Mary-jane and Phill Gray,
Married Saturday, 28 February 2009

It wasn't the most romantic meeting , but we were introduced through friends and the rest they say is history. After being together for 6 years, we both decided to make it official, we went shopping for my ring and found something we both liked!! Then he surprised me with it a few months later one afternoon.

Once we set the date we pretty much had an ideal time frame in mind, we wanted at least 12months to save and organise the wedding, we chose the last day in summer, after christmas and before Easter! Our whole wedding planning was quite smooth throughout, towards the end I was over planning, but I started to organise and book things early to avoid disappointment.

The day was hot and sunny around 30 degrees! A perfect day as it had been raining non stop for the past 2 weeks! Lucky everything came out green. My morning started at 8am, with champagne breakfast with my family and bridesmaids (my sister and friend) then the makeup and hair started around 10.30, the morning pretty much flew, when the photographer and flowers arrived I started to get really excited! I left my parents house around 3pm, very excited and couldn't wait to see my husband to be, as we made a promise not to contact each other on the day! Arriving at the church was the most amazing feeling I have ever felt, the excitement and anticipation, seeing everyone inside waiting for me, the most memorable and my favourite memory is walking down the aisle and saying hello to people I hadn't seen in a while, it felt like I was on fast forward though.

We had a catholic ceremony at the local church in Dapto, but decided not to have a full nuptial mass. My niece said a favourite reading of mine and my sister in law said a reading while we were signing the register which was nice. We had a harpist play during the guest arrival and while waiting for me. I chose cannon in D for the bridal party arrival, and Vanessa Amorosi - perfect and Faith Hill Breathe for signing of the register, our recessional was Hanging by a moment by life house,I felt this suited it perfectly. The ceremony went for 20 minutes but felt like 5 for me! I was relaxed and excited, and was looking around at eve ryone. The decorations were dark pink lilies tied with silver organza ribbon on the pews and a few candles on the altar. The atmosphere was warm, beautiful and magical.

Our reception was MAGICAL, the whole room looked amazing. We had silver silk chair covers with purple sashes, fairy draping behind the bridal table and clustered to the centre of room, we had cocktails and canapes on arrival for guests, and the meal was two course plus cake for desert. It was so much fun dancing and catching up with family and friends, I didn't want the night to end.

The day was magical, and such a high, everything went perfectly, everyone looked stunning, and our guests commented on how beautiful our wedding was, the food, the location.

For our honeymoon, we went to Hamilton Island for 4 nights, it was a perfect way to relax and unwind after a hectic few weeks in the lead up to the wedding, Its fantastic for snorkeling, diving, plenty of water and land sports and activities, the staff are fantastic, and the food is brilliant.

A few weeks after we came back from our honeymoon, I did a trash the dress shoot. You don't literally trash your dress but I got amazing photos of me in water, waterfall, in a rainforest! Such a unique and memorable way of doing things you wouldn't normally do on your wedding day!