Today’s wedding is the gorgeous black and white themed soiree of Sophie & Phil. It’s taken me a little time to get this one up on the blog due to the fact there are so many amazing pictures to choose from – I’ve decided I couldn’t decide on just a few – so enjoy – this is a big post!
Sophie and Phil were married in New Zealand on the 27th March this year, their black and white theme was complemented perfectly by our Hollywood Nights wedding invitations and stationery. Sophie has done an amazing job of writing up her thoughts on the day, so I’m using quite a few of her quotes for this post.
When I asked Sophie her number one tip for brides, she said
“Aim to be a bridechilla not a bridezilla – have fun, enjoy yourself and just get lost in the magic of the experience.”
I think the photos of the day sum this up perfectly – a couple and their friends, relaxed, happy and having fun on a truly magical day!
“The girls got ready at my parents beautiful villa which my mum had decorated with fresh white lilies and sweet smelling white stock, white tulle, and large ornate mirrors for us to get ready in luxury. The bridesmaids wore black singlets with “bridesmaid” on the front, and I wore a white “soon to be mrs wong” singlet.” says Sophie
“I wore a beautiful sweetheart Martina Liana dupion silk dress. My dress was classic and elegant and without any embellishment – I wanted to save the “bling” for my earrings as I love decadent chandelier earrings. I fell in love with these Westwood earrings from Stephanie Browne when I saw them online and ordered them immediately.” says Sophie.
“Considering our black and white theme I was on the hunt for some funky black wedding shoes. I went to Mi Piaci and happened to try on a blue pair of shoes for sizing and they look absolutely stunning – the bright blue satin just popped. However, I was still a bit wary of getting them as I felt it didn’t really work in with my colour scheme but my husband to be said “its your something blue” and that was it – I was sold! They looked absolutely stunning with the dress, a bright blue flash in a sea of off white dupion silk and petticoat. They were definitely the talking point of the wedding and made for some fantastic photo opportunities – I have to thank my husband for his great fashion sense!” she laughs.
“Whilst the girls were getting ready, the boys warmed up with a little game of back yard cricket.”
“My dad and I traveled to the wedding venue in an amazing white Excalibur Phaeton Sedan from Excalibur Cars.”
“I wanted my bouquet to be a little different so had a number of full orchid stems in trailing form with bridal white ribbon and pearl buttons.”
“Our ceremony and reception was held at Cassels, on the west coast of Auckland. The venue is European in style but is contrasted by the beautiful New Zealand native bush which serves as a backdrop. We choose the venue because it had three distinct gorgeous areas to hold the ceremony, drinks & canapés and the reception. The ceremony was held in the lower garden complete with fountain and an Italian belvedere. Canapes were served to guests after the ceremony in the courtyard surrounded by fern gardens, whilst a romantically lit ivy-covered entrance way led the way to the dining area where the reception was held”.
“Walking down the aisle with my Dad was such a special moment, he kept me calm and made me laugh. My beautiful mother joined us close to the altar area and we all walked arm in arm towards my husband to be. At that point I didn’t think I could get any happier until I saw Phil standing at the end of the aisle – such a wonderful combination of nerves, love, happiness, excitement and elation.”
“Our ceremony was beautiful, funny and emotional. One of our good friends, who is an amazing opera singer, sung Ava Maria, unaccompanied, whilst my Uncle read the Irish Blessing to us. Meanwhile my parents agreed to a “100 year lease” for me, instead of giving me away!”
“For my two bridesmaids we choose a long simple elegant design – a grecian style dress in black from Nadia Couture in Ponsonby. We added the asymmetrical ruffled black strap to add a glamorous touch. The bridesmaids had their hair up with plenty of volume, long black earrings and dark nail polish. Both carried orchids in a posy style with black ribbon wrapped around the stem, secured by crystal pins and an orchid in their hair. My junior bridesmaid wore a shorter satin dress which we accessorized with an orchid wrist corsage in black ribbon and black and white parasol for her walk down the aisle whilst an orchid sat nestled into a braid in her hair.”
“The boys looked very handsome in pin striped suits. The grooms and groomsmen wore charcoal pinstriped suits with matching waist coats with grey ties and white shoes. The junior groomsmen wore classic black suits, whilst both fathers wore the same pinstriped suits with silver ties and black shoes.”
To be continued… – we’ll be back a bit later today with more gorgeous images. x
