Warm heart wedding - Denelle and Chris

On a wild and stormy afternoon in November 2009, I married the gorgeous Jenna and Mat in a joyful and fun ceremony at the Adelaide Sailing Club. And you know the superstition about rain on your wedding day and fertility, right? Well, 5.5 years and 3 children later, Mat and Jenna are just as gorgeous as the day they were married.

But the thing that I remember most clearly about the day was their attitude to the less than ideal weather conditions. They literally laughed it off. There are hundreds of quotes about how the true mark of a person is determined how they perform under pressure; I think that a wedding day heightens the stakes somewhat. And the coolest part was that their family and friends all embraced the chaos too. It was a pleasure to play a small part in their optimistic celebration.

Fast forward to 2015 and I was thrilled to get the call from Jenna's sister and maid of honour, Denelle, to perform her marriage ceremony to the love of her life, Chris. The date was set for an outdoor ceremony at the West Lakes Golf Club in June; there's that genetically predisposed optimism again!

The weather was clear and mild and the newlyweds were positively radiant. Awesome photos throughout by Emme Jade Photography.

Denelle choose her delicate beaded, strapless ivory wedding dress from Jenny and Gerry's Bridal early on in the planning process. But just a week before the big day, not long after discovering she was pregnant, she didn't feel entirely comfortable in her figure-hugging creation and asked her dress maker what could be done. The result, an incredible, detachable Dior-like skirt, looked and moved like a dream.

Both Chris and Denelle wanted to make sure that their ceremony included and honoured their families. There was a special mention of their grandparents who had passed away, readings by Denelle's brother and Chris' sister and they chose their mothers as their witnesses. But it was a special thank you to Denelle's Grandma Amy for making the impressive effort to attend in person, which brought everyone to tears.

Chris and I had funny a misunderstanding during the rehearsal; he thought I said that his love for Denelle was 'internal', when I said 'eternal'. During their ceremony, Chris made a point of emphasizing EEE-ternal. He got laughs all round.

Thanks again to Emme Jade Photography for her stunning photos.

Did you have more than one dress for your wedding?  Let me know in the comments.

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