Wedding | Jenny & Simon

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We’ve officially been together for just over 8 years; With Jenny originally from Perth and Simon a Sydney-sider, we met around 9 years ago at a workplace in Sydney. Being 12 years apart in age, this was Jenny’s first job as a 19-year-old intern. However we want to make it clear that Simon was definitely not Jenny’s manager during this time! All jokes aside, it started off as a friendship and eventually transitioned into a relationship based on our shared sense of adventure, values and a whole lot of laughs. 

After moving up north to Port Stephens during the pandemic, we discovered a new way of life and fell in love with the location and lifestyle. So much so that we now own a beach house in Shoal Bay and live between our inner-Sydney apartment and the coastal house.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

When we pictured how we’d get married, we knew it wanted to reflect what we love most: Good food, good wine, great company and no pressure or nerves getting the best of us on the day. 

That’s why we decided to have the ceremony in our hotel room at Crown Sydney with only our celebrant (who is our friend’s sister) and four of our closest friends. The ceremony itself was around 10 minutes, we read our personal vows to each other and it was everything we had imagined: Intimate, relaxed and despite a room not full of people, it was bursting with love and happiness. 

With our love for food, wine and a good time, restaurant Fontana was the perfect choice for our reception. Food alone, we argue Fontana serves the most elite, authentic Italian dishes - and the vibe is unmatched (particularly with the tray of Tiramisu as our wedding ‘cake’). The venue is intimate and homey, with warm hospitality that immediately puts you at ease; ready to eat, drink and laugh.

How many guests did you have?

We had 4 guests for the ceremony, and 33 guests in total for the reception dinner.

What was your budget? 

Our budget for the day was $50K - while this might seem like a lot per head, we thought it was worth doing an intimate day done well (obviously the best food and wine was a non–negotiable!).

Tell us about your outfits.

Jenny’s dress was a two-piece from Prea James Bridal, a local Aussie designer based in Paddington, Sydney. Not being a dress-kind-of-gal, there was no preconception of what the perfect wedding dress would be. After trying on the corset and silk skirt, there was a visceral, emotional reaction to the outfit: It was the perfect blend of modern timeless, edgy and minimalist. 

Simon’s handmade bespoke suit from Sydney atelier Mawson Óssa featured a relaxed, double-breasted blazer and a simple tailored tee, paired with leather loafers.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

Making sure that our choices for the day felt inherently “us” - which sounds pretty standard and simple. However, we also found it was easy to slip into liking ideas based on what you see on social media – but don’t truly reflect who you are as individuals and as a couple. It definitely crossed our mind to have a wedding with 150+ people, or have a bigger budget and potentially even consider a destination wedding. Ultimately, we decided this didn’t fulfil how we wanted to feel on the day; which was relaxed and surrounded by the people that knew us best.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

Again, it was important to us that our wedding felt like it was true to who we are as couples, but most importantly as individuals. It’s no secret that Jenny may like the finer things in life - so we incorporated ‘chic’ elements on the day. On the other hand, Simon enjoys simpler things in life: Give this man a Negroni, his closest mates and Tiramisu, and his night is 10/10! So we really wanted to make sure our day encapsulated both the chic and relaxed nature of us as individuals.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Without trying to sound like a lot of stock-standard wedding advice out there, we learned pretty quickly that wedding ideas can get out of hand (and budget…) - so our tip would be bringing it back to why you’re getting married in the first place. If the structure or proceedings of the day makes you feel uneasy, anxious or nervous (in the not-so-good way), perhaps it isn’t the right move. We found that bringing it back to our shared purpose of celebrating our love, with the ones that matter most to us – was how we grounded ourselves to think about what were the right decisions and what weren’t! 

In the same vein, our other biggest tip would be to: Just do what would make you most happy. It’s easy to think about what dress you think other people would like, what food other people will enjoy…But ultimately, everyone will have fun if you’re having fun!

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

If we could talk about all of our standout vendors, we’d be here for days! 

A definite standout for us was Blaise Bell Photography and Josh from Joyride Films (our Videographer). From the get-go, we didn’t feel overly comfortable with the idea of having a really long wedding shoot on the day, especially as it took time away from spending time with our loved ones and we also wanted to go with the more ‘candid’ approach as we moved through the day. They both absolutely exceeded our expectations and were able to make us feel super comfortable, they tailored the schedule to work with our desire to spend less time taking photos, and the work speaks for itself; incredibly high quality, classy, playful yet natural! They nailed the brief and the depiction of our personalities through their work.

We’d also like to call out Grant from Mawson Óssa. A long time friend of Simon’s, the two grew up surfing together and have stayed in touch over the years. Grant’s created a number of suits for Simon and his close friends in recent times, and always delivers beautifully curated made-to-measure pieces. He’s a top bloke and made the process so easy!

The beauty crew deserve a massive shoutout: Jess Marsden, who did Jenny’s & ‘unofficial’ bridesmaids makeup for the day and Fraser who did hair. We absolutely loved seeing the girls feel so confident as a result of their hair and makeup, something that seems quite superficial on the surface yet truly impacts confidence and mood. Jess Marsden and Fraser made sure hair and makeup was tailored to each person and their personal styles, while also fuelling more confidence than I have ever seen in a group of women!

Photographer: Blaise Bell Photography @blaisebell | Styling: Eleven Events Co @elevenevents.co | Flora: Be Birds @bebirds_ | Videographer: Joyride @joyridefilms | Ceremony Location: Crown Sydney

@crownsydney | Reception Location: Fontana @club.fontana | Celebrant: Kate Thomas Marriage Celebrant @katethomas__marriagecelebrant | Makeup Artist: Jess Marsden @jessmarsdenmua | Hair Stylist: Fraser @fraser.razor | Entertainment: Eve Speciall @eve_speciall | Dress: Prea James Bridal

@preajames_bridal | Suit: Mawson Ossa @mawsonossa | Engagement Ring: Grew + Co @grewandco | Wedding Rings: Midas Jewellery @midasjewelleryofficial | Shoes: Prada @prada