Narissa & Adam plan a beach wedding in just six weeks

When Narissa Hayles, 27 and Adam Romano, 28, got engaged in October 2011 their idea for the perfect wedding was to sign the papers at the registry office and later elope to Koh Samui for an intimate beach wedding.

They decided upon 12.10.12 as the ultimate wedding date and spent the next 10 months of their engagement not worrying too much about their simple registry office wedding. Six weeks to go before their day, Narissa tried to book in their their civil ceremony only to be told the date was not available. The advice given to them: book a celebrant.

Narissa says, “So once we had our celebrant booked we thought, ‘might as well have a wedding.’” And so began the fastest of wedding planning for the couple’s tropical themed beach wedding. Narissa says, “If we couldn’t elope on the beach in Koh Samui, why not have a beach wedding here?”

The ceremony was held on the sands of Sellicks Beach, south of Adelaide and the couple booked a nearby holiday house, The Sandcastle, in which to hold the intimate and casual reception of 35 people.

Narissa’s white beach wedding gown was from Adelaide label Alexis George. It had a bikini-style bodice and floaty skirt which she paired with aqua London Rebel sandals. Narissa carried a simple posy of white oriental lilies with green foliage from McLaren Vale Florist.

During their wedding ceremony the couple performed a sand ceremony in which two vases of sand are layered into one by the bride and groom to symbolise the inseparable nature of marriage. Narissa chose the yellow and blue colours to complement their tropical beach theme.

Narissa’s “baby” Murphy, a French bulldog, looked the part in a little doggy tuxedo and bow tie purchased on eBay.

Narissa tells of some special moments during their clifftop photos: “We were able to be just us and Tamika captured it perfectly. It wasn’t staged or awkward, it was just us being us.”

The three-tier wedding cake was created by Narissa’s mum Karen using chocolate mud cakes from The Cheesecake Shop. Karen assembled and decorated the cake herself using white chocolate icing, starfish and seashells. “She is an absolute star and I can’t thank her enough for all her help,” says Narissa.

Fleurieu Bites Catering provided a cocktail-style menu with canapes including slow roasted smoked paprika tomato, basil and feta bruschetta and poached free range chicken with herb roulade and glazed apricots. “We didn’t want the sit down meal,” Narissa explains. “We are both cruisey people and wanted a nice relaxed feel with everyone able to mingle and enjoy the day.”

Narissa’s tip to other brides planning a beach wedding: remember the tide! “It was one thing we didn’t think about until it was too late,” she says. The tide was high as they exchanged vows and it certainly created “an ‘extreme wedding’ atmosphere”, she says, “but also made for more excitement on the day.”

The bride adds, “You don’t need forever to plan the wedding of your dreams. Ours was organised in only six weeks and we had absolutely everything we could have dreamt for.”

Photos courtesy of Tamika Lee Photography.