Real Weddings... Gilda and Jesse
Raw Elegance on the Whitsundays
Jesse and I met in July 2003 while we were both working at Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays. So it was an easy choice to decide to return to the Whitsundays to celebrate our marriage. Jesse popped the big question after 4 years at a beautiful sunset picnic at Seven Mile beach in NSW. Jesse was armed with my favourite wine and cheese, and of course my dream ring, how could I possibly say no to the man of my dreams. Being a naturally creative person, I focused on themeing and creating our perfect day. We decided that we wanted a small intimate beachside wedding, followed by a garden reception, and all the little added touches that would reflect our personal style.
Months were spent researching styles, other weddings, colour schemes and various concepts. After much deliberation our personal style and theme was born and named “Raw Elegance” which fit our concept perfectly. We didn’t want to overpower the beauty and natural elegance that the Whitsundays had to offer.
Our concept of “Raw elegance” was created because we really wanted to explore the rugged ambience of the Whitsundays, and add a classic elegance that would not overpower the natural surroundings. The colour scheme we found would best suit our concept was ivory, white and latte. It was then, that I decided my dress would be latte, and my bridesmaids would be ivory. I chose a Grecian elegant theme for them, and my wonderful designer Steven Khalil, created a masterpiece for me, with millions of beads and extraordinary rope work.
The process of themeing began with our exquisite story book invitations, which were all hand crafted by myself, and included page turning stories about our upbringings, courtship, the proposal, and finally the invitation and travel information. They were bound with what would become our signature fabric, Myoko from Warwick fabrics. The booklets were individually packaged in a silk clutch which was the same colour as my wedding dress fabric, and finished off with a belly band and wax seal. The booklets referred our guests to our website which provided great information about travel and accommodation. This was a great resource to have.
Once the invites were out, the party planning would begin. We really wanted to create a magical event for all our guests, and wanted them to be spoiled with wonderful food, wine, cigars and gifts. We really wanted to give them an experience that they have never encountered before. Our catholic ceremony was held at Coconut Beach at Hayman Island, the colours we used for this were all white, to represent purity and a new beginning. Each guest was given a white parasol and white fan along with our square order of service booklets and a cone of white rose petals. All of which had details of our wedding as a keepsake for guests to take home.
We exchanged our vowels under a chuppah which by Jewish tradition, holds a very special meaning of hospitality and a higher being. A chair with a purple sash was set at the front of the ceremony to represent my late mother. On her chair there was a sign which read “reserved for mum”, her picture and a single rose with a purple ribbon, which the priest gave me at the end of our ceremony.
After the ceremony was the fun photo time, we had previously briefed our photographer and stated that we didn’t want any cliché shots, and I really wanted to have creative detailed shots, I also wanted to use the interior spaces for a lot of our photos, to juxtapose our beach ceremony images. The brief was for raw, dirty photos, that were posed, but not cliché and unoriginal. She definitely captured what we were after.
Our reception was held in the Formal Gardens at Hayman Island, which is a large sandstone garden with magical up- lighting, and fountains. The evening was amazing. Guests arrived to the formal garden before sundown, and were entertained by a magician and fed delicious canapés of oysters and prawns, whilst viewing special photos of Jesse and I throughout our lives. Our cocktail tables were adorned with candles, pearl photo frames, and Cuban cigars for our guests to enjoy whilst sipping on their pre-dinner drinks.
The main table was definitely where I wanted to make a huge impression. We envisaged one long table to run through the garden, instead of many round tables. This was an great idea, as it gave a very personal touch to the evening. Guests were able to talk across the table to each other, and it made mingling very easy.
The main table was dressed with a 20 meter long custom made table runner, crafted from our signature fabric, and trimmed with latte satin to match my dress. Chair sashes were also custom made to match our theme. On seating each guest was presented with a menu, a 5 almond flower name tag and a beverage list of fine wines, beers, liquors and spirits.
Guests were each given a beautiful favour, ladies, a crystal perfume holder and vial of designer perfume, men, a 2 cup espresso maker and a bag of coffee beans, and the children, a groovy gum ball dispenser, all of which were presented in white boxes, trimmed with our signature fabric.
The table was covered in open head roses which were ivory, white and latte in colour . The arrangements consisted of driftwood pieces found by the beach to match our ‘raw’ part of the theme, and filled with elegant latte and mini white roses. Small posies and single stems in silver vases filled in the rest of the space, and our 3 tiered cake was covered in roses and rope, it was truly stunning.
The magician really was a great touch to the evening, and was a great addition to our wedding. He was definitely a blast for all ages. As night fell we were graced by the small candle lights on our table, the soft glow of the fire torches that lined the garden and the warm smell of spring that filled the air.
The night finished up with our wedding dance, where I changed in to a custom made gown and we danced a slow cha to Sweetness, by Rhombus, then a Rumba to Come together by The Beatles. With three lifts in the dance routine, I was scared of a fall, but in the end it was all in good fun! A message in our guest book read “Thank you for bringing our families together in paradise”... we could not have wished for anything more.
Not only was our wedding magical, but having a destination wedding made for a great family holiday. Hayman gave us the opportunity to have our dream wedding with all our personal touches. We had total control over what we wanted for our day. We take our hats off to the entire Hayman team who helped create our perfect magical day.
Plan a wedding that reflects your personal style, be it classic, romantic, offbeat or modern!
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