Oct 14, 2010

Charmaine and James’ wedding is particularly special to me in so many ways. You could say, that without Charmaine and her encouragement to submit to the call of wedding planning and styling, One Wedding Wish may, quite simply, not exist. For this, I cannot thank her enough.

It is also particularly special because Charmaine was first a friend before she was a client, and I think we can both agree that this journey has brought us even closer. Meetings were more like lunch dates swooning over colour, styling ideas, flowers, wedding photos, stationery, bomboniere, and on and on we went.

I had the most indulgent pleasure of working with an incredibly talented and creative bride. I love that she personally designed every piece of stationery you see in these photos. From the eyes of a wedding planner, nothing is more gorgeous of a bride than one who is truly thoughtful, who devotes her attention not only to the celebration of two people, but to the beloved family and friends who come from near and far to love and support them. I can see why James crossed the Pacific just to be with this girl he calls “the woman of his dreams”.

My warmest congratulations to Charmaine and James on a truly heartfelt and magical wedding day. May your days be filled with laughter and sweet love for each other. Thank you for entrusting me with your dreams and allowing me to help you fulfill them, both as a wedding planner and friend.

Joanie xoxo

Images captured by Gavin Luu for One Wedding Wish



9th of October, 2010 was like a page out of December (in the Southern Hemisphere). Blessed with cloudless blue skies and balmy temperatures, one could never have guessed that it rained incessantly just days before. Quat Quatta, one of my all-time favourite function venues looked absolutely gorgeous, with flowering ornamental pear trees lining the driveway at the front of the building, and the back terrace to be prepared for our ceremony awash with white azalea and lush wisteria. Trust the Restaurant and Catering Victoria Hall of Fame inductee to have pick of the most talented members of staff in the industry. A very special thanks to Fiona, Katherine and their simply brilliant team at Quat Quatta!

Channelling rustic, natural and vintage, guests were greeted upon arrival by an insatiably fabulous signing-in table featuring blooms in bottles, a wooden suitcase filled with wedding programmes, porcelain birds with their very own bird house, an antique timber chest and other intricate details. Especially gorgeous is an original Paloma’s Nest Ring Bearer Bowl engraved with our newlyweds’ names - oh, it is to be adored!

Doing away with the traditional guestbook, One Wedding Wish was commissioned to design and create this glorious wishing tree for Charmaine and James’ guests to pen words of love and congratulations on wish tags and suspend them on its branches. Befitting of the Spring season, silk peonies appeared to blossom from these branches, fresh ivory roses and more peonies graced the rim of the white porcelain vase. Glass balls with flickering tealights finished the look.

Another bespoke element One Wedding Wish had the pleasure of creating was a white, shabby-chic wooden easel which held the guest seating list, featuring tables numbered by names of cities Charmaine and James have been to, such as Paris, where they met for their first date.





Annabel and Fiona complemented Quat Quatta’s spaces wonderfully, bringing the terrace and dining room to life with meticulously arranged fresh flowers. Charmaine and her Maid of Honor, Emily carried ethereal bouquets of David Austin roses, lisianthus and ranunculi.



Charmaine was a perfect picture of style and elegance. Arriving in a flawless Karen Willis Holmes designer wedding gown in the arms of her father who was beaming with sheer pride, I couldn’t stop telling her how beautiful she was! And she was.




Charmaine (and I too, for that matter!) is a devout lover of the French Macaron, but it is their falling in love in one of the world’s most romantic cities that made the French Macaron the perfect gift to their family and friends. Although this delicate, irresistable treat was not destined to last long, we devoted much care in the sourcing of its packaging. The final result - an oversized scented wooden rose atop a chocolate brown box that guests can bring home. Whilst packing freshly-made French Macarons late the night before, I couldn’t resist taking a photo of these bite-sized pink (raspberry jam) and brown (salted caramel) petite beauties! Charmaine, this one’s for you! :)

The wedding cake, Orange and Almond Flourless, was a towering 3-tier beauty. Guests each took a piece home in cute personalised noodle boxes.



James made a dashing groom with a smile ever on his face, a smile just for her. I just love James’ expression in this photo as they danced to their first song -Adam Sandler’s Grow Old With You, as husband and wife.



Did I mention that Charmaine is truly thoughtful, and truly beautiful, inside and out? Usually nothing escapes me, but she managed to pull this off right under my nose! A wonderful photo here by Charmaine’s cousin, capturing us in a big warm hug as she bestows upon me the most beautiful posy! The limelight is not my thing, but I felt terribly special and was oh so touched. Thank you Charmaine and James for letting me share in this very special journey with you both. I hope these photos will delight you each time you see them, and remind you of the incredible and magical day that it was. Love, Joanie



Edit: Just hours after this blog entry was posted, I humbly received this heartwarming message from the Father of the Bride ~

Joanie....you have done a great wedding at Quat Quatta, Ripponlea on behalf of Charmaine and James. Everything went perfectly, smoothly and flawlessly. What a great and fantastic day for all of us. As Charmaine's father, I am indeed glad and proud for Charmaine and James. What a great event, all our guests and family members enjoyed the flow of the event from the music to the ceremony, the food and the drinks, etc etc. From the bottom of my heart, thank you very much for making my daughter's biggest day of her life such a great success and a very memorable one. I will highly recommend you anytime to anyone planning to have a great and memorable wedding day. Wishing you and One Wedding Wish great success in the future. Once again a BIG THANK YOU. - Mr Yick Koon LEW, Father of the Bride

Image Credit: Chateau Photography. For more beautiful photos of Charmaine and James’ wedding by Chateau Photography, visit their brand new website!

Tags: Real Weddings, Wedding Style Profiles, Melbourne Wedding Planner, Melbourne Wedding Stylist, Macarons, Vintage, Wishing Tree, Message Tree, Quat Quatta, Garden Weddings, Garden Ceremony, Bomboniere