Janet and Andrew stray from tradition for fun Chinese wedding

Planning a wedding is second nature for event planner Janet, who married fitness professional Andrew on November 18, 2017.

The couple, aged 28 and 34 respectively, met through a mutual friend on Facebook and Andrew struck up some small talk over their shared passion of Oztag. “I said we should meet for an Oztag training session and he accepted straight away, but was worried that he may get ‘friend zoned’ if he didn’t organise dinner and drinks for our first date,” laughs Janet.

Three years later they were playing Oztag for the same team, and Andrew proposed in the Blue Mountains with a ring he designed himself. They married at their fun Chinese wedding with a ceremony at reception at Southern Highlands Winery in Sutton Forest.

“Both of us are from a Chinese background so it was a risk for the first wedding on both sides to host the ceremony and reception at a winery – not a traditional Chinese restaurant,” explains Janet. “But all the guests enjoyed our different spin on a wedding.”

The theme of Oztag continued throughout the night, with the pair opting for a cake with an edible football sticking out of it!

Photos courtesy of Attitudes Photography.

An ode to their love of Oztag, groom Andrew told Janet he’d still love her – even if she missed all the tags!

Whilst tradition was largely out the window for this pair – a traditional Chinese tea ceremony was not.

“It was not the traditional format of a wedding but we enjoyed what we valued most – guests interacting with each other, playing games and dancing all night,” smiles the bride.

The bride’s strapless, beaded and diamante-encrusted Luv Bridal and Formal gown shone in the barrel room setting.

Janet, who owns J Event Design, styled the entire wedding herself, including florals and the marquee reception.

“Catering was designed so it was both a cocktail and sit down (with no formal seating plan) with substantial canapés, food stations, buffet spread and an ice cream bar,” explains the bride.

The fun and unique Oztag wedding cake!

Janet says she aimed for their reception marquee to have “a nightclub feel for a lot of dancing to old school tunes.”

Video by Attitudes Photography.