Clare & Josh

Clare and Josh wanted to incorporate their Chinese and Korean cultures into their big day, while creating an amazing occasion for their guests. Clare tells us about their unique celebration…

We were married in a catholic mass celebrated by the same priest who married my sister and brother in law. I had three dresses on the day – a ceremony dress, a reception dress and a traditional Korean costume (Hanbok). Josh changed his bowtie and also had a traditional costume.

We hired a stylist and I told her I wanted ‘lights, lights, lights!’ The décor consisted of festoon lights, fairy lights, rose gold cutlery and glasses, lace table runners, an outdoor lounge, sparklers for midnight, a popcorn bar, a guest book piñata (which we opened on our one-year anniversary), and our favourite bit – each guest had their name carved in wood and hung on their chair. Our menu had wedding bingo printed on the other side.
A fun aspect of Korean wedding tradition that we included was Josh’s parents had to throw dates (representing girls) and chestnuts (representing boys) into the skirt of my dress and the number of dates/chestnuts I caught represented the number of children we would have! Josh also had to carry me on his back around the dance floor to represent his dedication to taking care of me, and carry his mum to thank her for her love and care for him over the years.

Tea ceremonies are typically a private family affair, however we thought it would be great to showcase it during our reception. Korean and Chinese tea ceremonies are very different so we combined the best of the two cultures. After the tea ceremony we went straight into a game of boys vs. girls flip cup, cake cutting and our first dance.

The moment that became the most memorable was the end of the night when our photographers pulled us aside for one final photo outside next to the fairy lights. This was totally unexpected but it gave us a chance to just be together without anyone else.  

The rest of the night we played with sparklers, drank, ate popcorn and partied till 5am. Everyone had a grand time and that was all we could ask for.

Photos & video: Bayley and Moore
Reception venue: Ascension Wine Estate
Others that made their wedding special: Alma J, James Loft, Mary Estelle, St Patricks Cathedral, Magnolia Kitchen, Southern Belle Styling, Pastel Moment, Cameo Boutique, Reuben Simpson Jazz