Date

Guests

100

April 9, 2016

Tina and Dave first met when they were both newcomers to the city of Newcastle, Australia. A mutual friend introduced them, and by the end of their first date both knew their lives were changed forever. Later, on a warm winter night in Canada, Tina's thirtieth birthday festivities were drawing to a close. The theme was "30 surprises in 30 hours," so Dave knew the last surprise had to be something epic.

"After a brief drive to Toronto's east end, Dave found a location overlooking the Toronto skyline and a very frozen Lake Ontario, and produced the thirtieth surprise-the ring!" Tina recounts. "It was the perfect setting for our proposal because it reminded us of one of our first dates in Australia, overlooking Bar Beach, except with more romance...and ice."

As a nod to Dave's homeland and the place they met, the couple held their wedding in Australia at Jonah's Whale Beach-a restaurant and boutique hotel in Palm Beach, New South Wales. With its dramatic vistas and modern esthetic, the Relais & Chateaux property turned out to be the perfect fit for the romantic ambience the couple envisioned for their wedding.

"The venue provided a beautiful canvas to work with: a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean and luxurious white furnishings. It was classic and perfect," Tina admits. The bride chose to keep the decor to a minimum to let the landscape's natural beauty shine through. "There was not much we needed to do for the ceremony as we wanted people to take in the incredible ocean view from the cliff-top garden. The only thing we really wanted was a grand arch to pull everything together. With sweeping greenery, white accents and tropical touches, it was definitely impressive-it left me breathless!" Tina says.

Aside from the arch, Tina and Dave added a few other touches to warm up the reception space and incorporate their own personalities into the scheme. "We put a lot of trust in our florist to dress up the space with lovely whites, greens and pastels. She envisioned a modern and elegant wedding with a wild greenhouse twist, which is exactly what we wanted," Tina notes. Wide, flowing floral arrangements with cream, peach and blush tones, as well as trailing green vines and tea lights, added ambience, while the couple's friend, Andrea Park, hand-wrote all the calligraphy for a dose of elegance.

Tina Kim and David Fry, April 9, 2016, New South Wales, Australia.Photography courtesy of Krista Fox.

Another personalized touch was the table numbers, featuring the names of places that held special meaning for the couple and their guests. The result of all these personal details and thoughtful touches was a warm and inviting space where Tina and Dave could focus on what mattered most: their love for one another. "Arriving at the venue was a surreal experience. Our ceremony was so intimate that at times it felt like it was just us by ourselves, declaring how much we love each other," Tina reveals.

Decor and florals aside, the couple says the best part of the day was having their closest friends and family pitch in to help make their wedding perfect. "What made our wedding day so special was how so many of our close friends and family played such an important role. One of our friends from law school played the guitar and sang as I walked down the aisle, our brother-in-law married us in the ceremony, my younger brother was the emcee for the evening, and my best friend designed and hand-wrote all the stationery, signs and name cards, as well as doing the hair for all the bridesmaids. It made us feel so blessed and grateful for all the support from our amazing friends and family," Tina admits.

While Tina and Dave reveled in having all their friends and family gathered together at their spectacular venue, nothing compared to the setting they chose for their post-wedding photo shoot. The couple's photographer, Krista Fox, flew from Toronto to Sydney to capture the wedding, so she was going to stop at nothing to make sure the shots were absolutely breathtaking! "Two days after the wedding, Krista drove us two-and-a-half hours north of Sydney to the largest coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere for a post-wedding shoot, which involved a four-by-four, sandy toes and camels. It was the best way to finish off our wedding-just the two of us and some camels!" Tina declares.

Vendors
Ceremony and reception venue: Jonah's Whale Beach
Bridal gown: Marchesa from Kleinfeld Hudson's Bay
Flowers: Jardine Hansen
Groom's tux: Hugo Boss
Makeup: Hilary Ho
Music: Impression DJs
Stationery: DIY by bridesmaid Andrea Park