Chester Gown – Sarah & Gordon
COUPLE’S NAMES
Sarah Devitt & Gordon Haines
DATE
5 December 2020
LOCATION
Wool Bay, Yorke Peninsula.
Gordon and I were married on the cliff-top overlooking the beautiful rugged coastline of South Australia. We had the reception on my parents’ property in Wool Bay. Wool Bay is the most beautiful quiet seaside town two hours from Adelaide, with the most serene beaches and coastlines for miles along the Gulf of St Vincent. It is a very special place for us as we go there to get away from the business of life in the city to swim, walk, spend time with our beloved family and soak up the sun, star-filled skies and the quietness of the countryside.
GUEST TOTAL
32. We wanted a small wedding with just our closest friends and family so we were lucky that the Covid restrictions did not impact us greatly. We could not have family from the UK or interstate so we video called them in. It was romantic and perfect.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Simon Bills Photography. Simon is my sister’s husband and his wedding gift to us was his photography.
BRIDES DRESS
Oh, my dress… The Chester.
Where do I start and what do I say?! This gown is perfection! The absolutely breathtaking delicate layers of fabric and the most beautiful temple beading… I fell in love at first sight and I’m still in love.
Knowing the dress is handmade in India and soaked in white tea.. it is pure couture indulgence, I felt so spoiled and beautiful wearing this incredible design.
WERE YOU WORRIED AT ALL ABOUT ORDERING YOUR GOWN ONLINE?
Covid has impacted the ability to try on gowns as stores have been closed, and I knew I was after something that I couldn’t find in Adelaide’s bridal stores. Also, Bo & Luca is not yet stocked in South Australia so I had no hesitation in ordering online without a fitting. I knew it was “the dress” as soon as I saw it.
WHAT HELPED YOU FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF PURCHASING YOUR WEDDING GOWN ONLINE?
When I contacted Bo & Luca about ordering the dress online I was put in contact with Jone the incredibly talented pattern maker. We video called and she was there for me every step of the way whenever I needed her. I didn’t at all feel like I was buying an online gown. I sent my measurements across to Joné, the Production Manager at Bo & Luca, and throughout the whole process, I felt like I was having a custom-made gown designed just for my body shape. It was custom-tailored by the Bo & Luca team and handmade for me.
Not just the dress but Bo & Luca certainly represents me… romantic, beachy, bohemian, relaxed, graceful, something different, and born from the heart of Australia, I went all in and couldn’t have been happier.
ACCESSORIES
BRIDESMAID DRESSES
My sweet bridesmaids wore bohemian long balloon sleeves, lace trim dresses by Australian designer Piper. I chose white casual flowing beach dresses, as the whole theme of my wedding was beach beach beach! All white was a risk but we were all so happy.
ENGAGEMENT STORY
My partner and I have been together for 13 years and he never wanted to get married and I was certainly not the girl who dreamed of being a bride as I grew up. I thought it was the wrong way to spend money, it should go to a house and the children not splurging on a party! – Boy I was wrong, it was so worth it.
These past few years have been difficult and it made myself and Gordon become so grateful for each other and what we have in life, and we just fell more and more in love….. with the realisation that life is tough and we are so blessed to have each other for love, support, and friendship.
We were at Wool Bay and Gordon just looked at me and asked if I wanted to get married… I thought I misheard him and then double-checked in the morning to see if he was actually serious! After that, we both unexpectedly to ourselves, got so excited about planning our wedding.
WEDDING THEME
Coastal bohemian intimate. Just having a small group we wanted everyone to experience the paradise we have, so it was a weekend away with everyone swimming, sunbaking, fishing, diving, beach strolls, and the wedding… huge rattan lantern lights, fairy lights, festoons, candles, a little boho beach bar and plenty of dancing.
WEDDING RINGS
My engagement ring is a Hearts on Fire Snowflake ring but I like to see it as a sparkling starfish! The wedding rings are Tiffany and Co.
WEDDING FAVOURS
My sister made little pots of homemade honey and cute little labels “Meant to Bee”.
FLOWERS & BOUQUETS
I picked natural bunny tail grass from the clifftops and my mum added local wheat stems to make both my bouquet and those for my bridesmaids.
CAKE
Our cake was a beautiful semi-naked layered drip cake. One layer was white chocolate and the other milk chocolate. My dad to the despair of my mother turned their beautiful vegetable garden into a flower garden for the wedding and grew sunflowers especially for the day which we cut and put on the cake.
WEDDING SONGS
Up until the actual week of the wedding, Covid restrictions were no dancing and drinking, and the weekend before all weddings were canceled. I am lucky enough to have two beautiful fathers that walked me down the aisle but we didn’t do any first dance. Luckily restrictions lifted and we had an upbeat fun playlist to dance to.
FOOD & BEVERAGES
We had a cocktail menu with delicious little canapés. Confit duck tarts, Moroccan skewers, lots of yummy treats covid style- unshared!
HONEYMOON
We had always dreamed of going to Vietnam and Cambodia but Covid stopped that! We thought of going to Queensland to snorkel the Great barrier Reef and walk in the Daintree Forest but all Australian borders were closed…. So it’s back to Wool Bay every spare weekend to swim and snorkel and mini-moon!
GIFTS REGISTRY
Being together so long we already have everything we need. We really wanted people to use the gift money towards the destination wedding. There are absolutely no shops in Wool Bay so it is all BYO everything from Adelaide.
Our incredible family and friends were very naughty and gave us more than we dreamed, money towards a honeymoon and beautiful thoughtful gifts.
MEMORABLE MOMENT
Being told that it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to. It was a weekend away for everyone, away from work, stress, kids! It was just what we wanted everyone to have… a great time.. and they did.
ADVICE FOR BRIDES-TO-BE
If you have the man of your dreams marry him. I never thought I would have such a perfect day. Oh… and dress head to toe in Bo & Luca… you won’t stop getting compliments the whole day!
VENDORS & SUPPLIERS
Photographer: Simon Bills Photography
Dress & Accessories: Bo & Luca
MUAH: House of Lashes
Décor: Mid North Party Hire
Catering: The Roaming Chef