Real Wedding // Ria & Doug’s Byron Bay Surf Club Wedding

Ria & Doug enjoyed a long weekend of wedding festivities and celebrated their love in true traditional Indian style at the beautiful Byron Bay Surf Club. The venue was adorned in gorgeous vibrant colours, Indian silk scarves and Arabian rugs. Ria and Doug celebrated with their nearest and dearest with a traditional Indian ceremony, Bollywood style dancing and delicious customary food. We loved being able to bring this celebration together and we couldn’t wait to see the photos! A huge thanks to the amazing team of suppliers who brought this one together. Read their love story below.

Tell us your story, how did you both meet?
Doug and I met on June, 21^st 2014 at a bar in Sydney called ‘The Clock’. We spoke till the late hours; it was like catching up with an old friend even though we had never met before. We were basically together ever since then.

How did the proposal happen?
We were travelling to Bali to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. Doug organised a spa day and planned for us to go to dinner straight after at the resort we were staying at. After my spa, I was told Doug had to rush back to our hotel room and to meet him back there. However, the hotel buggy driver took me to a villa suite that was not where we were originally staying. Confused by the upgrade… Doug greeted me outside and as we walked in I could see in the garden overlooking the ocean, a private dining table set up for two, with hundreds of rose petals and candles scattered everywhere. I knew right there and then he was going to propose and was doing my best to hold back my tears. Eventually, during our dinner, he got down on one knee at sunset and proposed.

What style were your striving for with your table settings, florals and reception? Ws there a certain look or vibe that you wanted to create?
We wanted to incorporate the vibrant colours often seen at Indian weddings but also wanted to keep it fusion, modern and fun as we were getting married in a beach town. The colours were bright and fun through the Indian silk scarves weaved into the ceiling, warm Arabian rugs and the bright orange garlands dangling from the marquee. We weaved in the fusion modern look through the lighting and simplicity in the tableware.

Were there any vendors that you particularly loved working with and why?
Our band, Real Good Sydney run by Dean Ginsberg completely wowed us and our guests. They had never played Indian music before but they did their research and did not disappoint. They also kept up with the fusion music by DJ’ing Bollywood songs whilst bringing in the bongos, saxophone and their beautiful singing. They were engaging with the guests and got everyone involved. They passed around a box of smaller Indian instruments for the guests to dance around with! We didn’t even know they were organising that for us!

Estelle from The French Petal did a fabulous job incorporating our flowers from our western wedding held the previous day. She made sure the flowers were not wasted but re-used to decorate the tables, bar and scattered the red roses, pink peonies and orchard petals all the way down the aisle.

The food prepared by Che and his team from the Fig Tree Restaurant during the sad time of the venue burning down would have been already a massive challenge. Especially with it being a cuisine they don’t regularly create. The Indian food was unbelievably delicious, the presentation was immaculate and the compliments we received by our friends who travelled all the way from India was 10/10! I would highly recommend Fig Tree Catering for any event. We loved how they were up for the challenge of each specific dish requested from Indian ice-cream to the traditional curries!

Overall, what was your most favourite part of your wedding day and why?
We loved how all of our friends from Australia and New Zealand embraced Ria’s Indian culture with a lot of respect through the big effort they put into their Indian outfits and even learning dance moves for the special occasion. We learned a Bollywood bridal party dance which took a lot of practice, it was very challenging for a lot of our friends who had never danced Indian style. It was great to see our friends and family enjoy the dance we all practised for months.

Ria & Doug xo

Suppliers
Venue: Byron Bay Surf Club // Hair & Makeup: The Future Mrs // Photographer & Videographer: Yellowbull Weddings // Florist: The French Petal // Mendhi Artist: Henna Harem // Guest Transport: Steve’s Transport // Catering: Fig Tree Catering // Lighting:  Byron Audio // Furniture & Styling: The Wedding Shed // Planning & Coordination: Byron Bay Weddings