Ballroom dancer and DIY guru Leezar and her husband Corey chose red apples as their wedding theme as their favourite saying is that they are the apple of each others’ eye. How sweet! The colour palette of red (Corey’s favourite colour), chocolate brown (Leezar’s favourite colour) and champagne was woven throughout their special day in historic Windsor, NSW. Not even October showers could rain on this love fest.

Couple: Leezar and Corey
Date: 10th October, 2009
Location: Sebel Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Valley, NSW.
Photography: Stuart Leal Photography

Gown: A full lace mermaid cut Pronovias St Patrick gown from Fashions by Farina.  My Mother-in-Law, Joanne, actually picked it out for me and it was the first gown I tried. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.
Shoes: Something Blue Manolo Blahniks from the Sex and the City Movie.  I am a big Sex in the City fan. My Dad, Reg, wore a blue tie to match my shoes and Corey wore an ivory tie to match my dress.
Suit:  Industrie suit in Tobacco colour. Corey has always loved Industrie so it was a natural choice for his wedding suit.
Wedding Party: Corey had six Groomsmen who all wore the same Industrie suits but a different tie and button hole. I had six bridesmaids who each wore a chocolate brown dress from Artdonnalee with pearl necklaces and little chocolate satin bags that I made. They also had little chocolate satin bags which I also made. Our two flower girls wore a champagne-coloured dresses from Origami (at Myer).
Accessories: Bracelet, apple necklace and apple anklet from Fifth Avenue Collection.  Rings from my late Grandmas on both sides. Antique family heirloom watch borrowed from Bridesmaid Belinda, tiara from Diva and veil from Wedding Wonderland.
Hair & Makeup: My beautiful neighbour Melissa who owns Seductive Hair and Makeup, Penrith, NSW. Melissa and her Mum, Miriam, made our morning by organising breakfast and champagne. We also received little gift bags which they give to all their bridal parties.
Flowers: I carried a posy of Cream Tulips and Red berries made by a friend Lee. The bridesmaids carried red parasols from Boston Umbrella and the flower girls carried little red buckets with red petals they scattered down the aisle.
Ceremony:  The ceremony took place in the gardens at Sebel Hawkesbury, Windsor, NSW. Corey chose the location – we both loved Windsor and when we stepped foot onto the Gardens at the Sebel Corey said “This is it! This is where we will get married”. The bridesmaids and my father used red parasols to protect us from the October rains, which we all joked was brought on by the red double decker London bus we arrived in.
Reception: The reception was held in the Windsor room at the Sebel Hawkesbury.
Decorations:
* The centrepiece for each table was a long glass vase filled with red apples and topped with a hand cut paper leaf displaying the table number. Corey and I were happily surprised to find that guests started to eat the apples as the night drew to a close.
* The Bonbonniere for each guest were Dandi treasure boxes created with the Dandi fabric treasure box kit, using Dandi plain dyed berry fabric. With lots of help from my Bridesmaids, we spent the months before the wedding making these treasure boxes for over 100 guests. The treasure boxes were then finished with a chocolate brown leather stalk and paper place card cut in the shape of a leaf. The treasure boxes were then filled with heart chocolates.
* On each place setting we had placed a CD with all our favourite songs. The RSVP cards had a little footnote asking guests to write down their favourite song, which we then played at the wedding. We thanked guests by leaving this CD which read “you gave us your favourites now we give you ours”.
* Guests were invited to sign the guest book ‘pin board’ which I  made from Dandi plain dyed berry fabric and chocolate ribbon in keeping with the theme. I was inspired by the Dandi patterned pin boards.  I hand cut little cards for guests to write their message and pin up on the board.
Music: Guitarist Kye Gratton (my brother) and singer Sarah Reeve wrote two songs for Corey and I. The first, Sarah and Kye played as I arrived and the second, Kye just played as I walked down the aisle.
Stationery: The invitations I designed and made myself. The motif was a gorgeous apple tree of course. They were printed in the wedding colours – red and chocolate – on thick textured cream paper. I wrapped each invitation with a chocolate brown leather tie with a tiny apple charm and a hand cut leaf with the guest’s name written on.
Cake: The three-tiered wedding cake was made by my Mum, Pam. It had tiny apple cut outs made from icing and was also decorated with berries to match my bouquet. When Corey and I toasted after the ceremony we used glasses specially made by Corey’s Mum, Joanne, with imags of apples and the quote “the apple of my eye 10.10.09”
Dance: I have been dancing since I was six so I really wanted our first dance to be a choreographed dance. We danced to a song called “Still” by my French cousin Flox which was choreographed by Penrith Ballroom Dance.  Corey was so nervous but did such a good. My brother even said his jaw dropped because he didn’t know Corey could dance and Sarah (one of the bridesmaids) said she cried the whole way through the dance.
Transport:  Because my family and I are from London, I arrived in a big red London double decker bus hired from Britstop.  The ride to the wedding was so much fun!
Budget Tip:  Always remember that when you get married it’s ultimately about the marriage to come and not just that one day. It doesn’t matter if things don’t cost that much as long as you are true to yourself.
Eco-friendly Tip:  Use things that can be re-used and not thrown away. All our decorations were reused. The Dandi treasure boxes, the Dandi guest book pinboard, and all the vases. We also ate and gave away all the apples we used as decorations.
Handmade Tip: Working at Dandi I used my DIY knowledge to make most of the wedding details myself.
With the help from my bridesmaids we made all my Dandi Treasure box bonbonnieres. I also used Dandi fabric to construct our pin board guest book. I made all the bridesmaids’ bags using my sewing machine given to me by the Dandi ladies for my engagement present. I also made the bridesmaids’ jewellery and all the table centrepieces decorating the reception. I also designed and made the invitations and all of these DIY details not only saved us money, but gave our wedding a more personal touch.
I wish: For nothing more, the day was absolutely amazing and more than Corey and I had ever imagined. We both made sure we got to talk to everyone and had many moments where we sat back and enjoyed the day. Even the rain made the day, because it bought everyone together in the undercover area in the Sebel garden.
Something Special: The day was topped off by a surprise my dad, Reg had done for Corey and his family. As Corey and his family are Maltese, Dad visited Malta. In his speech he showed where Corey’s family grew up and videos of the relatives that couldn’t make it. The room was very emotional and Corey’s Dad’s speech to follow pretty much had everyone in tears at his reaction to my dad’s surprise.

Tags:  Blue shoes, chocolate brown and red, DIY, Double Decker Bus, Handmade, Hawkesbury Valley, NSW, Parasols, Spring, Windsor

Categories:  Champagne, Chocolate/Brown, Classic, Garden Weddings, Hawkesbury, Hotel Wedding, Red, Resort Weddings