How did you meet?
We met at a new years eve party 2016 which happened to be Christina's 25th birthday. 

Who popped the question & how?
Josh popped the question at the Sydney Observatory's New Year's Eve cocktail party, 2018. it rained on and off all night, and we spent a lot of the night hiding in doorways and cramped under a single person umbrella to keep out of the rain. At one point, Josh said he was going to get drinks but came back empty-handed, much to Chris' annoyance. During this time Josh had organised for a private pre-midnight tour of the observatory. Just before midnight, Josh invited Chris into the observatory and led her to the big tower, where amongst candles, romantic music Josh proposed. After the proposal we got to watch the 2018 NYE bridge fireworks from a private balcony with our own bottle of champagne. 

What type of wedding did you plan? What was your theme? 
We kind of planned it as we went. We opted for a beachfront ceremony initially but ended up moving inside due to the weather. 
We tried to keep our reception classical. Rose, champagne, white and forest green were the colours. 
The team at City Beach were awesome and really helped capture our vision with the addition of peacock chairs and chandeliers.
We wanted our wedding to be fun so we had a photobooth. 

What quirky features made your wedding unique?
We didn't do anything incredibly out there, but we had features that were sentimental and special to us. The bride and bridesmaids had flowers made by Chris' mum and nan. The groomsmen had fun socks that represented their unique personalities.  We handpicked photo booth props based on our guests. Our cake was a combination of our favourite flavours - strawberry swirl and caramel swirl. 

Where did you hold your ceremony?
Inside the City Beach Function Centre due to the weather. It was just beautiful. The City Beach team kept an element of surprise for our reception later that evening too which was great. 

Why did you choose City Beach? 
We had looked at many reception venues and actually ended up driving past City Beach by chance. We had been to North Wollongong many times, but never South Wollongong. 
We parked close to the lighthouse and went for a coffee one Saturday afternoon after a busy day of looking at venues. We walked past City Beach and saw the Wedding Open Day banner hanging up and thought with 5 minutes til 4pm (when it was closing) why not. 
We instantly fell in love with the beautiful aesthetic and views of the beach. After meeting Caroline (the owner) and having a chat about all the wonderful things City Beach could do we were sold and booked the next day. 

What was it like dealing with Wedding Coordinators, Melissa & Michele?
Melissa and Michele were awesome. They really easily took our vision and turned it into something special. The advice they provided really helped tie our reception together and made everything run smoothly. Therese ran our reception on the night and was also amazing. 

What’s your No 1 go-to song that HAD to be included in your playlist? 
Michael Buble! We have danced to his songs for years in our kitchen. Our first dance was to 'Everything' and there is a dance routine on YouTube we copied which included a lift - we were stoked to pull it off without falling over. 

What was your most memorable moment from the day?
Josh - Seeing Chris walk down the aisle at the ceremony. 
Chris - Hearing Josh's vows at the ceremony and walking out as Mr and Mrs.

What parts made you cry?
Josh - Seeing Chris for the first time walking down the aisle. 
Chris - Hearing Josh's wedding vows and speech at the reception. 

Any advice for couples about to tie the knot?
Before we got married we had lots of people tell us the day was a stressful and fast-paced day. To make the day easier for ourselves we pre-prepared a list of photo combinations with our photographer and planned to have all table reception photos done between entree and main courses. This meant after dinner we had the night to enjoy our time with each other and our guests. Also, don't be afraid to do your ceremony inside if it is too hot or windy. Our guests thanked us for it and it looked amazing. 

DREAM TEAM 
Celebrant: Ruth Matos
Photography: Bedford Photography
Make up: Maria T make-up
Hair: Hair Elegance by Kim 
Bridal gown: Briony Leigh
Cake; Delaney's cakes 
Florals: Fresh by Fleurescent and bouquets by bride's mum and nan (also the pieces clipped to groom and groomsmen)