Wedding | Clare & Pulli

3 hours ago
8 min read

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Pulli and I are both originally from Melbourne. I work in Sustainability and Pulli is a BA in tech/IT. We met on the apps in early 2019, even though we lived on different sides of the city (she’s south of the Yarra, I’m north!). We think fate had a part to play because we usually wouldn’t be in each other’s radius’ but my job at the time was south and it was quite toxic so I’d sit in the toilets crying and swiping on Hinge… and that’s how we matched.

We were both so nervous to meet one another, but ended up having a wild night out, talking, drinking far too much, and dancing. In classic sapphic fashion, we have been pretty much inseparable since.

A lot has changed since then. Different share houses, the notorious Melbourne lockdowns, buying and renovating our first apartment, career changes, and eventually packing up and moving to Sydney with our dog Poppy. Life has thrown new experiences at us and we've just kept going. Planning a wedding remotely on top of all that felt pretty on brand for our chaotic life!

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Pulli’s non-negotiable was for her future wedding venue to have a pool. She had a vision of us jumping in the pool in our wedding dresses at the end of the night (which we did!). I wanted a wedding weekend that felt relaxed, where we could have people come and go over a few days, and with space for our immediate families to stay on the property.We both agreed that an overseas destination wedding wasn’t possible for some of our guests or our budget, and were drawn to the ‘backyard wedding’ vibe where a lot of it was DIY so we could have full control of the day and plan a wedding together that was totally us.

With these thoughts in mind, we scoured properties and eventually found a gorgeous home with a pool that was 90 minutes from Melbourne, had ample outdoor space, that also happened to have a carport converted into an indoor function area for when day turned to night and the dance floor got started. It was exactly what we wanted.

How many guests did you have?

100 guests.

What was your budget?

$45,000.

Tell us about your outfits.

Pulli: I have always loved the simple yet elevated style of Jacquemus, and in 2024 he released his wedding collection. Clare and I weren’t even engaged yet, but I kept tabs on a specific dress and nearly a year prior to the wedding, it went on sale and I immediately bought it. It was a long white mermaid wedding dress, with black piping on the tail and a fold over square neck. For my veil, I found out my friend’s younger cousin had started a business selling beautiful custom made bags, so I commissioned her to create a custom veil for me that was OTT at 4 metres long and exactly what I wanted.

For my second look, I wore a short white dress from a local Sydney brand, Redrew, which had a cowl neck and corset-like body made from silk. After we jumped in the pool I wore a red linen Reformation mini dress, which was not planned but there was no way I was getting back on the dance floor in a mermaid gown!

Clare: I got a custom dress made, as I knew exactly what I wanted - I’ve been obsessed with the classic corset styles that are both structured and have room to move. I used lightweight silk because I knew it was going to be hot in Australian February and I’m very glad I had that forethought! Because it was made to measure, it draped and moved perfectly with me. Unfortunately when I was getting my makeup done I had realised I left my veil in Melbourne, so improvised with one of the spare white draperies styled it as a neck scarf veil, which many guests said completed the look so it all turned out ok!

For my second-look, I wore a super fun semi-sheer Anna Quan dress with lots of pearl detailing - it was such a fun dress and suited the vibe of the evening perfectly. After the pool jump I wore one of my favourite holiday dresses - a white crochet maxi from Meshki.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

We wanted to create a wedding that was formal until it wasn’t: where our guests could dress up, feel great but also take their shoes off. Pulli had a strong creative vision for the day, but we tried hard not to overspend on a wedding where that extra cash could go towards a holiday (or anything else really!).

With our vision and budget in mind we committed to DIY and slowly planned over 12 months so that we could create a weekend that truly represented us. We were both aligned on what we wanted, so we scoured op shops, discount stores online, and local suppliers to slowly build up a collection of items including custom scalloped umbrellas, fun vessels for our floral arrangements, mismatched silver platters and champagne coloured round table cloths. Pulli even taught herself Photoshop so she could design the invites and signage. We essentially ended up creating our own branding! One of our highlights and a guest favourite were the temporary tattoos we got made in our Clare & Pulli logo - we still have some left and are planning to use them every anniversary.

When planning we really tried to weigh up what was important or not, and took our time choosing what we would buy, what we would hire vendors for, and what jobs we could ask our friends and family to help with on the day. Many of our vendors ended up being people we knew or indirectly knew, which made the whole day feel even more meaningful. There was something special about supporting them and their craft.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We come from different cultural backgrounds (Pulli - first gen Sri Lankan Buddhist and Clare - Australian Christian) so representing both of our families and heritage as well as the natural landscape around us was super important. This meant a lot of thought and planning went into weaving together rituals that felt meaningful to both sides, not just aesthetically, but in their deeper symbolism.

We started the ceremony with a ring warming custom, which is an Irish tradition where they were physically passed around so guests could give their good wishes into the rings before we exchanged them. This was our way of getting everyone involved and made the rings a physical representation not just of our love but our family and friends’ love too.

For the Sri Lankan traditions, we did our own take on a traditional Poruwa Ceremony. Once we had walked down the aisle, our dads helped us onto the Poruwa stage, which represented our future home together. We offered betel leaves to each other's parents as a gesture of respect, and also placed 7 betel leaves each onto the Poruwa which represented 7 generations of ancestors before us - we are made up from family we know and ancestors we have never met so including that was very special.

We then exchanged gold necklaces as a symbol of our love and the value we place on one another, and finished with the string tying of our pinkie fingers with holy water poured over our joined pinkies to seal the blessing. In traditional Sri Lankan culture, this moment is what officially marks you as married. Being in Australia though, we moved straight into the legal proceedings so we feel like we’ve been married twice. Double the love!

Finally, we lost Pulli’s best friend, Chris, to depression in 2024, and honouring him through our speeches was incredibly important for us as it wouldn’t really be a wedding without him.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Clare: Embrace the day! Things never fully go to plan - there are always things that don’t turn out like you had in your head but just take it all in and enjoy it regardless. This is a time to embrace not just the love you have for your partner, but the love you have for the people around you. There really isn’t another time where you have so many people from so many different parts of your life in one place. So soak up the love and don’t sweat the small stuff!

Pulli: Try and enjoy the moment with your partner as much as possible and make time to sneak off together and enjoy each other's company. The day goes so fast, and I honestly had tunnel vision on Clare from the moment we walked down the aisle, then the rest of the day is a bit of a blur. But what I do remember are the times Clare and I snuck off to have a drink or snack together and enjoy some quiet away from our guests.

Bonus tip: Definitely lean into all the attention and make it about yourselves, it’s probably one of the only times in your life where it’s acceptable ha.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

for PEARLS and PEARS : Dorly, our incredible photographer! Pulli and I always joke about how awkward we can be when we take photos together. We let Dorly know and she made us feel so comfortable, made us laugh, and made us do some silly poses to loosen up. We really loved our final photos. As part of her package, she included a pre-wedding shoot where we did some engagement photos so that she could get to know and connect with us before our wedding day. She made it fun, light and ended up taking some amazing photos on film. This meant when we got to our wedding day, she knew exactly what to do and captured some really special moments on both digital and film.. Dorly is also a very likeable and funny person, and since she was capturing a lot of our private moments, it felt like we were hanging out with a friend.

Tirasara: Pavani of Tirasara Flowers is the local up and coming florist who did an absolutely wonderful job making sure both Pulli and my visions and styles aligned. I wanted natives and Pulli was happy with deep red Calla lilies. She guided us on things we hadn’t considered such as flower seasons and availability, then matched species of flowers that complemented each other for our arrangements. We really appreciated her knowledge and expertise.

SAINT FAITH: Jahni, she is a young fashion student who is one of Pulli’s best friend's cousins. She makes incredible custom bags, by chance Pulli noticed she had made a shawl for one of our friends who wore it to a wedding so she hit her up to see if she was open to making her veil. She created the most beautiful veil that was exactly what Pulli wanted that elevated her wedding dress and completed her look.

Lachlan Wilde Magic One of our friends is an amazingly talented magician, and for our recovery drinks on Sunday he put on a surprise magic show for everyone. The consensus was that it was one of the highlights of the weekend for everyone there. He was clever, ingenious and knew how to wow and work a hungover crowd.

Photographer: for PEARLS and PEARS @forpearlsandpears | Planning & Styling: Clare and Pulli | On The Day Coordination: Wedding and Event Angels @wedding_and_event_angels | Flora: Tirasara @tirasara.

| Clare’s Second Look: Anna Quan @annaquanlabel | Pulli’s Wedding Dress: Jacquemus @jacquemus | Pulli’s Second Look: Redrew @redrewclothing | Veils (Pulli) SAINT FAITH @sntfaith & (Clare) DIY scarf | Clare's Pearl Necklace: Heirloom | Engagement Rings: Comune @comunegallery custom | Wedding Rings: Etsy @etsy | Shoes: Bared Footwear @baredfootwear, Camper @camper | Gold Necklaces: (Poruwa Ceremony) (Clare) Cartier @cartier & (Pulli) Lloyd Steven @lloydstevenworld | Wedding Party Attire: Incu @incu_clothing, COS @cosstores_au, Billy J @billy_j_boutique & Dominique Healy

@dominique_healy | Magic Show (Recovery Day): Lachlan Wilde Magic @lachlanrhyswilde