A Tinder success story, it is pure luck these two met at all! “Ben told me after we’d had a couple of dates that he almost didn’t ‘swipe right’ on me because he could see that I ‘liked’ his previous business on Facebook and was worried that if it didn’t work out that it might be bad for his business!”, the bride laughs. Luckily, things panned out, both in romance and business, and Sian now looks forward to a life where her Uber Eats is collected from the delivery guy by her very own husband. With memories on the day captured by James Simmons Photography, Fireball Whisky (yep, you read that correctly) and Till Death, there is plenty to look forward to below…
THE VIBE “When we canned the idea of the big, beautiful Pinteresty warehouse wedding (those weddings are AWESOME by the way! Just not really us) I was a bit lost as to where to start next. And at the risk of sounding super corny, our inspiration was James Simmons (our photographer) ethos/logo of “break the rules”. I booked James before we’d even settled on a date – basically we chose the date based on his availability! I LOVED his story-telling style and that was the most important thing to us, having a really fun day without the typical/traditional ceremonial stuff and having the memories captured beautifully. So, rather than having a large bridal party with matching dresses, suits & flowers, or a big tiered cake and an awkward first dance, we took our inspiration from breaking the rules and doing what we love to do. We love to go out to our favourite small bars & eateries in Perth to indulge in good food and drink delicious, interesting wines. So that’s what we did for our wedding!”
DIY “We kind of made our own wedding day video by strapping a Go Pro to a bottle of fireball whiskey and had people take shots from it throughout the day. I had the idea when I saw a YouTube video of it – clever YouTube and it’s targeted advertising! Mel, from Till Death, did the best job of editing the hours of footage for us.”
FAVOURITE MOMENT “I loved it when Ben and I went for our photos in a little alleyway around the corner from our reception. Prior to that, it had all been a bit of a whirlwind and go-go-go but by that point, we’d had a couple of drinks and had relaxed into the day a bit more, and also felt a lot more comfortable in front of the camera. James, and his second photographer Manny, did the most amazing job at helping us feel at ease, but when you’re not used to being in front of a camera it does take an hour or so to just let go. This hour or so we were away for before the reception started was a beautiful time in the afternoon and it was so great having that one-on-one time with Ben just laughing, cuddling, kissing and feeling so loved up. You can see all of that in the photos that James captured from that little sesh. I love looking back at them.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “If you aren’t really religious and don’t have any significant family traditions you need to stick with, then break the rules! You don’t need to have a large bridal party with matching outfits and bouquets if you don’t want to, you don’t need to have a first dance if the thought of it makes you feel sick with nerves – do what makes you feel comfortable and make the day a representation of you.”
WE WISH WE “I wish I hadn’t been so nervous getting ready in the morning! I was so nervous that I was completely dressed and raring to go when James and Manny came to my hotel to take photos before the ceremony! As a result, we missed out on some of my ‘getting ready’ photos. James was so cool about it though and just let us girls carry on nervous chattering/laughing and having a glass of wine and still captured the excitement of that part of the day beautifully. To be honest, due to the style of my dress I couldn’t wear a bra and had to wear stick-on nipple covers so it’s probably best he didn’t see that anyway!”
This relaxed day was originally published in Issue 27 of Hello May mag and we are here to tell you that there is plenty more real wedding goodness where this came from. Duck into our online store here and purchase a copy, there are words of wisdom galore! But first, you better take a peep at James Simmons Photography’s snaps below…
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer James Simmons Photography Cinematographer Till Death Florist Amber Jasper Stylist Stationery Paper Lust, Paper Fusion Ceremony Venue Maple & Rose House Reception Venue Clarences Bar Mount Lawley Catering & Cake Peasants Paradice via Clarences Bar Entertainment DJ Genga Celebrant Brooke Allan Rings Stelios Jewellers BRIDE Dress Diane Von Furstenberg via Still White Shoes Jimmy Choo Earrings Dinosaur Designs Hair Amy Baines Makeup Holly Garvey Bridesmaid Dresses Zara GROOM Suit Daniel Hechter Shoes Aquila Barber Westons Barbershop