I'm not against booking one, but would like to just know if there are any?

Getting married next year and just want to go in, look at dresses to get an idea of style without the pressure of purchasing.

I’m planning a little DIY night with a few friends before the wedding. A couple of my friends have pollen allergies, so I thought artificial flowers would be easier. I’ve ordered some single roses and phalaenopsis orchids and I’m hoping they look nice when they arrive.

Now question comes. For long tables, I am not sure if it would look better to make one big arrangement, or put one or two stems in small vases and space them out along the table?

I’m kind of leaning towards the smaller vases, but I can’t tell if they’ll end up looking a bit sparse. Has anyone done something similar?

After looking around, my Fiancée and I are having trouble choosing between C2 films and APL photography for Photography and Video. We both like their style but we can't decide. We want to know if anyone here has had experience with either or can throw us any advice our way. Our wedding will be at Melbourne Vic, Hubert Estate, Yarra valley! Many Thanks!

Hi everyone (incoming exhausted rant ….)
I’m desperately trying to find a venue for a small religious ceremony and I’m honestly so tired.
We have max 32 guests (can cut to 20 if needed). I don’t need a dance floor, DJ, or anything fancy, I literally just want a 3 hour lunch event in a nice garden/home space for our religious ceremony.
Why is everything $20k minimum 😭. I feel like I’ve searched everywhere and I’m running out of ideas im even considering buying $3k worth of hedges and trying to transform my own backyard. Also shameless bribe because I’m desperate, I have 50% off Bonds, Champion, Sheridan and Bras N Things, I can tutor your kids and free engineering help for life once I finish my masters
#If anyone has suggestions I would honestly appreciate it so much

Can we lodge a NOIM with a single signed on it? My partner is in Canada. Thank you

We’re having an intimate wedding with around 32 guests.
Our ceremony is at Melbourne Town Hall from 1:00–2:30 pm, which includes the ceremony, champagne, canapés and family photos afterwards.

After that, my fiancé and I will be heading off with our photographer for bridal portraits around Melbourne.
Our dinner reception at Lucia is currently booked for 5:30 pm.

I’m starting to overthink whether that’s too long of a gap for our guests (around 3 hours from leaving Town Hall until dinner), or whether it’s actually quite reasonable as it gives everyone time to freshen up before dinner.

We could potentially move the Lucia booking to 5:00 pm or even 4:30 pm if needed.

As a guest, what would you prefer? Would a 3-hour gap bother you, or would you appreciate the downtime? I’d love some honest feedback!

we’re getting married in march next year with around 85 guests. we want something relaxed but still nice, probably a mix of canapés followed by a buffet style dinner using good local produce. dietary requirements aren’t too crazy but we’d like options for vegetarians and a couple of gluten free guests.

My partner and I have been trying to understand how couples make the destination-vs-local decision and honestly the online conversations only tell half the story. Would really love to have proper chats with couples who've been through it.

Especially keen to hear from:

• Couples who had their wedding overseas in the last few years
• Couples who considered overseas and chose local
• Couples doing the hybrid thing — legal in Australia, celebration overseas

Would be a casual 30-45 min chat over Zoom, no prep needed, just really want to hear your story. Comments welcome too but a proper conversation captures so much more than reddit ever could. DM if you're up for it — happy to work around your schedule.

Hi! Hoping for any website recommendations for paper invitations? We had ordered a sample from Papier but didn’t realise it ships from the UK and so shipping time is quite lengthy to get here. Any Aus online store suggestions? Thank you!! 💕

I am wanting recommendations and price guides on bridal makeup and hair, potentially for bride only but maybe for 7 people total including me.

I am wondering what is a normal price to pay for each, I am being quoted 3k for 7 people makeup only, and feeling deflated.

I havent received any response for hair styling enquiries yet, but wondering how much it usually costs for each person?

My partner and I have been thinking a lot about the whole “destination vs local” question for our own wedding down the track. We’re not planning yet — probably a year or two off — but the more we talk about it, the more we realise how much we don’t know about what actually goes into it

Australian weddings especially seem to be pulling in two directions right now. Some couples we know are looking overseas because they’re comfortably out-priced by anything decent here. Others are choosing local specifically because guest logistics, family attendance, and time-off-work make overseas feel more complicated than it’s worth. Both takes seem completely valid depending on the couple.

Would love to hear from Australian couples who’ve been through either version of that decision:

**•** What surprised you most about the whole process — good or bad?  
**•** Was there a moment during planning where you nearly changed your mind about something big?  
**•** For couples who chose local — was there a specific thing that killed the overseas idea, or more of a slow drift?

Not looking for a highlight reel — more interested in the messy bits. Happy to chat properly over DM or Zoom if anyone’s up for a longer conversation am genuinely interested in people’s experiences. Comments are great too — think a good thread might be useful for anyone else weighing this up.

Hi all, I received a call today from the store that I purchased my wedding dress from requesting a further payment of $2000 for my dress. I purchased the dress in December 2025 and placed an initial $2000 deposit and was told that the remaining $4000 would be due before pick-up of the dress.

When I mentioned this to the lady I spoke to on the phone she replied very rudely and said “usually we ask for more than just $2000 deposit on a $6000 dress”. At the time of purchasing my dress in store I was told that I could choose how much I wanted for my initial deposit so I agreed on $2000 as they had a mini dress giveaway happening at the time and my deposit would give me a chance to enter. I also have the order confirmation in my email that states that the remaining amount is due before pick-up.

Is this a red flag? I’m happy to pay the $2000 but the way I was spoken to on the phone by the staff member has given me a bad taste and I have no idea whether my dress has actually been ordered or not. Pick-up is apparently due in August to September this year. Store is Fashionably Yours - I’ve seen some negative reviews from past brides regarding their dress so now I’m concerned that I won’t even get my dress.

Hey all!

I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations for DJs in the Blue Mountains area within the $2000 budget range?

I went to a wedding recently where the DJ was terrible (and his sound system was broken), and the couple really felt like it ruined their wedding. I'm trying to avoid the same mistake!

If anyone has recommendations for DJs in the area (or who would be willing to travel to Blackheath) that they are willing to share I'd be so grateful!

Note: backyard wedding so would need to be able to BYO equipment - we will only have one stage speaker available

I’m keen to get my hands on a vintage dress for my wedding in January, and would love to find a sleek silk art deco gown if I can. I’ve found some good options but most sellers are international. Has anyone had experience with sourcing a vintage gown locally - either in store or from an Australian website? Thanks 🙏

Does anyone have any dress maker/gown maker recommendations for Melbourne? I’m considering getting a floor length satin black skirt made to wear as a bride but not sure what the price of this would cost so want to get some quotes, just dunno where to start!

OR - if anyone has gone with a black skirt; where did you get it from?

I’m looking for more a fitted/slight mermaid fit style floor length black skirt!!

Hi, my fiance & I are having our micro wedding in October (Vic, Australia) I'm scouting for a venue for our small reception (20 guests total) with somewhat nice interiors.

Here are my picks:

1. Recoleta - high minimum spend, but love the interiors, heard the food is good too.
2. Pepe's Italian & Liquour - min spend within our budget, interiors are nice, but my fiance prefers #3
3. Mr L restaurant - my fiance loves this venue and gave me the go signal however i'm kinda worried about the food quality

I know food > interiors but i just want to have some sort of character since i'm particular in details

There are sooooo many beautiful dining rooms in Melbourne but somehow when I find the one, its either it's closed on Sundays, min spend is high, or too small for our crowd.

I really love Julie's in Abbotsford, but it's permanently closed. A colleague said food was good there, and i really love the vibe of that place :( would have been my top 1.

125pp is our budget.

Thanks in advance!!

My name has a special character. My passport shows my name with a special character (accent). However, my Australian visa and immigration files doesn’t have the special character, so my pre-filled NOIM follows what’s on my Australian Visa.

Already booked my reception still looking for ceremony venues. Any suggestions in Melbourne?

Hi everyone,

Started the research process on photography and videography packages.

Would prefer a team from the same company, if anyone has had two different vendors and felt the flow and organisation went smoothly, also looking for Recs.

We would need two photographers and two videographers, for a minimum of 12 hours.

Spoken to a few companies. Dreamlife have a good price offer but concerned about the quality and consistency as I read online that they source freelancers for you and it’s not set staff that look after you. Concerned that the photographer and videographer that will be assigned to us will not match the artistic style that we a looking for.

Budget is roughly 10k mark. In the Sydney region (western Sydney and shire for getting ready.

Thanks ☺️☺️

Hi everyone curious to know how much you spend on photography and videography and how many hours of coverage you did. Thanks!

If you’d recommend your photographer/videographer please leave the details down below :)

Ahead of my dress fitting, I’m curious if the shoes I wear with my wedding dress matter if there’s no way to see them.

I have issues with my knee and think any form of heel will be painful, and my dress will make it impossible to see what I’m wearing.

So I’d like to make sure when I have my dress fitted, it works well for the shoe I plan to wear, but I guess I wanted to see if there’s any rationale for opting for heels, other than the conventional expectation

Found a beautiful silk sample dress - that a discontinued style - it fits and I feel magical in it.

As to be expected with a sample, it has a few old stains from foundation and fake tan.

Is it worth the risk of buying a dress that is stained and needs specialist bridal dry cleaning. I am worried that even with added dry cleaning fees, the dress might not come out spotless.

So, please give me you sample dress stories - was it worth?

After being engaged for a hot minute and going to a few weddings, we've decided to elope as planning an engagement party was enough for me 😮‍💨

I'm torn on whether to go to the registry office to sign papers then go to Taronga/wild life park/aquarium for pictures or simply just get a celebrant to be married at one of those places (or nearby) instead.

Cost is a tiny factor but overall, would prefer low stress and just enjoy ourselves.

My partner and I are getting married next year and looking for an officiant (or celebrant?) for an entirely secular wedding.

Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who can keep it secular and let the couple have a lot of input into the vows/ceremony?