Wedding | Charleen & Erin

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We are Charleen and Erin. Charleen is from Perth and Erin is from Adelaide. We’ve been together for almost 5 years and have a little cat together called Stevie.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

We had so many guests coming from interstate or overseas, so we wanted to show off the best of WA. We selected City of Perth Surf Life Saving Club for our Haldi and Sangeet event to feature one of Perth’s most scenic beaches, and we chose Nikola Estate to show off the beautiful Swan Valley wine region.

How many guests did you have?

We had around 100 people at the Haldi and Sangeet, and 150 at the wedding.

Tell us about your outfits.

Where to begin! We had four outfits each for the Friday and Saturday. Our wedding was a blend of Indian and Western traditions, so we wore both Indian attire and traditional white wedding dresses. We bought our Indian outfits in Mumbai, where we had the most unforgettable shopping experience. We had a clear idea of how we wanted to look: Charleen in red, with Erin in complementary colours.

After visiting several stores, we both found our lehengas at the same place – Kalki. One of the most memorable moments was stepping out of our change rooms at the same time and seeing each other fully dressed, styled head to toe with jewellery and shoes, and that’s when we knew those outfits were the ones.

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

We wanted to ensure we featured our families in the meaningful elements of the ceremony. We had each family member with us, doing certain rituals as part of the Hindu and Western ceremonies. It made the ceremonies so special as we shared those moments together.

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

It was important to us that both of our cultures were represented throughout the wedding, so we designed a ceremony that blended Hindu and Western traditions. The ceremony began with Hindu rituals led by our Pundit-ji, before handing over to our civil celebrant, where we exchanged personal vows and officially tied the knot.

Rather than following a traditional Hindu ceremony in its entirety, we adapted it to reflect who we are and how we wanted to be married. We condensed the ceremony into seven key rituals – the most memorable moments included the Gaath Bandhan, where our sisters tied our dupattas together to symbolise our inseparability. Another meaningful ritual was the Sindoor Daan–Kumkum, when Erin placed red vermillion powder along Charleen’s hair parting, signifying marriage.

Erin also comes from Scottish heritage, so incorporating bagpipes into the day was important. After we were pronounced married, a piper played Highland Cathedral which was an emotional moment, especially for Erin and her family.

Any tips for couples getting married?

We planned the wedding over the course of about twelve months which I’d recommend as just enough time, but not so long that it takes over your life.

To ensure wedding planning doesn’t threaten to take over everything, it helps to designate specific “wedding chat” time!

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

Peggy Saas captured the most beautiful photos, we can’t stop looking at them! She managed to snap moments when we didn’t even realise she was there, and it’s so special to be able to look back at them.

Mel from Melanie Jade Designs was amazing at bringing our ideas to life, creating bespoke signage, menus, ceremony booklets and table numbers. Everything was so stunning and uniquely ours – we will keep them forever.

Our florist Honey Bunch Botanicals – we had zero vision for florals, and Brooke created an absolute vision based on our ceremony outfits. We can’t recommend her enough!

Photographer: Peggy Saas @peggysaas | Flora: Honeybunch Botanicals @honeybunchbotanicals | Videographer: Liam Brick @brickhouse_creative | Ceremony Location: Nikola Estate @nikolaestate | Reception Location: Nikola Estate @nikolaestate | Celebrant: Dawn Nosworthy @dawn_marriage_

celebrant | Hire: Maisey Collections Event Hire @maiseycollections; Black Label Events @blacklabelevent; The Tailored Table @thetailoredtable | HMUA: The Pretty Parlour @theprettyparlour | | Stationery & Signage: Melanie Jade Designs @melaniejade.designs | Entertainment: DJ Mixtabishi @mixtabishi | Co-ordinator: Gala @celebrantgala | Dresses: Kalki @kalkifashion