Modern elegance mixes with fun in this wedding that says so much of the essence of this couple. Here is Andrea’s story:
"Joel and I met in 2005 at a graduation party for a mutual friend, I thought his name was John and he thought my name was Mandy. We got the name thing figured out and started seeing it each other shortly after.
Last year, Joel's work took him to Panama in Central America. The 'two week' trip had blown out to 8 weeks with no sign of being near completion when we decided to arrange a rendezvous! We met up in New York and spent 5 wonderful, very chilly days together. On day 3, a snow storm rolled in and we spent the afternoon holed-up in an old world bar talking about all that had come to pass and all that was ahead for us. I knew something was up! Later, we were walking back along Fifth Avenue in the snow and Joel spun around and asked me to marry him! I said yes!
I couldn't wait to pick a dress! I must have spent days on Pinterest, Green Wedding Shoes and Polka Dot Bride and Still White scouring pictures of gorgeous brides from which to take inspiration! I came across a picture of a bride in Watters' Palm Springs gown and she took my breath away. I was thrilled to discover there was a stockist in Brisbane and within a few weeks I was looking at myself in the mirror in my future-wedding-dress. It was love! My crystal necklace and the flower I wore in my hair were both Etsy finds, and I wore my grandmother's black, velvet peep-toe shoes; she passed away many years ago but I felt as if I had her with me every step.
We chose black, white and gold as our wedding colours and looked for opportunities to weave them into what we wanted to be a modern feel and a super fun evening. The fabulous ladies with me on the day (dubbed the Glamazons) wore little black dresses with bold, gold accessories. The boys wore crisp black suits with mismatching black and white ties.
We skipped a few traditions and instead opted for a few things that felt more 'us'. Each of our guests received a program filled with fun facts about our bridal party, a timeline of how we met up to the wedding day, a quiz and a colour coded map showing how we knew all of our guests. Joel's regularly the last to leave a good party so we put together a "post-party survival kit" for our guests as favours with sunglasses, water, gum, eye masks and a key contacts card the locations of best places to kick-on at nearby as well as phone numbers for cabs, police, legal aid and lost and found services!
We had a photo booth and provided a bunch of black and gold wedding props - the photos were hilarious, they've become one of my favourite keepsakes from our wedding as they seem to really capture the feel of the night!
It all went by in the blink of an eye, but it was a perfect day and night, that felt so much like who we are. Before the wedding, I wondered if afterwards it would all feel like an extravagance - so much money and effort for 'just one evening' - but it didn't. We'll treasure the memories forever more, I'm so glad we made choices that reflected who we are. Palm Springs most of all; for me the dress was the perfect balance between extravagance and fun, I have a long-standing love affair with tulle and the way she swishes and moves made me feel the most beautiful I've ever felt. I know I'll never have the opportunity to wear her again, and she looks immaculately new, so passing her on to another bride to feel what I felt just seems right. I could talk about the dress all day!"
Thank you for sharing your wedding album with us Andrea!
By Ingrid Szajer
Lindsey