
Late last year I was honoured to be the one to get these two hitched after a romance than spanned, not only the years, but also the continents.
Shihai was born in China and then lived in Japan. Steph was born in Australia, to parents of Austrian and Dutch backgrounds – what a rich cultural heritage their children will have!!!
They met when Steph travelled to Japan to teach English and improve her own Japanese which she had studied successfully at both school and university.
They chose this venue not only for the stunning gardens – which provided endless photo opportunities for the talented guys from Honeycomb Productions (who I must thank for these great wedding photography images!) – and the beautiful chapel, but also because it provided extensive accommodation for their many overseas and interstate guests (at an affordable price).
After a beautiful heartfelt ceremony where Shihai promised “to never give up, no matter what challenges we may face”, and Steph promised “to walk beside you and love you unconditionally for as long as we both shall live”, they danced the night away to the amazing talents of Matt Jeffries Entertainment.
Part of the celebrations included a traditional Kagami Biraki – the opening of the wine barrel. It was great fun for all – although I’m a bit worried about how much Virginia (MOB) got into it!! Check out the photo – no prizes for guessing which one is Virginia!!!
All in all a really fabulous cross-cultural wedding!