Welcome To Our Beautiful Wedding…
This truly is the best blog post I’ll ever write! I am so excited to share our wedding day with you all!
The beautiful photos you’re about to see were taken by our talented photographer Sam Tabone. Sam has been a family friend since I was a little girl and we couldn’t be more thrilled with how the images turned out. If anyone is interested in hiring him, message me and I’ll pass on his details. My cousin Keilani also took many of the gorgeous pictures as well. I really love how many family members were involved in making this day as wonderful as it was.
Francis and I were married on October 30th at Roselyn Court in Melbourne. Our entire wedding was ethical, vegan & bohemian with colour themes of navy and white. Our invitations were custom created on Etsy from the store Love Story Invitations along with our RSVP, Wishing Well & Thank You cards.
My cousin did my makeup and my hairdresser, who has been in my life since I was a baby, did my hair. I cannot thank them enough for their generosity. They both did an incredible job! I’ll never forget that morning as we all got ready. There was music playing, laughter, love and people walking in and out…
My dress was bought from Hera Couture in Melbourne, Victoria. It was a bohemian lace gown with bell sleeves and open back. It truly was my dream dress…
My flower crown & all flowers including bouquet’s, arrangements & men’s button holes were sourced from Chloe Lashay – an independent vegan & ethical florist from the Dandenong Ranges. Please click here to view her incredible Instagram page. We used a mixture of blue delphiniums & white gypsum.
My shoes were custom-made by Vegan Wares, a 100% cruelty-free & eco-friendly store in Melbourne, Victoria. I was able to choose the style, shape and look of the shoes. They were incredibly comfortable and easy to move around in on the day.
When it came to the bridal & groom party, Francis and I kept it minimal and in the family. My sister (see above) was my beautiful Maid of Honour wearing a custom-made navy dress with white gypsum bouquet & Francis’s Best Man was his brother. The men wore charcoal suits with navy ties and the elegant blue delphinium button holes in front.
My lovely cousin Jonah drove us to the wedding in his lovely car. It made it so special having a family member as the chauffeur. Thank you darling!
We were married in the beautiful gardens at Roselyn Court by the fountain. The weather was warm & sunny throughout the entire ceremony and reception – perfect!
Due to my father not being present in my life, my mother and best friend walked me down the aisle holding my hand. It was the most special moment for both of us. Our opening song was ‘Rhythm of my Heart’ by Rod Stewart, a song Francis used to love as a little boy which made him daydream about his future one true love. The look on my face when I saw him for the first time (see above) was priceless, as was his when he saw me (see below).
This moment cannot be defined…
Our celebrant was Paul O’Donohue. He is widely popular in Melbourne, Victoria and we are so blessed that he got to marry us. We highly recommend him!
My wonderful best friend of over 16 years gave a reading that made us cry. She quoted parts of my earlier blog Why Marriage? and talked about the meaning of true love. She ended her reading with the lyrics of ‘Jack & Sally’s Song’ from Nightmare Before Christmas (Francis and I dressed up as Jack & Sally years ago) which was the perfect finish:
My dearest friend,
If you don’t mind
I’d like to join you by your side
Where we could gaze into the stars
And sit together now and forever
For it is plain as anyone could see
We’re simply meant to be
Francis & I wrote our own vows. I would like to share with you the loving & emotional words we spoke to one another that day:
“I ask everybody here present to witness that I, Francis take you, Rebecca to be my lawful wedded wife. I promise to respect, admire and appreciate you for who you are, as well as the person you wish to become. I promise to always strive to meet your needs, not out of obligation but because it delights me to see you happy. I promise to show you every day that I know exactly how lucky I am to have you in my life. I promise to keep our lives exciting, adventurous and full of passion. No matter where life leads me, I know that as long as you are there, that is where I’m meant to be…”
“I ask everybody here present to witness that I, Rebecca take you, Francis to be my lawful wedded husband, exactly as you are. Loving who you are now and who you are yet to become. I will respect you as my friend, my partner, my one true love and my equal. I promise to see you when you hide away from the rest of the world and I promise to hear you when you’re silent. Before you asked me, I was yours and I am devoted to you in every way. I marry you with no hesitation or doubt and my commitment to you is eternal. May we have many adventures and grow old together my love…”
We then performed the rose ceremony. His mother gave me a rose and my mother gave him a rose. Francis & I then swapped roses and made a promise that every year on our wedding anniversary, we will give each other a rose as a symbol of our ongoing love and commitment.
The best moment of the entire day for both of us was when we were finally declared husband and wife. That first kiss!
We signed our certificates and listened to the other songs on our CD play: ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson, ‘Bloom’ by The Paper Kites & ‘Love Someone’ by Jason Mraz.
We then took our beautiful professional photos in the gardens. Thank you to the talented Mabel Kwong for her contribution! The above images were some of our favourites!
Many family & friends photos were taken that day! Love was all around!
Our Wishing Well was supplied by my cousin’s girlfriend Paula and decorated by the two of them 🙂 absolutely gorgeous!
Our reception took place inside the Trilby Room overlooking the gardens where we took our photos. It was the most beautiful and intimate vintage room. We only had 53 guests and 5 tables plus the half-moon bridal table in total. Less is definitely more! The tables were decorated with white gypsum in jars, blue satin hearts we bought from Etsy & our unique bonbonniere. Each guest was given a test tube filled with loose leaf fruit tea. Once again, this was an Etsy purchase. Check out their store here!
Our two tiered, vanilla and lavender cake was ordered from Mister Nice Guy, a 100% vegan and cruelty-free bakery in Ascot Vale, Melbourne. When I finally got to taste it, it was delicious! When I was in Taiwan earlier this year, my mother bought me a cake topper (see above) in this cute store. It would’ve squashed the rosettes on the cake so we put it next to it. If you wind it up, it plays ‘Once Upon A Dream’ from Sleeping Beauty.
This was Roselyn Court’s first all vegan wedding which made us feel very special and proud. All the guests agreed the food was so tasty and impressive!
The entrèe was a rustic Antipasto Ciabatta stack topped with roasted marinated red peppers, zucchini, eggplant & semi-dried tomato resting on olive tapenade dressed with a balsamic glaze.
The main was was a choice between a traditional grilled Vegetable Lasagna with a rich Napoli sauce or roasted Butternut Pumpkin & Pine Nut Risotto finished with wilted baby spinach.
The dessert was a Trio of Sorbet, layers of lime, mango and raspberry sorbet rested on hazelnut praline with Persian fairy floss.
Our bridal waltz was to ‘Love Me Like You Do’ by Ellie Goulding. Francis was all I could see if you couldn’t tell by the photos! After the first verse, everybody else was invited up to join us.
The speeches were so emotional and loving. We heard from Mark (Francis’s brother), Joe (Francis’s father), my mother, Francis & myself. It was my mother’s speech however that made me cry the most (see above picture). I’d like to share with you exactly what she said:
“Firstly, I welcome Francis into our family and I hope you will always feel welcome in the years ahead. I want to commend you both on the way you went about making this day your very own. Wedding preparations can be very stressful for a couple, but all along you’ve remained calm and focused on how you wanted today to feel. You’ve listened to each other’s ideas and respected each other’s feelings and opinions. No decisions were made without consulting the other first and finally, you stayed true to each other and your values, so that your wedding day would really capture the essence of who you both are individually and as a couple. If the respect and integrity you’ve shown through this process is any indication of how you will conduct your marriage, I can only imagine it will be a very positive beginning for your lives together. I’d like to share one aspect of what I’ve learnt during this process, and that is that happiness is made up of moments. Like when you receive a call from Vietnam and it’s your ecstatic daughter informing you that she’s gotten engaged. Or the first time you see your baby girl in her wedding dress and you’re blubbering with the sales lady. Happiness is sitting between my two girls last night watching ‘Father of the Bride.’ It’s that indescribable honour of walking your daughter down the aisle and your heart’s bursting with pride, only to do a back-flip when you’re asked if you willingly give her away. It’s now, being in a room filled with family and friends who wish my daughter and son-in-law well in their life together. These moments in this past year have brought me immense joy. My wish for you both is that you experience a lifetime of great love and many, many moments of joy…”
Before we left the reception for our wedding night at The Windsor Hotel (thank you to my sister!) all of our guests formed a circle and we hugged each and every one of them individually. It was a very touching send-off…
In all our years of living, this truly was the best day of both our lives. Francis & I wish to thank everybody again who came to celebrate our love and make the day so unbelievably magical. I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with my best friend…
Peace & Love xoxo