HOW DID YOU AND YOUR PARTNER MEET?

John and I met through my sister and her then boyfriend (now husband!). John is my sister's husband's best friend since childhood and my sister and I are inseparable being only a few years apart. We bonded over many group outings and the rest was history! We were the maid of honour and best man at their wedding (and they were ours). It's a beautiful relationship and now we have made best friends brothers for life.

Give us an overview of your wedding vision and how it came to life.

I always wanted a spring wedding, full of beautiful blooming flowers and colour. To me colour is a celebration of life and happiness and I wanted our wedding to reflect that. We wanted the day to feel classy, luxurious, bright, and fun. The word we used to describe our colour palette was colourful neutrals- nothing too crazy but lots of colour that worked beautifully together. Everything came out better than we could have ever imagined.

Tell us about your experience dress shopping at TMB.

Where do I begin... It was the absolute best and like no other! TMB was my last stop on my bridal shopping journey and at that point I still hadn't found the one. My consultant was amazing and really listened to my vision. I'm a fashion designer and really wanted something crafted beautifully but still had lots of texture, something a little avant-garde and was ultimately me. From my initial appointment with a prosecco toast when I picked the dress + cape, to the pick up experience at Après Oui, I felt so taken care of, listened to, and had the most fun. TMB truly makes shopping for your dress the most incredible experience.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE MOMENT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY?

It's so hard to pick! Everything was amazing, but two moments stand out the most. We planned our ceremony to be very true to us, and celebrate the joining of our families. We got married by the lake which to us was a very symbolic element in our love story. Our ceremony consisted of our favourite songs played by the wonderful Soenen Sisters, readings about friendship, an Irish blessing to honour John's family roots, and a beautiful rendition of "Love is a many splendored thing" sung by John's grandfather as we signed our papers. We walked out to Dreams by the Cranberries, a special song to us and also honours our love for Ireland. It was all so special and personalised to our love story. The other moment was when we got to sneak back to our room at The Pearle Hotel during cocktail hour with our bridal party to have some bites to eat and drinks. It gave us an opportunity to pause and absorb the moment, just sit with each other, laugh and really enjoy the first few moments of being Mr. and Mrs.

What advice would you give to couples planning a wedding?

Do what feels right to you and what honours your love story. There will always be opinions circulating when you plan a wedding about what you should do but at the end of day this is a day to celebrate your love and commitment to one another. Everytime something got stressful or overwhelming in the process I always came back to the thought that this is a day about love and a beautiful future ahead, and it made all the difference.

Vendors

Photography: Cacie Carroll Photography

Dress: Willow by Mikaella & Arabella Coat by Varca

Accessories: Paisley Earrings by Jade O’i & Naela Hair Pins by Joanna Bisley

Wedding Planning: Carlo + Zack Amato

Floral Designer: Rikki Marcone

Shoes: Amina Muaddi

Grooms Custom Suit: Pat Monardo - PM Style

Groomsmen Suits: Indochino

Bridesmaids Dresses: Reformation

Videography: Ill Productions & Matthew Ryan

Venue: The Pearle Hotel

Entertainment: The Soenen Sisters Music & Digital X Entertainment

Seating Chart and Menus: Makeup Artist Stefania

Gelato Cart: Love Gelato

Invitations: The Invitation Place

Decor and Rentals: Simply Beautiful Events Decor

REAL BRIDE: GABRIELLA & JOHN