Angela, a Melbourne-based professional in Marketing/PR with an Eastern European background, shares her wedding journey and highlights. Initially considering a destination wedding, Angela and her husband opted for a local celebration in Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens. Their focus was on creating a day that authentically reflected them, emphasizing the venue, food, entertainment, and photography. The couple cherished incorporating traditional and personal elements, from a church ceremony to cultural music and unique touches like a video guestbook and charitable donations. Angela expresses gratitude for the unexpected perfection of the weather and the adherence of the schedule. Looking back, she feels extremely happy and grateful, considering the wedding the highlight of their lives. Angela offers advice to new brides, emphasizing investment in crucial elements, personal touches, private moments, and the importance of relaxation. She also shares her special "Homebodii moment" wearing the Madonna Lace Robe, praising its feminine, comfortable, and photogenic qualities.

Our approach to planning the wedding was…

It was so important to my husband and I that every element of our day was a genuine reflection of ‘us’. We’re both such social people who love hosting, so we wanted to ensure our wedding was magical, fun, vibrant and memorable for everyone. Our most important elements included securing a venue that represented ‘us’ best and created an ethereal vibe, food & bev, entertainment and videography/photography. Due to the nature of the industry I am in, I am organised person which made the wedding planning a lot easier!

Looking back on the day we are so glad that we…

We are so glad that we kept to our large guest list and had all our family and friends there to celebrate with us – we truly felt all the love in the room at every moment. With our European backgrounds, we are so glad that we incorporated traditional elements to the wedding - a beautiful church ceremony at St Patrick’s Cathedral, and some cultural music which had every guest on the dance floor! In addition, we added many personal touches -  a family member as our MC, a great friend singing our reception entrance song and first dance, a video guestbook, and in lieu of gifts, donating to a charity close to our hearts. 

The most unexpected part of the day was...

The weather! Being a semi-outdoor (marquee) wedding, it was something we were slightly worried about. The few days prior our wedding experienced either super warm weather or torrential rain! Luckily, our day was genuinely perfect the entire time.  Another unexpected part was my running sheet going to schedule! Against all odds, with many people telling me it wouldn’t, it surprisingly did (of course with the help of a fantastic MC and venue keeping it in check!). 

When I look back on the day now I feel….

Extremely grateful and happy. It was definitely the highlight of our lives and now a cherished memory. All the effort and time that went in to planning the day, was all so worth it and I am so happy that what I envisioned came to fruition.

A word of advice to new brides would be…

A few things!

Invest your money into the elements that truly matter.

Try and add some personal touches, which every guest will appreciate. 

Ensure you and your partner have a moment to yourselves. 

Lastly, relax… as hard and cliché as it may be, in the end, your day will be perfect!

My Homebodii moment was special because and I wore…

It’s usually challenging for me to find a robe that I absolutely love, however, I ordered the Madonna Lace Robe and immediately felt amazing wearing it. I knew it was ‘the one’ for the morning of my wedding and couldn’t wait to put it on again! The lace is so feminine, sexy, yet easy and comfortable to wear. It photographed so beautifully and was perfect in every way!