Happy Monday everyone! We hope you are having a great start to your week and to make a sunny Monday just a smidge brighter, we have a beautiful summer wedding to share to day. The wedding of Boris and Akos is a unique, eclectic fusion of culture and style! Set in a charming southeast Australian town, this bride and groom kept their décor simple while letting their unique personal touches style the event. The bride is from mixed heritage of Ghanian and Japanese, and each of her parents wore their respective traditional regional clothing.
The groom is Chilean and looks dapper in a vintage inspired 3-piece suit and the bride looks stunning in her Johanna Johnson wedding dress “Searching for my dress had become an arduous task, for months and months I was looking for ‘The One’, and finally I fell in love with this simple yet elegant, silk gown by Johanna Johnson, it was completely different to what I was looking for, but it caught my eye and when I tried it on I was 100% sold” said the bride. They both look so charming next to a vintage car used for the occasion!
Tatra Receptions provided the beautiful venue in the Dandenong Mountains, and Oy Photography captured the event. Sugar Bee Flowers put together an amazing set of arrangements: some had palms for a bit of local greenery, and the bride’s had subtle hints of peach surrounding a huge exotic protea blossom as the focal point. See how all of the unique details come together in an overall effortless event
From the Bride… The first time Boris and I crossed paths was when we were around 5, it’s not often that you see an African-Asian family in a Latino church. I can’t recall it but he remembers it quite clearly, not knowing that we’d cross paths 13 years later down the track. We were friends for a while then dated for 5 years. Then in October 2014, Boris went on his surprise mission to Japan for “The Proposal”. It seemed as if everything just fell in place for him, he was telling me how while he was on the plane, he literally had a thought come to mind, where he was thinking to himself that it would be funny if he had a camera crew to film the proposal. This is where I believe God had a sense of humour, just when he got out of the terminal he was approached by a Japanese reality TV show “You Wa Nani Shini Nippon e?” that follows the various journey of foreigners visiting Japan. He didn’t propose there and then when I saw him (thank goodness cos I was in my PJs) but 10 days after the surprised visit he proposed at the Kinkakuji (Golden temple) on our trip to Kyoto. By this time the crew was in on it.
We started planning for the wedding a year in advance and decided to get married in the first week of January 2015, in the Dandenong Mountains at Tatra Receptions. Ever since I was a little kid I dreamt of getting married there, the green surrounding and the beautiful gardens gives one a sense of being in the C.S Lewis’ Land of Narnia.
We wanted a vintage feel to the wedding with a summery look, hence the mint green theme. Searching for my dress had become an arduous task, for months and months I was looking for ‘The One’, and finally I fell in love with this simple yet elegant, silk gown by Johanna Johnson, it was completely different to what I was looking for, but it caught my eye and when I tried it on I was 100% sold. Eventually everything that I had in my minds eye was becoming a reality. The flowers by Sugar Bee Flowers were absolutely gorgeous giving a soft look, I wanted the protea as something a bit different.
Since I come from two different backgrounds, I asked my dad to wear the traditional Ghanian kente cloth and my mother an Irotomesode kimono. My dad’s friend in Ghana had my kente made for me, I just loved the vibrant colours and the significance of the meaning of the various colours where blue denotes- peace, harmony, love; yellow- preciousness, wealth, fertility; maroon- healing and green- spiritual growth and renewal.
The day before the wedding, us girls decided to stay at the absolutely gorgeous Beechmont Gardens Retreat, where the gardens are absolutely enchanting, we also took some wedding photos there in the 1929 Hudson.
The ceremony took place at the Tatra chapel, it looked more like a cathedral in the rain forest, the scenery absolutely enthralling with the green foliage. Gave us a sense of being in the Garden of Eden.
Both of us wanted something a little different for our first dance so we decided to break some moves on the dance floor, 1920’s Charleston style, to Blu Lu Barker’s “A little Bird”, all that two and a half months of practice at the 1929 studio in Brunswick payed off, and we really enjoyed ourselves.
Since Boris is Chilean we decided to have the Chilean Mil-hoja cake (thousand layers cake) made of pastry layered with caramel, custard, sponge and strawberry cream to give a little Latino flavour. The cake is so yummy, we decided to give it as a bonbonniere for our guests.
Looking back on the journey from meeting each other to now, we really saw God’s hand in leading us. The day of the wedding was perfect, the weather was an amazing a sunny 25 degrees, and since Melbourne can have 4 seasons in one day it was such a blessing.
As most married couples say, the day went so fast that we would want to re-live it many times. I guess the only way we can do that would be by going through Oy’s breathtaking shots and re-living the moment in the follow up wedding episode of “You wa Nani Shini Nippon e?”
Photography: Oy Photography | Wedding Dress: Johanna Johnson | Photography Assistance: Wilari Tedjosiswoyo | Floral Design: Sugar Bee Flowers | Wedding Cake: Marcianos Cakes | Reception Venue: Tatra Receptions | Bow Tie: Mrs. Bow Tie | Groom’s Suit: J.Crew | Groom and Groomsmen’s Shirt: Oscar Hunt | Ring bearer bow tie and suspenders: The Littlest Gentlemen | Ring bearer hat: Jets and Lilys | Bridal Shoes: Tony Bianco | Bridal Accessories: Kelly Spence | Bride’s Belt: My Little Bride | Boutonniere: Pomp & Plumage | | Bridesmaid belts: Forever New | Flower girl dress: Posh Peanut Kids | Garter: Woomee Bridal |Groom and Groomsmen’s Shoes: Batsanis | Hair Styling: Tiziana Alexis | Photobooth: Boothalicious | | Wedding Cake Topper: Fairy Folk Wedding | Wedding Car: Sherbrooke Hire Vintage Cars
Great looking wedding fab photos.