They say that a successful relationship is built on the foundation of friendship, and that couldn’t ring more true for Jenna and Shawn. After meeting at Baker’s Delight when they were teenagers and becoming best friends, Shawn proposed to Jenna 6 years later at the beach where they spent most of their time.
They had guests who were flying in from interstate attending their wedding, so they turned their celebration into a wedding weekend, with a joint hens and bucks on Friday night, a dinner on Saturday followed by the wedding on Sunday. Almost 10 years to the day that they met, Jenna and Shawn said “I do” at Shelly Beach surrounded by 60 of their closest family and friends.
THE VENUE: The beach holds a special place in Jenna and Shawn’s relationship as they spent many days there together while they were dating. After Shawn proposed to Jenna at a beach picnic, it only seemed right that they got married there too!
THE VIBE: Simple and beach-y. Jenna was super relaxed and easy going with her styling and only organised her flowers a month before the wedding day! The one styling element she was specific about? “No aisle runner. A bride at a wedding I attended got her shoes stuck the whole way down the aisle, so that turned me off it!”
SPECIAL TOUCH: Jenna wrote her husband-to-be a heartfelt letter and bought him a Nintendo Switch as a wedding gift. Best wife ever? We certainly think so!
THE VOWS: “You know it’s meant to be when you write your own vows and they’re exactly the same!”
THE DRESS: “I wasn’t even planning on buying a dress that day, but my MOH was moving interstate and we wanted to have the experience of trying dresses on together”
After trying a few dresses on and realizing that she may struggle with sticking to her $1800 dress budget, Jenna’s MOH picked up a stunning, Yaki Ravid hand beaded silk gown that cost $10, 000, but was down to $1000. She didn’t love the dress on the hanger but Jenna decided to try it on anyway and had her “this is the one” moment. Imagine her husband’s surprise (or shock!) when she told him she had bought a $10, 000 dress!
BRIDESMAID DRESSES: Jenna’s bridesmaids paid for their own dresses, so she didn’t want them to spend too much money. She found a Twosisters the Label dress that she loved on Pinterest and asked her bridesmaids to pick their favourite style.
“I wanted something different. Everyone in the same colour, but different styles. One of my bridesmaids was my sister-in-law, who’s 13, so we wanted to put her in something short and playful. The mix of styles turned out great and I couldn't have been happier with the quality”
WORDS OF ADVICE? “There is so much build up, so much planning and so much of making other people happy, but it is your day. When picking your bridesmaids, choose who you want. If people are going to get upset that they weren't picked, then they didn't deserve to be anyway. Enjoy yourself, don't sweat the small stuff (we had a polaroid guest book but the camera wouldn't work), make sure you eat and most importantly, take some time out of the day to just be with your new spouse.
Also, when considering wedding favours, don't waste your time and money because if it isn’t edible, no one will remember to take it with them! Make a charitable donation in their names instead: "A donation has been made to the Leukemia Foundation in the names of Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s wedding guests".”
Photographer: Morgan Luca Photography
Flowers: Becca from FloraFolk
Styling: Mel from Lamel
Wedding dress: Yaki Ravid
Bridesmaid dresses: Twosisters the Label