Holiday wedding

Our last wedding for 2009 was a beautifully simple wedding, with just a bit of a Christmas theme - elegant  but not over the top.  Just beautiful :)
 
The wedding was very much a family affair - with international guests from South Africa and Holland - Marit is from Holland and just arrived in Australia very recently.  So many of her family members were there, and with so many accents!  Marit wanted the wedding to have a hand-crafted feel - her mum contributed by making the bridesmaids dresses, and they went to the flower markets to pick out their own flowers the day before the wedding.  On the day, the flowers were put into simple, classic bouquets by Marit's family - velvety red roses for the bride, and creamy white for her bridesmaids.

This is the tiara Marit wore, and given her background, I thought it would be nice to include a little pair of wooden shoes :)

Another family touch - the ring her father gave her mother in 1973 when they were engaged.  The cute button was on Marit's dress - which was imported from London!

Marit and Damien chose to marry at the incredible Cardinal Cerretti Chapel in Manly - this is the chapel that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban were married in, and I was delighted to be given the opportunity to photograph a wedding there!   You can see why from the photos - what a gorgeous chapel!

 

 

With both mum and dad in the bridal party, and sitting on opposite sides of the church, the cute little page boy had trouble staying still!





He caused a wee bit of trouble during the bridal party photos too - but I think at 3 he can be forgiven :)

We did location photos at Shelly Beach in Manly - which was a wee bit tricky on a sunny summer day - there was a bit of a crowd - swimmers, sunbathers, and another wedding taking place on the beach.  We worked around them though, and had some fun.

Note the wedding thongs!

We found just a bit of space free of people - at the edge of a rockpool.  Marit gets extra points for navigating around the edge of the pool in a wedding dress.

After location photos - the bridal party walked along the beach - all the way to the reception at the Novotel Manly Pacific by the beach.  Easier than climbing those stairs again to the carpark.  Unfortunately I had to retrieve my car!

The reception had a definite Christmas theme, with more white and red roses, and tiny ornaments at each place setting.

A final personal touch was provided by the cake - made by Marit's family!  Even down to the roses, which Marit's dad applied with love to the cake before the guests entered the reception.