Anthony and Emma’s wedding at Gunners Barracks in Mosman, NSW was a heartfelt celebration centered around family, fun, and personal touches. Their daughters took on the role of bridesmaids, making the day even more special.
With a vibrant palette of pink, purple, and blue, playful details like a Cinderella-inspired timeline, guest crossword, and activity bags for kids added a unique touch. Emma’s pink heart-detailed shoes and a London black cab arrival paid homage to her British roots.
Full of love, laughter, and memorable moments, their day was truly unforgettable!
Where did you get married?
Gunners Barracks in Mosman, New South Wales
Why did you choose to get married at Gunners Barracks?
We loved that we had the whole venue to ourselves and the different spaces the venue had to offer for different parts of the night.
It was a great size for our guest numbers (55), not too cramped and not feeling like you are only using a small part of a large venue.
There was a fair amount included but we added a few extras along the way, e.g. adding a cheese and charcuterie station for pre-dinner hour, upgrading the beverage package etc. The sandstone courtyard with the twinkle lights was perfect for our ceremony and then later for our first dance (in the rain!) and the terrace was beautiful for our pre-dinner drinks and canapes. We used the main dining room for our reception and even with 8 tables there was still space to move around.
What was the most memorable part of your wedding day?
We didn’t have the typical bridal party, our kids were our “bridesmaids”. Anthony has 2 daughters plus a stepdaughter from a previous relationship and we have a daughter together. It really made them feel special to have such a big part in the day.
The girls each wore different dresses and hairstyles to suit their ages, tastes and personalities.
One of the highlights was the speech they gave, which was also a bit of a roast of their dad’s cooking abilities (or lack thereof).
I also had a few close family friends attend from the UK which was very special.
Emma, paint us a picture. What was the theme, style, colors, and overall vibe of your wedding day?
We didn’t want our wedding to be “just another wedding” so we tried to add some fun and unique touches through the night. Our colours were pink, purple and a touch of blue as we wanted it to be quite bright and vibrant. I even had pink shoes with hearts under my white dress.
Starting with our Wedsites wedding website, we tried to set the scene for what guests could expect. We included photos of us together and as a family over the years, funny stories as well as the usual “useful information”. I even included a gif of Cinderella waving goodbye marking midnight on our wedding timeline.
We incorporated a quirky “ceremony program” from a template I found on etsy, a “how well do you know us” crossword which guests filled in during the pre-dinner hour and each child was given a personalised activity bag which I’d filled with colouring pencils, a personalised wedding themed colouring book and various toys/games.
We had 9 children of various ages so we tried to make it fun for them too.
I also wanted to incorporate a “bit of british” so we hired a London black cab to get us to the ceremony.
What was your favorite part of planning your wedding?
My favourite parts were creating the Wedsites website, planning our very personalised ceremony with our fabulous celebrant and creating the activity packs for the kids.
What was the best investment you made for your wedding?
Find which aspects of the wedding are important to you and find vendors who match your vision. Don’t just go for the first option (or the cheapest) but also don’t be pushed into something you don’t want.
Once we had our venue sorted, we were given a list of their “preferred suppliers”, some we used but most we didn’t. Particularly with photographers, it’s helpful if they know the venue and surrounding areas to make sure you get the best photos you can.
Is there anything you would have done differently?
I would probably change my second dress, it was something I purchased last minute and it didn’t quite fit properly.
What was your favorite part of using WedSites for your wedding?
It was so easy to use and having so many examples and templates really got the creative juices going. Having all the “back end” features was fantastic and made controlling guest numbers and table setting so much easier to organise.
Anthony and Emma’s customed designed wedding website
Wedding planning is notoriously stressful. Now that you’ve gone through the process, do you have any advice or words of wisdom for couples who are currently in the midst of planning theirs?
It’s easy to say don’t stress as you naturally will. Try to be “in the moment” and enjoy the day, it goes so fast. All the months and months of planning for just a few hours.
Try to avoid following trends, remember it’s your day and it should be about representing you as a couple.
Find vendors who you ‘click’ with and it makes the process so much easier.
The amazing team of vendors involved with this wedding
Venue: Gunners Barracks
Photographer: Society Photography
Officiant: Bree Amer
Cake Baker: Black Velvet Cakes
Entertainment: We Are Paper Hearts
Florist: White House Flowers
Hair and Makeup Stylist: Airlie and Co
Wedding Dress: Perfect Day Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: JJ’s House | Tutu DU Monde
Attire: Peter Jackson
Stationer: Petrella Studios
Transportation: Black Cab Central
Wedding Website: WedSites
