If Day One was a celebration of colour, culture and pure joy, Day Two was its perfect counterpart – timeless, elegant and utterly breathtaking from start to finish.
The Church
Guests gathered at St Philip’s Church Hill, one of Sydney’s most beautiful Anglican churches, for the traditional white wedding ceremony. The soaring timber arched ceilings, ornate tiled floors and stunning stained glass windows created a backdrop that needed very little -but we gave it a little anyway. The church entrance was dressed in the most extraordinary white floral arrangements, towering urns overflowing with white blooms, cherry blossom branches and delicate gypsophila framing the Gothic stone archway on either side. It was romantic, classic and completely show-stopping.
Jen arrived in a gown that left the entire room breathless – an off-shoulder draped bodice falling into a full ballgown skirt with a cathedral length train that seemed to go on forever. She walked down the aisle escorted by her father, resplendent in traditional Nigerian gold agbada, and the moment she appeared Clint was completely undone – tears falling before she had even reached him. Who could blame him. As Jen made her way towards him in that extraordinary gown, the most beautiful merging of two families, two cultures and one incredible love filled every corner of that magnificent church.
The Flash Mob
Jen had a little secret up her sleeve – a surprise organised especially for Clint, a flash mob of singers hidden amongst the guests who suddenly broke into a performance of Earth Wind & Fire’s September, very much inspired by that iconic Love Actually wedding scene. As the newlyweds walked back out through those magnificent floral church doors, the singers performed outside to send them off in the most joyful, unexpected way. Guests were completely taken by surprise and absolutely loved every second of it.
Here is where things got really fun. Guests had no idea where the reception was being held. They were guided onto buses and as they settled in, each guest was handed a small card revealing their destination – the Sydney Opera House. The reaction on those buses would have been something to behold.
The Secret Reveal
On arrival, guests spilled out onto the Opera House forecourt where pre-dinner drinks were served with the Sydney Harbour Bridge as their backdrop. Guests dressed in black tie mingled alongside those still in their vibrant Nigerian traditional attire from the day before – both equally stunning against one of the most iconic settings in the world.
The Transformation
The Yallamundi Rooms is not a space that arrives dressed and ready – it is raw, concrete and entirely unfinished in the best possible way. Our job was to bring it to life and that is exactly what we did. Two long king’s tables ran the length of the room, lined with curved cream bucket chairs on either side. Pleated gold-base table lamps ran along the centre of each table casting the most beautiful warm, intimate light across the space. Soft blush uplighting wrapped the walls in colour and the floor-to-ceiling windows framed the glittering Sydney city lights beyond.
The florals were soft and romantic – blush roses, white anemones, orchids and trailing greenery in glass vessels, interspersed between the lamps and spilling across the linen in the most effortless way. Black cutlery and black-rimmed plates added a sophisticated edge, and each place setting was finished with a personalised engraved leather gift – a beautiful and thoughtful touch that guests would not forget.
And then there was the wall. The raw concrete backdrop that could have been a challenge became one of the most magical elements of the evening – a large-scale projection of Jen and Clint’s own photographs cast across the surface, their story literally wrapped around the room as their guests dined and celebrated beside them.
The Evening
What followed was an evening of incredible speeches, laughter, tears and dancing – a room full of people who loved these two completely and were not afraid to show it. Jen and Clint danced the night away with their guests against the glittering lights of Sydney Harbour, and the joy in every single photograph speaks for itself.
Two days. Two ceremonies. One extraordinary love story. It was the greatest privilege to be part of it.
“We asked a difficult task of Rachael and her team, to help plan our two day wedding and they delivered!! What a weekend it was. Rachael was the best and kept completely calm while trying to organise the chaos of a very eventful Nigerian wedding as well as our second wedding the next day. Everything looked amazing and ran so smoothly – we could not be more grateful to her and her team. It was everything we wanted.” -Jen & Clint
- Wedding Planner & Stylist: The Events Lounge
- Ceremony Venue: St Phillips Church
- Reception Venue: Yallumundi Rooms, Sydney Opera House
- Photographer: Bayleigh Vedelago
- Videographer: Moon & Back
- Content Creator: Creative Haus
- Florist: Belinda The Curated Life
- Entertainment: Red Soda Band, Jesta Entertainment
- Decor Hire: Optimum Event Hire, Take Me Hire
- Stationary: Laura Elizabeth Designs
- Cake: Cakes by Gigi
- Hair Stylist: Esther Adu
- Make Up Artist: Lei Tai, Vic Anderson, Yana Mururi
