Fairies, you might remember Louise and Yianni’s Wedding Ceremony in December 2021. Well, it was finally time for the beautiful Couple to celebrate their Reception with their nearest and dearest. 

We spoke to the Bride Louise about the inspiration behind her Wedding reception and Wedding dresses, why the Couple had two Weddings and advice for future Brides. 

Scroll through and be inspired, Fairies! 

1. Why did you have two Weddings?

We decided on having two weddings given the uncertainty with COVID and the sporadic lockdowns, having postponed so many times, we didn’t want to put our love on hold any longer. Part One of our wedding, which you featured late last year, was a celebration of our marriage, and our union as husband and wife in the Catholic Church with our immediate family only. Part Two – or as we call it, “Our CELEBRATION!” was our long awaited party with all our nearest and dearest. We had a ceremony in the Greek Orthodox Church to respect and recognise my Husband’s culture, and we followed on with a reception celebration at Crown Palladium.

2. Can you share with us the inspiration behind your Wedding Dress and Reception styling? Both we’re so unique, we can’t get enough!

Early on in my Wedding planning stage, I knew that I wasn’t a conventional Bride and I knew that a traditional Wedding Dress wouldn’t suit me. I chose J’aton for this very reason, I knew that they would understand my personal style and vision to be a modern Bride, and they appreciated that I wanted to step outside the box and create a Wedding gown that was not just a dress, but more so a piece of art, which was both modern and sculptural in form.

From my gown to my reception styling, I wanted to approach my big day with a contemporary flare, to break the boundaries and set a new trend for future couples. We worked closely with Amica Event Hire to create a truly unique and modern concept for the reception styling, going deep into every inch of detail to ensure we created “an experience” for all our guests. That was our goal. We wanted our guests to arrive and forget about the outside world. We wanted our wedding to be a night that we wouldn’t forget, and with meticulous planning with Amica and a perfectly refined runsheet, we truly created a journey for our guests from the moment they walked through our entry archways to the very end of the evening.

The journey through our floralised custom entry archways opened up to our main dance floor which featured a bar on one side and our entertainment / Dj on the other. This then led down to a second runway where our cake was featured and a grand staircase which led up to our spectacular, elevated bridal table.

Our inspiration for the reception styling was truly a reflection of both Yianni and I’s personal style and interests. My husband and I both love modern architecture and interior styling, so we wanted our reception to reflect both our personal styles and incorporate modern elements of design (Such as clean lines, geometric shapes, textured cladding and LED strip lights) which are things we love to see in modern homes/architecture. I wanted to ensure that the wedding wasn’t “ultra-feminine” and that the wedding was a celebration of both Yianni and I and who we are and what we love together as a couple, not just what I might like as a bride. Our goal for the reception was to have everyone up and dancing the whole night! We decided to create a custom bar in the center of the dance floor opposite our DJ to create more of a party atmosphere for guests. This definitely helped keep the atmosphere buzzing all night.

With both the reception styling and also my 2 wedding gowns, I still wanted to achieve a “Bridal” look but I wanted to do so in a new and contemporary way.

My second Wedding gown, “my party dress”, was something I changed into later in the evening after all the formalities. This gown celebrated my love for modern 3D, sculptural elements once again, but did so in a more “fun”, and party kind-of-way. The 3D flowers on my second gown mirrored the incredibly unique flower handbag I wore with my main gown (which was created with a 3D printer!) and also our incredible wedding cake. This dress allowed me to let loose and truly enjoy all the dancing throughout the later hours of the night and was a way to end the night in a more relaxed way!

3. Any advice you would give to future Brides planning their Wedding in managing Covid?

I truly hope my Wedding journey has inspired other Brides to take a more unique approach when planning their day and know that it is OK when things don’t go “as planned”. Never in a million years did I think we would have two Wedding Days, but it was the best decision of our lives and gave us the opportunity to celebrate both cultures and experience both sides of an intimate wedding of 11 guests VS a big Wedding with 240 guests.

Part One allowed us to truly embrace every sentimental moment of what it means to have the blessing of a marriage and witness this with our immediate family and enjoy an intimate dinner to celebrate.

Part Two allowed us to officiate our marriage in the Orthodox Church so that both cultures recognise our marriage, and have massive celebration with all our family and friends there to witness and enjoy with us.

In these times, there is never a right or wrong way to do things and we now have the most UNIQUE and memorable wedding experience that many people can’t say they have experienced. I would recommend that Brides let go of the norm and just roll with things how they pan out! Most importantly, aside from all the glitz and glam of a wedding, my advice is to always focus on what matters most, which is marrying the person you love and want to spend the rest of your life with, even if that means doing so in a nonconventional way. Ensure your Wedding is a celebration of both you and your partner, and make sure you approach all planning with an open mind.

Photography Siempre Weddings

Wedding Gowns x 2 – J’Aton Couture
Bride Shoes – Rene Caovilla
Bride 3D Flower Bag – Sheridan Tjhung
Grooms Suit – Oscar Hunt Tailors
Grooms Shoes/Bow Tie – Louis Vuitton)
Bridesmaids + MOB Gowns – Custom Eliya The Label
Bridal Robe : Amanda Barden Bridal
Brides House Catering: Olive and Thyme
Brides Desserts: Dessert Haus Melbourne

Reception Stylist- Amica Event Hire
Florist- Poppy Culture HQ
Stationary and signage – The Design Planner
DJ- Dj Perri Lee
Lebanese Entertainment – Dj Audi Younes
Greek Entertainment – Pantelis Krestas + Band
MC – Dean Sindoni
Pyrotechnics – Sparked Events
Cake- Nobody Hates Cake
YL Fragrance (Guest Favours) – Metascent
Venue – Crown Palladium

Ceremony Hair – Hair By Neveen
Reception Hair – Amanda Ishak Hair
Makeup – Dom Mitro MUA
Spray Tan –  Perfect Tan by Carol

Photography –  Siempre Weddings
Videography – C2 Films