These two lovebirds enjoyed a solid two and a half year engagement before tying the knot in Nadine’s home country, Mauritius. Nadine and Simon decided the time was ripe when their fave photographer, Perth-based Paris Hawken, just so happened to be in Mauritius for their chosen dates. Call it fate! With the bride decked out in vintage Dior, this is one heck of a dreamy day. Scroll down for all the stunning captures….
THE VENUE “We decided to have the wedding in my home country of Mauritius, as Simon’s family and all our friends had pretty much been asking us to get married since we got together so that they could all go there for a holiday. It was also a very special opportunity for me to share and showcase my little island and home with everyone we love. Château de Labourdonnais, our wedding venue, is an old colonial mansion on a 540-hectare estate – it is one of the most beautiful and iconic colonial houses on the island and has always been one of my favourite places and was our first choice for the wedding. It was also one of the first places I took Simon to when he visited Mauritius for the first time – so a very special place for both of us.”
THE DRESS “This is quite a story… I had my wedding dress hanging in my closet for three years before I even got married – I hope you won’t think of me as a bridezilla! I always knew that if I got married that I didn’t want to wear a traditional wedding dress or white. Several years before we were even engaged, I went to the launch of a new pre-loved designer boutique, I saw the dress hanging up and it was love at first sight. Keeping in mind I was not even engaged at this stage, I called Simon and told him I had found my future wedding dress and asked him if I could buy it with the credit card as I couldn’t afford it… naturally, he said no and laughed at the fact that I was actually being serious and considering it. My heart was a bit broken but I knew it was a bit of a crazy idea. Fast forward three years and the business owner was closing shop as she was moving overseas. I, of course, raced to it as soon as I heard, hoping that the dress might still be there and at a price point that I could now afford (by the way we were still not engaged). As soon as I got there I asked about the dress and she said ‘it’s been waiting for you’ the stars finally aligned and she gave it to me for an absolute steal!”
FAVOURITE MOMENT “One of our highlights was the speeches, in particular, my [Nadine] father’s speech – it’s hard to explain to those that were not there but picture an old professor with a French accent humouring the crowd and being the life of the party. This was particularly special to us as he had been quite unwell until about 6 months prior to the wedding, so seeing him so happy and healthy was a very precious moment. His comical character, his great ability for storytelling and illustrating my childhood combined with the fact that he mixed up the page numbers of his speech but still managed to make it flow so well, was all part of his charm and made everyone laugh very hard.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “Make sure you enjoy the lead-up to the wedding as much as the day itself. There is such a huge build-up to the big day that you can get so caught up and actually forget the reason why you are getting married in the first place. We had a little ritual in the lead-up to the wedding which was having a swim in the ocean every morning together, including the morning of the wedding. It was a nice little ritual that gave us some chilled time together amid the busy week before the wedding.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Our photographers Paris and Tom were just incredible, they are the most beautiful and talented humans and we were so lucky that in a twist of fate they happened to be in Mauritius for a wedding the week before ours and agreed to stay on to shoot our wedding. We clicked with them instantly, they put us completely at ease and their photographs really speak for themselves – true works of art.”
If you love Paris’ candid shots then click here for some more fabulous real weddings she has shot. We particularly love Elleanor and Jesse’s sweet Rottnest Island nuptials which you can also find here alongside some sneaky quokka pics.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Paris Hawken Photography Florist Fine Fleur Stationery Mekel Venue Château de Labourdonnais Catering La Potinière Cake Joe Ann Chavry Hire Items RSVP Events Signage Elke Pougnet (family), Sawmill Place, RSVP Events Entertainment Gin N Tonic Trio Celebrant Stacey Brown (family) Rings Steven Anderson Jewellers, Cartier BRIDE Dress Vintage Christian Dior Alterations Harriette Gordon Wings Saskia Shoes Valentino Earrings Jennifer Behr Hair Vincent Coowar Makeup Jo-Ann Regnard Bridesmaid Dress Saskia GROOM Suit Joe Black Cufflinks Hugo Boss Shoes Florsheim