How did you and Steve meet?
Steve and I have been together 7 years after meeting through friends in Hervey Bay, Qld. We have been inseparable since. We had a long 3 year engagement. Friends and family were very excited when we finally sent out save the dates towards the end of last year! As we were now living in Perth it was a tough decision on whether to have our wedding here or back home in Queensland where most of our friends, family and bridal party still lived.
What was the theme and colour scheme for your wedding?
A country garden theme with different shades of purple and white. We both like purple.
What was your experience of finding your wedding dress?
My wedding dress wasn't the first one I tried on or even the second, third or fourth as some brides claim. I found this to be the hardest decision I had to make for the wedding since it was one I had to make on my own and not with my husband to be.
I eventually chose an Essence Design off-white organza gown with a lot of lace, embroidery and delicate beading on the bodice. It was just the right mix between vintage and modern yet was something a little bit different. For this I can probably thank my nana as her one recommendation was for me to try and pick something with straps since most wedding dresses these days look similar and come strapless.
What flowers did you carry on your wedding day?
My bouquet was a mixture of lilac roses, purple lissanthus, white freesia, lavender and brazillia with touches of doda vine which complimented our colour scheme and country garden theme nicely.
The bridesmaids had the same in smaller posies. Being the start of the rose season it was touch and go as to whether we would be able to get a hold of purple roses. Our florist was very patient with us and went the extra mile by ordering them from South Africa. The bridal table was decorated with small arrangements in vintage crystal vases and had an L.O.V.E with white carnations as the centre piece.
Why did you choose Brookleigh Estate as your wedding venue?
Our decision came much easier after we fell in love with the grounds at Brookleigh Estate in the Swan Valley. It was one of the few venues which pride themselves on hosting only a single wedding at a time, allowing us to have the small intimate wedding we hoped we could call our own day.
Brookleigh Estate is the perfect setting for a country-style garden wedding, and the lake provided a beautiful backdrop for our ceremony.
Jenny (Brookleigh's Wedding Co-ordinator) was extremely helpful when it came to putting everything together. Nothing was ever too much trouble. She liaised with suppliers and was able to ensure the day ran smoothly. The staff at Stewart's Restaurant were very friendly and we found the service to be outstanding.
Describe the running sheet of your wedding ceremony
Our ceremony started at about 3:40pm. Dad and I walked down the isle to Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" played by a flute and violin. Ann (our celebrant) welcomed our guests and told them a little story about how we met 7 years ago and how our journey together had bought us all together on that day to see us become husband and wife. After Ann's authorisation we pledged our vowels to each other and exchanged rings. Heaven Strings once again played while we signed the paperwork and then we had our parents come forward to make a wish for us and release some butterflies. Ann then formally announced us as Mr and Mrs Jenkins before we were congratulated by our family and friends. Champagne was served to guests while we were having family photos.
What food was served at the reception?
Canapes:
Roast Beef and Horseradish Danishes
Chilled Tiger Prawns with Cocktail SauceParmesan Cheese Beignets
Assorted Mini Quiches
Chermoula Chicken Skewers
Entree:
Garlic and Ginger Calamari with Strawberry Chilli Sauce; or
Mushroom, Olive, Sun-dried Tomato and Ricotta Cannelloni with Napoli Sauce and Shaved Parmesan
Main:
Roast Chicken Breast on Parmesan Polenta with Mediterranean Salsa and Red Wine Jus; or
Char Grilled Sirloin Steak on Crushed Potato and Salsa Verde; or
Honey Basted Pork Loin on Colcannon Mash with Seeded Mustard Cream
Dessert:
Wedding Cake: White Chocolate and Chocolate Mud Cake with Raspberry Coulis and Cream
What were the bombonieres for your guests?
Mum really liked the idea of having personalised rock candy which suited me fine since I have a big sweet tooth. We of course had to do some sampling before the big day. At our prewedding dinner our parents received personalised port bottles with a photo of us that our photographer took at our prewedding photo shoot.
What happened at your reception?
When I was looking for wedding dresses I found one I liked but it was red. Steve doesn't like red so there was no chance of me being able to pull it off. It became a well know story between our families that Steve was anti red dress so I bought a red garter for him to remove instead. He laughed when he noticed and said he new I would get red into the wedding somewhere.
We also made the single guys work for the garter instead of the traditional garter toss. They had a tennis ball in a stocking tied around their waist (so that the ball was between their legs) and had to use only this to get an empty can over the finish line by swinging their hips back and forth. Very funny to watch.
Steve's dad and uncle were our MC duo since they are both great public speakers and know us and our guests very well. They did a great job and we had a lot of good feedback about the pair.
What was your bridal waltz song?
When You Say Nothing At All - Ronan Keating. This was a bit of a joke between us.
Why did you choose Cyrus from Lighthouse Photography as your wedding photographer?
After booking the venue we started looking for a photographer. Cyrus was originally recommended to us by Jan at Peel Manor House. It was shortly after this that we went to our first of many wedding expos where we were able to meet with Cyrus before booking with him. Our prewedding shoot was fantastic. We not only had heaps of fun we also got some great photos which made us feel very comfortable with our decision.
Your stationery looks quite different what did you do?
We wanted something unique for our wedding stationery that set the theme for what was to come for our guests. After much searching through magazines and on the internet we finally came across engraved timber invites. Natalie at Engraving Plus was able to put our ideas into art. We were very impressed with her work. Our stationery looked beautiful and the feedback from our guests was overwhelming.
How many guests did you have at your wedding and did you do any pre wedding activities with your guests?
We had about 60 guests and were very grateful to those who travelled so far to share in our special day. Most made a holiday out of it and spent a few weeks sightseeing which gave us the opportunity to spend more time with our guests. We also arranged a BBQ at Whitman Park the day after the wedding so we could catch up with everyone one last time before they had to head back home and we went on our honeymoon to Bora Bora.
When you look back what would you have done differently on your wedding day?
We may have started our wedding earlier because it was all over too quickly.
We would like to sincerely thank everyone for their input in making our wedding day.
Special thanks to Cyrus and Pennie who captured our day's most precious moments for us to look back at for many years to come.
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Tara & Steve's Wedding
