Helena + Richard’s Intimate Wedding

We don’t have one, but two beautiful intimate weddings to share with you today! First up is Helena and Richard’s beach wedding in Fremantle, Australia. Helena wore a simple white cocktail dress with a belt and birdcage veil, and orange shoes to match the wedding colors. Now that’s a beach bridal look I love! Shot by Anna Rose Photography.

From the bride, Helena:
We wanted our wedding day to be a charming and quiet affair with close friends and family. We picked a rustic limestone building, the Kidogo Arthouse Gallery to have our wedding ceremony and lunch reception. It’s perched right on the cliff, overlooking the ocean. We went with orange crush and blue for our summer wedding because it reminded us of some of our favourite ‘summer’ things like coral flowers, fresh salmon and an ocean sunset.

We chose a surf and turf buffet lunch, and instead of a wedding cake, we asked our guests to bring a homemade dessert to help sweeten our day. We tried to incorporate as many handmade elements as possible by making our wedding invites, sewing the table runners and doing all the decorations ourselves. To make the summer day fun, we gave away orange paper fans and blue bubble bottles to our guests.

Richard’s best men were his two brothers while my bridesmaids were two of my closest girlfriends who flew over from Malaysia. I remembered telling them to pack along an orange dress! Much to my delight, some of the guests also came in dashes of orange and blue.

If I had to pass on any advice to brides planning their own handmade wedding, it would be to remain calm and steadfast with your budget. We were very clear from the start on what we could afford to spend. We didn’t bother with chair covers, satin ribbons, flower petals or limousines.

The tea pouring ceremony was a nice experience for everyone. I think our friends enjoyed that immensely because it was something different for them. It also meant a lot to Richard and me that we were able to share my Chinese culture with the rest of his family and friends.

18 Citrus Floral Bridesmaid Dresses for Summer Weddings

I think what made our wedding work was keeping it minimal and simple and picking a charming location. We didn’t need to do too much decorating and when we did add all the small touches, it created a nice memorable impression.

I can’t say enough praises about our photographer, Jen Regan. She really just captured everything as natural as possible. The orange door and blue walls were a pleasant surprise because we stumbled upon it while wandering around the beach. I remembered being so excited and giddy like I had won a big prize (other than a husband), it must have been fate!

Wedding Vendors (Perth, Western Australia):

Venue: Kidogo Arthouse Gallery / Photographer: Anna Rose Photography/ Makeup and Hair: Cindy Sutton / Dress: A white dress found in Cue and paired with a belt. / Shoes: Orange flats found in Nine West / Hair piece: Bridal Affair / Flowers: Karma Floral Design / Caterer: All Suburbs Catering