Iconic Madama Butterfly set used for wedding location
<p>A bride has made a unique entrance on her big day, with her and her entourage arriving to the ceremony by crane. </p>
<p>Tahu Matheson and Ruth Thomas, both senior figures at Opera Australia, opted for an extraordinary venue for their nuptials, as they said "I do" on the elaborate set of <em>Madama Butterfly</em>: a production set in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens.</p>
<p>For an added flair to their already extravagant nuptials, which boasted an uninterrupted view of the Sydney Opera House and glistening harbour waters, Ruth and her bridesmaids arrived via a crane, usually used to help build the set for the production. </p>
<p>The pair tied the knot in front of 80 of their family and friends on the floating stage, with Tahu being shocked by his bride's dramatic entrance. </p>
<p>"I'd arranged some soft, elegant slow music, Wagner's <em>Siegfried Idyll</em> for her to walk down the aisle to...and suddenly the dramatic <em>March of the Valkyries</em> from the ring cycle starts playing and I see her hovering above us in a crane, I was shocked," Mr Matheson told the <em><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/opera/one-fine-day-indeed-madama-butterfly-stage-provides-set-for-real-life-wedding-20230411-p5czh4.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Sydney Morning Herald</a></em>. </p>
<p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2023/04/butterfly-wedding-crane.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p>
<p><em>Ruth and her bridesmaids arrived via the crane usually used to build the stage. Image credit: 9News</em></p>
<p>"It was pretty windy up there we all got a bit giggly and nervous," he added.</p>
<p>The crane's cage, which was decorated with flowers and fabric, hoisted the bride and her three bridesmaids up above the wedding party, then lowered them at the feet on the gobsmacked groom.</p>
<p>Siobhan Keely, a bridesmaid, joked about overcoming her fear of heights before the stunt. </p>
<p>"For someone who does suffer from vertigo, it's an absolute testament of my love for this women that I've agreed to join her in this spectacular entrance," she told <em>9News</em>.</p>
<p>In the production of <em>Madama Butterfly</em>, the two main characters marry in the first act with a nightly fireworks display over the harbour sealing their vows, before their love story ends in tragedy.</p>
<p>"I'm hoping that this story will be rather different," joked Mr Matheson. </p>
<p><em>Image credits: 9News</em></p>