Jenna and Ben: Sydney Australia Temple Wedding

Our second wedding of the week has beautiful images submitted by Tim Coulson. We're very excited about this post because the wedding was all the way in Australia! Jenna and Ben were sealed in the Sydney, Australia temple and has an absolutely beautiful rustic reception afterward.

This is such a uniquely beautiful picture of the angel Moroni resting against the very cloudy sky. Luckily, it looks like it was the perfect day for a wedding despite the clouds.

Couples always look SO happy hand-in-hand coming out of the temple. This couple is no exception! Jenna's dress was strapless and she just added a jacket to make it modest. It turned out great and the collar really compliments her!

What a fantastic setting for such a romantic day!

This spot has special meaning for the couple--a great way to choose the location for you pictures. They chose the location where the groom proposed. And we've got to give him props to proposing in such a romantic setting!

These two are just so cute! You can really see just how excited they are to be getting married. And here's a close-up of the bride's lovely collar. Everything about this wedding is uniquely beautiful and this is no exception.

Jenna did so many things herself for her wedding and they all turned out beautifully! Her mother helped with her hair and she did her own make-up and she looks absolutely stunning.

Jenna asked her beautiful bridesmaids to purchase their own dresses. All she asked was that they be purple and something the girls would want to wear again. This is one of the best ways to save money on bridesmaids dresses and at the same time, make sure the ladies will love their dresses!

What a beautiful, unique bouquet! Not only is it creative and quite lovely, but she borrowed it from a friend and it is made out of donated broaches, so she saved some money as well.

Check out the groom's skinny tie. Just another unique element of this not-so-average wedding. They were also able to purchase the suits for $200 each and they look great! Who needs tuxes?

What a stunning bridal party.

Jenna did her own make-up and hair and she looks absolutely gorgeous! Not only was it free, but she also got exactly what she wanted for her big day.

Simple decorations like this homemade sign and balloons go a long way, especially with such a scenic location for a background.

Again, with such a beautiful natural background, some benches and chairs are plenty to make this a beautiful wedding.

This couple is phenomenal at taking advantage of the setting. Good thing they picked such a scenic location.

Oh yum! That has got to be one of the most delicious looking cakes I've ever seen.

All these details inside the reception venue really bring it to life and make the reception so stylish and unique.

The beautiful and simple decorations and cake make for such an elegant look.

There's nothing quite like candle light to set the mood. And these candle holders are such a beautiful touch.

. . . and they're off!

A few words from the bride...

"The wedding was about us and what we wanted. We tried not to care about what other people would think, as it was not the typical traditional wedding. I grew up as a country beach girl and Ben a suburban boy. Ben and I are very close with our families so this is what we wanted our day to reflect.


We had our guest raving about our wedding to everyone they knew even weeks after the event. One quote from a guest: “It felt like being in heaven with the birds and the sounds of the river and it was like we were all as one.” Our wedding was simple but beautiful, make your wedding reflect the couple you are.

You do not need to spend a fortune to make your wedding your dream day. Our wedding cost us about $2000 and that’s including EVERYTHING. I borrowed the bouquet and we got friends to cater. Remember the day is about you. Also we were very strict with our guest list and only had family and extremely close friends. To enable the other people you care about be apart of it all, invite who ever you want to your engagement parties. We had two, one for Ben’s side and one for mine.

Also when deciding where to take your photos, choose places that have meaning to you. We had it at the beach where Ben proposed and on the piece of land I grew up on.


Your photographer is the key to helping capture those precious moments that you don’t see as you’re flying through the day and Tim Coulson did just that. It shouldn’t be a photo shoot where you are put in ridiculous poses that don’t reflect you. Tim captured real moments and made them look beautiful.

It is also important for your photographer to capture photos of the people who are most dear to you, and with out telling Tim he captured beautiful moments of grandparents and nieces that are very dear to us.

We are an interracial couple, so we both have different cultures. However our advice is don’t let cultural traditions interfere with plans. If you don’t want it to be cultural and traditional then make it known at the beginning of the planning and stick to it. Many will disagree but remember at the end of the day it's your wedding.

Our most memorable moment of our day was being sealed together in the Sydney Australia Temple (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) where we were sealed for time and all eternity not just “till death do us part”."

-The Vendor line up-
*Temple: Sydney, Australia
*Venue: Gerringong Boat Harbour, Berry, NSW, Drift Wood Shed Terara, NSW
*Florist: DIY (broaches arranged into a bouquet and fake purple flowers)
*Bakery: DIY (chocolate mud cake)
*Photography: Tim Coulson
*Videography: Friends
*Beauty: DIY
*Catering: Charles and Mele Tupou Catering