule.

The one time when you can get away with not looking at someone who’s talking to you? Your wedding ceremony.

Red Butterfly Photography

Lately I’ve noticed that many brides and grooms look at me throughout their ceremony instead of each other. It isn’t because they don’t want to look at one another, rather a result of conditioning. As the celebrant, I do most of the talking in a ceremony and as per polite convention, the bride and groom will often fix their gaze on me. (I told you they were well-raised).

But relax. You don’t have to look at me. I won’t be offended, I promise. Although I read the ceremony, I am not the centre of it. I’m simply the teller of a story that is ultimately about you and your partner. Just as with a good book, the focus should never be on the narrator but on what’s at the heart of the story.

Red Butterfly Photography

You only have one wedding ceremony. (Well, unless you’re this couple but most people aren’t). Absorb what’s happening around you and most of all, share it with your partner. Do this through eye contact, holding hands or wiping away a stray tear on your partner’s face – whatever works for you as a couple.

After all, when the ceremony is over and you’re married, which memory is going to move you more? I bet a recollection of the beaming grin that spread across your partner’s face as you said ‘I do’ beats the memory of the way the celebrant’s mouth moved. Hands down.

Red Butterfly Photography

Which is just as it should be.

xx Koren

Photos displayed in this post are by Red Butterfly Photography.