The Professional Cinderella

Today I’m bringing you the third and final instalment of our wedding day recap. When I finished Part 2, we were just about to make it to our reception.

Cake by By Gigi, Entertainment by Kahuna Duo, Catering by Fennel & Co., KataLane Events marquee, Simply Seated hire items, flowers by Fontana Floral, styling by Haus of Hera, Photos by Lena Lim Photography, Dad’s suit by MJ Bale, Mum’s dress by Oroton

From the very outset of planning our wedding, Jarrad told me there were two things that he considered a priority above all else. The first was excellent food, and the second was that he wanted a live singer who would DJ when the dance floor opened.

We were lucky enough to find the incredibly talented Kahuna Duo to sing acoustically for our ceremony, cocktail hour and through dinner, and then DJ for us later in the evening. Their website says that their goal is to “add a bit of magic to your day”, and they certainly did that. Aisha has the voice of an angel, and their cover of “Turning Page” by Sleeping At Last, which I walked down the aisle to, was so haunting and beautiful that it really elevated a moment that I would have thought was already beyond special.

Although we had initially wanted a traditional alternate drop, we ended up going with a four-course Italian Banquet by Fennel & Co. We are so pleased that we ended up making the change. It encouraged all our guests to mingle a little more as plates were passed around, the food was exceptional, and we felt it really fit in nicely with such a European-looking venue.

I love baking, and getting the cake right was important to me. I know that retro-looking cakes with lots of piped buttercream were big the last few years, and naked cakes have certainly had their moment, but nothing seems to be a perfect fit for us, until we stumbled across this mammoth 1 metre cake from By Gigi. It looked so visually impressive, and even though we didn’t need one that was even half the size for our modest 42 guests, we decided that we wanted to make an impact.

Although I would hardly consider myself a wedding expert, I would recommend doing a tasting of both your menu and your cake if you possibly can. Our menu tasting doubled as a fun little date night and although we had loved the sound of one cake flavour when reading it off the menu, we ultimately ended up going with a “Camafeu” flavour (soft nutty sponge with caramelised walnuts and vanilla buttercream ganache).

Between courses, Jarrad and I took off for a little wander of the property, and some sunset photos with our amazing photographer, Lena Lim. This was so special, as it not only gave us some time to enjoy each other’s company in midst of a whirlwind day, but Lena surprised us by hiring a drone to follow us around and take some aerial shots. Lena, if you’re reading this, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for every single photo, and for going the extra mile. Your dedication to your craft did not go unnoticed.

Safiyaa reception dress, Badgley Mishka blue shoes, Midas sparkly sneakers (now on sale)

We had really touching speeches from my Dad, my sister and Maid of Honour, and our Best Man. At some point between courses, I raced over to the house to change into a shorter dress that would be a little more fun and practical for dancing. I actually found this Safiyaa dress second hand on eBay, and added royal blue heels. Two of my bridal party were the real MVP’s of the night and helped me to get changed in about 10-15 minutes. They simultaneously unpinned my hair, unbuttoned my dress and unbuckled my shoes so I wouldn’t miss a moment of the reception.

When it was time for the Father/Daughter dance, I swapped out my heels for these sparkly sneakers. I had seen them as I was walking through David Jones one day, and bought them before I even had a dress. I knew my feet were bound to get sore, and didn’t want my enjoyment of the evening to be hampered by blisters and aches!

I know that these days, there are a lot of wedding traditions that are considered outdated, and the Father/Daughter dance is probably one of them. I wanted to make the effort to do one, because I know that years from now, the memories that I have of learning and performing this dance with my Dad are going to rank amongst my most treasured possessions.

I wanted both dances to be happy and fun and party-starters, and although I’m a dance teacher, I felt so uncomfortable with the idea of making anything up. Luckily it was 2023, where the internet provides the most amazing things, and I found a website with a plethora of reasonably priced tutorials to suit every mood and skill level. My Dad and I danced to “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts, and Jarrad and I did “Do You Love Me” by The Contours.

Then it was time to party. Because our venue had a 10.30pm curfew, after all the formalities, we only had 45 minutes of dancing. This didn’t bother Jarrad and I at all, as we don’t have endless stamina for partying. It ended up working to our advantage even better than we could have anticipated, because it meant that almost every person was up and dancing for the entire time.

After the final song, it was time to bundle everyone back into the buses and send them home with boxes of cake and sore feet. We had the most incredible day, and I wouldn’t change any part of it even if I could.

I’d just like to say three massive “thank you’s” (and hope these people are reading this):

The first to our wedding planner, Christie. Not only did she put up with us for almost two years, but she was nothing short of exceptional for every part of the planning process. If you live in Australia and you are in search of a wedding planner or stylist, I can’t recommend Christie highly enough and I don’t have enough space to do her talents justice. I don’t think there are many brides out there who can say that planning their wedding was stress-free, but that was our experience, and we are so grateful.

Secondly to our wedding photographer, Lena Lim. As someone who (up until the end of last year) ran a small, arts-based business, I know how exhausting it can be to summon up the kind of creative energy you need to always do your best, and Lena makes it look effortless. I have learnt that the greatest gift you can give someone is your time, and from the moment we reached out to Lena, she went the extra mile. Even though she probably had weddings and many other clients to see to, she was so dedicated to making our engagement shoot perfect for us and something really special, and in doing so gave us some memories to cherish forever. The day before our wedding, she arrived at the venue even before we did to check out everything. Her attention to detail was so evident, and we think it absolutely shines through in her work. her commitment to excellence didn’t go unnoticed and we are so grateful for the time she invested in us.

My last thank you is to our friends and family. Our wedding day would have been nothing without each of you, and looking through these photos and reliving it again has really cemented to both Jarrad and I how lucky we are.

Heidi xx