Kara & Mo

There will be no surprise dear readers when we tell you how much we have a soft spot for polka dots around these parts. You can imagine just how much our little wedding loving hearts skipped a beat when we spied Kara’s vintage Oscar De la Renta’s wedding gown, complete with sparkling black polka dots – well let’s just say if you could turn us into a wedding, I am pretty sure this would be it. With fabulous photography by Girl in the White Dress these two had one motto for their wedding “No Boring Bits!” They explain “our motto was ‘no boring bits’. We thought about all the things we typically don’t like at weddings – like having to wait for ages between the ceremony and reception, annoying MC’s, a million speeches – and made sure we didn’t have them. We didn’t want anything too traditional, and live music was an absolute must (considering Mo is a jazz musician).”

The pair met at a mutual friend’s housewarming Mo popping the question over the bride’s favourite course at dinner! He explains “We had spoken about getting married, and one day, we were kinda like – let’s do this! So we picked out the ring together and kept it a secret from everyone until the ‘proposal’. Conveniently, we already had a trip to Melbourne planned and wanting to keep it somewhat of a surprise from Kara, I told her the ring wouldn’t be ready until the week following our trip. The plan was in motion. I then had a tricky time getting through airport security as the ring was in my pocket the entire time. I didn’t propose until two days into our trip, so every time Kara came too close to my right-hand side, I had to shove her away so she wouldn’t feel the box in my pocket. Kara loves food, especially dessert, so I thought, what better way to pop the question than with profiteroles and cannoli? I slipped the ring into the dessert box, which was met with squeals of delight. To this day, I’m still not sure if she was more excited about the ring or the cannoli! We popped open a bottle of champagne and called our family – lots of gasps, laughs and tears ensued and it was one of the best nights ever.”

The bride found her vintage Oscar De La Renta gown at a little store called Couture Treasures, New York. She explains “Before finding my dress, I’d tried on a handful of gowns in boutiques across Sydney – they were all beautiful but were missing that certain je ne sais quoi. I’d had this ah-mazing Oscar de la Renta polka dot dress on my Pinterest board since before we were engaged. It was kind of an ‘I’m dreaming about this dress, but will never actually own it’ type of thing – and one day, I stumbled across it online at a vintage couture store in New York – I bought it instantly without knowing whether or not it would even fit! About a week later, it arrived, and much to my delight (and relief), it fit. I was in love – I mean, what’s not to love about a sequinned polka dot Oscar de la Renta gown?!”

Kara and Mo met before their ceremony for photographs. “We wanted to reveal ourselves to each other before we had a thousand eyes on us, and then head straight into the party without delay. “The lovely and talented Marie, from Girl in the White Dress, captured the day beautifully and made us feel surprisingly at ease in front of the camera. She was so easy to work with, and the photos certainly didn’t disappoint!”

The beautiful bright floral details were styled by Petal & Fern. Kara tells “A wonderful friend of ours, Kat Crossley, is the excellent florist behind Petal & Fern. She really delivered when I asked for bright and bold florals, and made two incredible floral pillars for the ceremony, covered in peonies, roses, hydrangea, pincushions and other bright blooms.”

Kara remembers “I entered the ceremony walking arm in arm with my fam-bam (mum, dad, and sister). We made a real entrance walking across the pier to ‘My Girl’ by Otis Redding, with all of our guests waving and cheering us on!”

Stephen Lee Celebrancy made it all official with the ceremony, Kara remarking “Our ceremony was very personal with all our friends and family grouped around us in front of a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge. We also wrote our own vows, which really added to the intimate feel we were going for. Stephen was an absolute hit, and our ceremony was such a highlight from the day because he filled it with hilarious and beautiful stories about our time together as a couple – we couldn’t recommend him more highly! ”

Kara and Mo chose View by Sydney as their venue, noting  “View by Sydney was the first and only venue we saw – we loved it instantly. It’s in a beautiful location, with the most gorgeous view, and we loved the idea of doing everything in the one spot – ceremony, reception, and accommodation just across the pier. The raw exposed beams and the steel ceiling, juxtaposed with dainty ceiling lights and the outdoor lanterns made for the perfect industrial/warehouse vibe, and with the unbeatable view of the Harbour Bridge and Luna Park, the venue was a winner and we locked in a date on the spot!”

You can bet every detail was customised to the newlyweds – right down to the donut wall. Mo explaining “Kara’s obsessed with donuts – she loves them and we have them on every occasion, so it only seemed fitting that we had donuts at our wedding too.”

The newlyweds invited everyone onto the dance floor for the first dance, Kara explains “The idea of having the first dance with all eyes on us was slightly terrifying, so we decided to share our first dance with our guests and invited them all up to dance alongside us! It was pretty magical having all of our loved ones around us as we shared this awesome moment. The song we chose was called ‘Dark Eyes’ (a Louis Armstrong inspired version arranged by Mo).”

Being a musician, good music was high on the priority list for Mo, who tells “Being a musician, I needed live music, so put together the band and arranged all the music in a jazz style.”

A big congratulations Kara and Mo! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us! Thank you also to Girl in the White Dress for sharing today’s beautiful (polka dot!) day!