Tula & Will’s Exclusive Whale Beach Wedding
March 23, 2020
The gorgeous Tula & Will were married in the Summer of 2019 and celebrated with an exclusive Jonah’s Wedding reception overlooking Whale Beach and the Pacific Ocean. After the couple had some time to celebrate their honeymoon and reflect on their special day, Tula shared with us some highlights from the day and let us in on some of the details surrounding the planning of her wedding.
The couple had met 10 years earlier while studying at University. Will proposed at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro, with his grandmother’s ring that his grandpa bought her the day he returned from WWII. With 110 guests of their nearest and dearest, Tula & Will said their vows at nearby Station Beach with the picturesque backdrop of our Pittwater surroundings. Tula’s stunning gown was designed and created by Jess Andreatta while Will wore a custom tuxedo from PJohnson.
The ceremony was followed by cocktails and canape’s in the clifftop garden at Jonah’s. Their canape menu included tuna tartare with lemon mascarpone, caramelised goats cheese tarts, beef tartare crostni with truffle, grilled baby octopus, and scallops with chilli and parsley crumb. Here their guests had some time to wander the beautiful grounds, catch up with friends and take in the sprawling ocean views.
“We chose Jonah’s for its wow factor, location and reputation for service and great food and wine! The ocean and beaches have played a large part in both our lives, so we knew we wanted a coastal wedding – Jonah’s had the view, the atmosphere and experience to bring this all together. Importantly, we wanted an outdoor space for our guests – not many coastal wedding venues in Sydney offer a balcony and views like Jonah’s so to us it was an easy decision.”
Tula was even able to toss the bouquet from the balcony for one of her lucky guests to catch! This was one of the many fun moments that were shared at this light hearted and social reception. “Jonah’s is the best place for a bouquet toss – the girls gathered on the lawn with the view in the background and I tossed over the balcony – this made for the most beautiful photos!”
The guests then made their way into the elegant clifftop dining room with floor to ceiling wrap around windows for spectacular views from all angles. Tula & Will tried to be as sustainable and local as they could in terms of styling. Their stylist, Styled By Her, shared this vision and created the most magical space for the dinner reception, minimising arrangements of single use flowers and maximising on beautiful ornaments and objects that could be used again and again.
“Jonah’s is so beautiful, with a breathtaking view and so full of light, so we really wanted styling that complimented Jonah’s rather than competed.”
At Jonah’s, the venue is designed to be a blank canvas for couples to make their wedding decor completely unique to them. This makes each wedding completely different and very personal to each couple. Tula & Will’s love for the seaside was reflected in their white colour pallet, utilising mixed corals, candles, re-usable dried foliage and orchards to create a coastal inspired tablescape that was soft, pretty and full. Guests were also gifted hand calligraphered Capiz shells with their names on them – a perfect addition to the overall look of the table settings. Friends from Hunter Candles, made custom scented candles to fill the room with scents from their childhood.
The couple chose a sit down dinner for their reception where guests were treated to entrees of Kurobuta pork belly with scallops, pickled fennel and crackling or casarecce pasta with cherry tomatoes, spanner crab and preserved lemon. Heartfelt words were shared with speeches from family and friends. The newly weds then took some time alone for photos on the beach before returning for their mains. Guests enjoyed crispy skin Barramundi with capsicum ragu and Sicilian capers or Black Angus beef fillet with pencil leeks, celeriac and pumpkin seeds.
“The food and wine at Jonah’s is unbeatable. The team offered us a full tasting with matching wine, which I know from friend’s weddings, you often have to pay for – this gesture, was just one example of all the smaller details the team added to make the whole experience unforgettable and special.”
The happy couple then cut their beautiful four-tiered cake created by Soiree Cakes and danced the night away with the DJ playing for the rest of the evening. Tula and Will finished the celebrations with an overnight stay in one of our Luxury Ocean Retreat rooms. The perfect way to end the evening on a high note. All of our eleven Ocean Retreat rooms are complete with a private balcony, spa bath, King Sized World Luxury Series A.H. Beard bed and indulgent mini bar. They awoke to a sun rise over the Pacific Ocean, well rested and ready to start their first day as husband and wife.
“Our entire bridal party and partners stayed with us at Jonah’s the night of the wedding, which was so special for both them and us. We all woke up together the next day for a swim and breakfast before heading to the recovery day after party – made it feel like we were all away on holidays!”
Megan Kelly was their photographer of choice who captured their special moments so perfectly with natural, candid photos that showcase not only the beautiful setting, decor and guests, but also the love and adoration between Tula and Will.
Some words of advice from the bride now that all is said and done, “choose great vendors. Don’t be afraid to spend a little extra on a good vendor with a great attitude, even if this means you have to sacrifice other details on the day. For us, our wedding planners at Jonah’s, our photographer (Megan Kelly), videographer (Ripple Weddings) and importantly stylist/florist (Styled By Her), took the pressure off the planning process for us and were amazing every step of the way and on the day. We both have very busy day jobs, so to be able to trust and rely on our vendors was very important.”
We feel very privileged to have been able to play an integral role in the wedding of Tula and Will. It was our pleasure getting to know them and to see their beautiful reception come to life after months of planning. We thank all of the suppliers who helped put the details together to make this couple’s dreams come true. We wish Tula and Will all the happiness in the world and hope to welcome them back to Jonah’s for many anniversary celebrations to come.
Photographer: Megan Kelly @megankellyweddings
Videographer: Ripple Weddings @rippleweddings
Stylist: Corey from Styled By Her @styled_by_her
Dress: J.Andreatta @j.andreatta_
Grooms Suit: P Johnson Tailors @pjohnsontailors
Bridesmaids: Hexie @hexie.official
Rings: Greene & Greene antiques @greeneandgreeneantiques
Make-Up: Face by Onyx @face_by_onyx
Hair: Courtney from @courtleehairstyling
Live music: Annie from @anniehamiltn
DJ: Robbie Rommers @robbierommers
Candles: Hunter Candles @huntercandles
