Mirror, mirror: Portia & Matt's modern day fairy tale wedding

Canberra bride, 25-year-old Portia, didn’t know what kind of wedding she would have until she went wedding dress shopping.

What she learned after scouring most of the bridal boutiques in Canberra, and even a few in Sydney, was that the sleek, slimline, gown she had always dreamed of wearing was not the one that suited her best. In fact, it was the big, princess ball gown with layered ruffles and long train that took her breath away, and which sparked the idea for a modern day fairy tale wedding.

Portia, whose Prince Charming of 10 years is 27-year-old Matt (they met when she was just 15), says the couple wanted a wedding that was a little bit different. Whilst researching wedding photographers and photography styles, they fell in love with the look of magazine-style staged location photos and enlisted the help of aptly-named photographers, Creative Image, to bring their idea to life.

The result is these stunning wedding photos, drawing on fairy tales such as Snow White and Cinderella, with some vibrant and fun shots taken on the century-old carousel at Canberra’s Petrie Plaza.

The wedding ceremony was held at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Forrest, ACT. The full Catholic service included songs from the Filipino Church Choir, paying homage to Portia’s heritage (she is half Filipino, half Ukrainian and Matt is half Korean, half Dutch). The ceremony also included the traditional Filipino candle, veil and cord rituals, conducted by the pair’s chosen sponsors, or witnesses.

The candle sponsors light individual and unity candles to guide the couple in their new life. The veil sponsors pin a veil around the couple symbolising their unity and being ‘clothed as one’. The cord sponsors tie a rope around the couple to symbolise their bond; that they are no longer two but one.

Reenacting a scene from Cinderella, Matt presents the lost shoe to Portia, which no doubt was a perfect fit.

Portia’s three bridesmaids wore oyster coloured full length evening gowns from fashion boutique, Sheike.

The boys wore sleek black Italian suits from Canberra menswear store, John Hanna. Matt’s white bow tie was princely against his groomsmen’s slim black ties.

Portia’s princess wedding gown was a Halo design from Canberra boutique, Annabel’s Bridal. It featured a ruched silk Dupion bodice with an extravagant organza ruffled ball gown skirt.