Sri Lankan and Chinese Culture Come Together with a Bit of Harry Potter Magic in Sydney, Australia: Hasara + Daniel
/We chose to have two wedding days that captured who we are and our mixed background; Daniel is Chinese and I am from Sri Lanka.
The first day, we hosted a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at Daniel's parents' home, complete with a potluck lunch. It was so lovely to see all of Daniel's family in one place, which is very rare as they live all around the world. Our two cats were with us at this part!
I wore a custom red gown designed by Tavi Couture, and Daniel wore a tie that belonged to my late father.
The second day was our Sri Lankan ceremony, as well as our civil ceremony. Ethni.Q Wedding created a custom sari for me that resembled a western style wedding gown. My bracelet had my dad's signature, and a T for my cat Tabby (who is also no longer with us). I also wore a ring that was the first present Daniel bought me.
Two close family friends took over my father's roles for our Sri Lankan ceremony: helping me on and off our poruwa, and the traditional tying of the knot, where my and Daniel's fingers were tied together using a holy string. These family friends were close friends of my dad, and having them play such a role in our ceremony highlighted how much Daniel and I appreciate them and their support.
Our florist, Visually Creative, did a great job with our direction of elegant, simple, and with a touch of Harry Potter. The candles with the white flowers looked spectacular against the wooden and gold ceiling and floor, and everyone loved the white goblets.
Our tables were named after places in the Harry Potter universe, and everyone's place cards had a quote from Harry Potter on the back. I didn't expect it, but so many people enjoyed this and still bring up their assigned quote today!
Daniel and I aren't the best at dancing, but we were determined to do a first dance with a few lifts. It was not the best dance ever, but we were really proud to have executed the lifts without having either of us falling on the floor, and we had heaps of fun doing it. It was particularly rewarding after practising every day for nearly three months! Our dance rehearsals were probably the most fun (and difficult) part of organising our wedding, and finally achieving those lifts made it worth it.
I was really touched by the anecdotes our MCs (friends from university) gave, and the speeches from our bridal party.
We donated our flowers to a local hospital the day after our wedding. Daniel's parents and sister spent a significant amount of time sorting through the leftover flowers and creating bouquets, and we visited the geriatric ward the next day to hand them out. One patient was excited, because it meant that he could give his wife some flowers for her birthday that day. This was a really special way to begin our married life.
Words by Hasara, the bride, as told to Amber Marlow
Photos by White Lane Studio
VENDORS
Wedding Photography and Videography | White Lane Studio
Venue | Zest
Florist | Visually Creative
Cake | Cakes2cupcakes
Hair and makeup (tea ceremony and wedding day make-up) | Niki Simpson Hair and Makeup
Wedding day hair | Eternal Elegance
Shoes | Shoes of Prey
Hasara's dress | Tavi Couture
Engagement ring | Tiffany & Co.
Wedding rings | Larson Jewelers
Sari | Ethni.Q Wedding
WHITE LANE STUDIO
I could say that photography is my only passion, but you see, I would be lying. In fact, my passion is people, and weddings, to me, embody this passion. Weddings, I believe, bring people together: they gather families, friends, and the general community to come together and celebrate the marriage of two people. Though I believe I fell the most in love with is revealing to people just how beautiful they are. It gives me great joy to capture someone’s personality and beauty.
