Weddings

Sun Herald

Sunday August 19, 2007

By Andrew Taylor

Who: Amy Fleischer and Jonathan Barouch

Where: Sydney Town Hall

AMY did not like Jonathan when they were introduced in their final year of high school. Jonathan says the feeling was mutual.

However, university soon brought them together.

They chose many of the same subjects with Jonathan, 25, checking Amy's maths equations and Amy, 24, editing all of Jonathan's essays.

"As we are both extremely competitive we went through university competing with each other for the highest marks," Jonathan says.

Happily, the couple also found they had similar tastes in food, films and holidays and had moved in together by their last year of university in 2004.

Last August Jonathan telephoned Amy early one Saturday morning to tell her he had booked a weekend away on the Gold Coast, where he proposed to her.

The couple invited 300 guests to their formal black-tie wedding at the Queen Victoria Building and Sydney Town Hall.

"We chose to have a winter wedding as we both love cold weather and were excited to have a wedding where the focus was on all of our family and friends having a great time in a magnificent room," Jonathan says.

Unlike most grooms, Jonathan took an active part in planning the wedding, using his contacts as head honcho of fastflowers.com.au to turn the reception into a rival to the Chelsea Flower Show. Sixteen florists flew in from their stores around the country to work for three days to decorate the Town Hall with thousands of roses, tulips, lilies and black privet berries.

Jonathan admits it was lucky none of their guests suffered from hayfever, although a few jokes were made about the number of flowers during the speeches.

The QVB Tearoom was dimly lit with a large wedding canopy completely covered in white roses, tulips and lilies at one end of the room.

Jonathan says a string quartet played Canon In D while Amy walked down the aisle with her parents.

Amy and Jonathan honeymooned in Italy and the Greek Islands for three weeks.

The wedding party: Katherine Fleischer, Natalie Cromer, Natalie Chan and Deborah Kutcher served as Amy's bridesmaids.

The dress: Amy wore an ivory charmeuse satin gown, by Steven Khalil, Paddington.

The food: The guests were served canapes in the vestibule of the Sydney Town Hall while the bridal party had photos taken. There was a hot soup bar and a dumpling bar. Waiters came around with Peking duck crepes and

seared tuna in wonton spoons. Guests then sat down for dinner in the Centennial Hall. Mains included a roast vegetable platter, herb-crusted rack of lamb, orange zest roast chicken breast and pear and walnut salad. Dessert buffets were set up on either side of the room, and included a hot crepe stand.

The flowers: Amy carried a bouquet of white roses and tulips with pearls individually sewn through the heads of hundreds of hyacinths. The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white tulips.

Q&A

What was the highlight?

Jonathan: "I organised for snow to fall from the ceiling of the Town Hall during the bridal waltz to surprise Amy. Seeing her face as it started to fall on us in the middle of the dance floor was definitely my favourite moment."

Amy: "Running with Jonathan down the front steps of the Town Hall and along George Street to the Hilton with no shoes on as family and friends cheered us goodbye."

What do you love most about your partner?

Jonathan: "Amy always thinks of me first and is very affectionate."

Amy: "Jonathan is a good-hearted person who always does the right thing. He makes me laugh and does my paperwork."

BEST WEDDINGS

Who: Vanessa James and Daniel Culhane.

Where: The Argyle, The Rocks.

Vanessa and Daniel discovered each other on an internet dating site. Vanessa says they were both astonished to realise they had met 15 years previously at a bottle shop. Daniel used to sell Vanessa wine when the restaurant she worked in ran out. Daniel proposed to Vanessa eight months after they first met. The couple were wed at St Mary and St Joseph Catholic Church in South Coogee. They honeymooned in Thailand.

Pictures: Rochelle Leahy.

Who: Renee Horgan and Carl Sibilia.

Where: Renee's parents' house at Burraneer Bay.

Renee was furiously scribbling notes in a university marketing class when she met Carl in 1997. However, it took a blind date over coffee, set up by a friend five years later, for the couple to get together. Carl proposed to Renee at a restaurant next to a waterfall in Chiang Mai, Thailand. They were married in front of 104 guests and spent a three-week honeymoon in France and Italy.

Pictures: Symbolique Photography.

Who: Gabrielle Tyrrell and Jamie Killorn.

Where: Bonnie Doon Golf Club, Daceyville.

Gabrielle and Jamie attended the same primary school in Clovelly, but did not date each other until both had reached voting age. Jamie proposed to Gabrielle on the same day the couple signed the contract on their Maroubra Beach apartment. Their wedding was held at StAnthony's Church in Clovelly. At the reception each member of the bridal party was introduced with their own theme song, which had the guests up and dancing.

Pictures: Digiera Productions.

© 2007 Sun Herald

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