With severe weather meaning a cancellation of their venue 24 hours before their wedding, Chandi and Prash had to stay calm and pivot. "We raced around Auckland, viewing five reception venues across the city trying to find somewhere that felt right. But nothing did. We knew we couldn’t replicate what we’d originally planned, so we stopped trying to. Instead, we asked ourselves: what do we actually love? Wine bars. For the garden ceremony we called on a favour from my best frie

Amber and Ben had a destination wedding on the island of Ischia in Italy. "It was incredibly important to combine my Irish culture with Ben's Jewish background."

Because Frannie and Chad had three separate wedding events on the same day, they wanted everything to be near each other. "It was important to have Father Enrique Salvo preside over our wedding ceremony, so that was our anchor, and everything else came together from there. We wanted to celebrate our wedding in familiar, cozy spaces that we frequent and truly love, but we also wanted to take the opportunity to truly celebrate the incredibly special milestone that getting marri

Faith and Collin had their ceremony at a chapel in Orange, California, and their reception at their home about ten minutes away. "There were a few reasons behind that decision. When we first started looking at venues, we kept running into a lot of rules and structure that just didn’t feel like us. We’re both really relaxed when it comes to hosting, and we didn’t want the day to feel overly scheduled or restricted. Hosting it at our home just felt right."

It was important to Charleen and Erin that both of their cultures were represented throughout the wedding. "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. Erin also comes from Scottish heritage, so incorporating bagpipes into the day was also important."

Demery and Nick both adore Ciudad de México. "It was the perfect halfway point for our families. We could have never dreamed of finding a more beautiful location! Demery works in Architecture/ Interior Design and it was quite a dream to be married within the work of Javier Senosiain. Surrounded by his organic, otherworldly architecture, it felt completely surreal."

The most important consideration for for Mary and Justin's wedding was imagining themselves as guests. "The goal was constant movement, constant energy, and a sense that there was always something happening or in the guests’ hands. Yes, everyone was there to celebrate us, but we didn’t want that to be the only thing happening. We wanted it to feel like a worthwhile experience, a rager and something people left thinking they were glad they didn’t miss."

"We are big family people. We wanted a multi-day event so everyone we love could actually be around, not just show up for a few hours and leave. We leaned heavily on The Anti-Bride for inspo because we never wanted it to feel like a wedding. We wanted it to feel like a really good dinner party. A big dinner party sleepover in the south of France. That is exactly what it was."

"George is Greek Orthodox, so we included the Stefana (crowning ceremony) as part of our wedding. This was incredibly special, as we used his parents’ crowns from their own wedding. We both also have an Italian background, so later in the night we dedicated a section to celebrating that side of our culture with Italian and Greek music, including smashing plates and shots off the floor. While traditional, it brought such a fun energy to the night and really united everyone on

"We love to dance and music generally. We spent a lot of the Berlin winter leading up to our wedding creating playlists that felt right. Christina’s background is Greek, so we had to incorporate Greek dancing (which was a surprising highlight of the night!). We also had one of our best friends take over the DJ decks . As a semi-surprise, Sputnik had been learning how to build some live visuals and made the most incredible and hilarious backdrop featuring all of our favourite

Ivan and Shawn chose their wedding date because it was a time when tulips are naturally in season. "When Ian first got into floristry during the pandemic he would reflex tulips on walks with Shawn, so they became tied to that chapter of our relationship. From there the tulips informed many parts of our wedding, including the stationery and especially in the ceremony."

Karli and Brandon kept everything for their wedding close to home. "Most of our friends and family are nearby and we didn’t want to turn it into a big production. The pub felt like somewhere we’d actually go. Good food, good drinks, nothing too precious. The restaurant and beer garden are already beautiful so it didn’t need much. Once we saw The Glebe Hotel, that was it."

Yasemin and Samuel were living in Switzerland on the Italian border while planning their wedding when they came across their venue. "We instantly fell in love with its architecture. When we realised it was in Mexico, a country we both love, it felt even more meant to be. Eventually, we thought, “Why not just go to Mexico and see it for ourselves?” The moment we saw it in person, it felt like fate and we knew we had to book it."

Casey and Paul knew they wanted to give their guests a taste of what their lives are like in Colorado, including skiing! "Yes, skiing is a huge part of our lives so we wanted to incorporate it. For us, that meant including a cross country relay to kick off the wedding weekend."

Throughout the wedding, Montana and David incorporated details that tied into David’s Malaysian Indian background, conscious to represent a cultural balance that felt right for them. "In the ceremony, we included a Malayali tradition where David placed a gold pendant called a Minnu around Montana’s neck. Our florals had a focus marigolds. Pani Puri, our favourite Indian snack, was served at cocktail hour and dinner was an abundant spread of shared Indian dishes."

Emma and Joe were determined not to do things just because “you’re supposed to" - "or or because Instagram makes it look like everyone’s wedding has a budget equivalent to a down payment on a house. While we started off DIY-ing to save money, it accidentally morphed into a passion project for me that was like a creative thesis of all of the experience I’ve gotten over the years."

Maggie and Erin wanted their wedding to feel intimate and personal. "We wanted our guests to feel taken care of. With half our guests from the West Coast and the other half from the Midwest, we were excited to blend our communities and wanted everyone to leave the event feeling like they understand where we each come from -and how they all weave into the tapestry of our lives."

Sara and Matthew eloped and then had a party with loved ones two years later. "Do the legal paperwork of getting married first, then host your big party with your own version of a ceremony, unrestricted. It really worked for us. It meant we could do whatever we wanted and approach things creatively."

Brittany and Chris eloped at Lake Como with just three friends present. "Our goal was to create a relaxed, stress-free experience and simply enjoy celebrating our relationship in a meaningful way. Truly do what you want to do. Don’t let anyone pressure you into hosting multiple events or having a large wedding if it’s going to cause stress or doesn’t align with what you want. Your day should reflect you both."

Samantha and Ethan made peace early on with the scale of a New York wedding—"It was never going to be small, especially with our guest count! Instead of trying to simplify it, we focused on intentionality. We prioritized a few moments that really mattered and offset the rest by doing as much as we could ourselves. We built a detailed tracker, broke everything into small, manageable steps, and split ownership between us so nothing stalled. Sam did a lot of DIY design as well."

Ange and Patty got married overlooking the rockpool in Cronulla because it’s 'their' place. "Ange refuses to swim in the open ocean, Pat will take any chance to be in the water—so the rockpool is our middle ground. It’s our ritual, morning or night. After the ceremony, we wandered over to our local bowlo for beers, a meat raffle, dancing, and really good food. It’s somewhere we like to spend a Friday arvo playing gin rummy at sunset, unpacking our weeks."

Many elements were important to Anna and Connor - "but everything came back to embracing the spirit of Valentine’s Day. It guided both the aesthetic and the feeling of the day from vintage Valentine greeting cards and abundant roses to a pink aisle and a high-energy dance floor."

"We fell in love with Menorca a few years ago, there’s something truly magical about the island. It’s also the perfect size: compact enough for guests to arrive and immediately feel at ease and not have to drive hours to get to places. We wanted the weekend to feel special, and sharing this charming island with the people we love was a highlight in itself. The idea was simple — guests could wake up, swim at a cala, wander the town in the morning, then join us for the festivit

Italy has always held a special place in Rachel and Patrick's hearts. "From our earliest trips to Umbria, to city breaks in Rome, where we got engaged – we’ve always shared a huge appreciation for the culture, cuisine, and wine of course. The decision itself to get married there felt almost serendipitous."

"As cheesy as it sounds, follow your heart and be honest with yourself about how you want the day to go. There’s a lot of pressure for weddings to look a certain way and have specific “traditions.” We spent a lot of time creating, but we also “edited.” And in the end, the things we opted out of - for example, we didn’t do a first dance and we didn’t do a formal cake cutting Removing the things we didn’t care about left more time for what we wanted to prioritize."

Simona and Anthony had a destination wedding in Tasmania. "The most important aspects of the wedding for us were the atmosphere, the food and beverage, and the venue itself. Since we were asking all of our guests to travel to Tasmania, we wanted to make sure we were throwing one unforgettable party."

Bianca and Alex had a destination wedding in Italy with 34 loved ones. " Most of our friends and family were also traveling to Europe for the first time so we really wanted to make sure this was an incredible experience for them! We are sentimental people and were realistic that it is very rare to have every person you love in one place, under one roof, together for 4 days to celebrate with us. So we didn’t want to miss a second and wanted to spend as much time as possible wi

Hannah and Jackson felt zero pressure to follow a “standard” script. "The most important thing was that every moment felt like us. We didn’t want a performance; we wanted a shared experience with the people who have been the pillars of our lives. We prioritized deep, meaningful interaction over typical wedding tropes, ensuring the day felt as “unfiltered” as we are. We had MC’d the wedding ourselves, there was no ring-exchange and we did a time capsule instead."

Richard and Kevin were married at a farm owned by a family member. "We got married at a farm owned by a member of the family. We chose it for its peaceful, bucolic atmosphere. It afforded the flexibility to do things our way, without any of the rules or curfew a real wedding venue might bring."

Being both originally from the South of France, it felt very natural for Hugo and Francis to celebrate their wedding there. "We wanted the day to take place in a setting that felt familiar and meaningful to us, while also allowing our friends and family to experience the beauty and atmosphere of the region. From the very beginning, we wanted the day to reflect our aesthetic and our way of celebrating: something elegant, relaxed and effortlessly joyful rather than overly tradi

Laura and Evan sadly lost their house in the Eaton fire and had to change the date and the scale of their wedding at the last minute. "We both were working on our outfits in the days leading up to the wedding and I would not recommend that! We were however excited to just be able to host friends and family from all over the country. We also wanted to have an aura photographer, having taken so many aura photographs together over the years. It seemed like a nice nod to our rela

Clare and Pulli come from different cultural backgrounds, so representing both of their families and heritage as well as the natural landscape around them was very important. "Pulli is a first gen Sri Lankan Buddhist and Clare is an Australian Christian. 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."

Kristina and Tyler had a courthouse wedding followed by a reception at Tyler's mothers home. "We knew we didn't want a massive event, but something more intimate and meaningful - especially having two young kids. We both had talked about having a courthouse wedding for a couple of years and decided to just plan the dang thing! We planned it all within 5 months."

Andrea and Brett were married at the Botanical Gardens and used the amphitheatre as their ceremony space. "We didn’t want to make our guests travel, so decided to keep it in the city. We wanted an upscale garden party with long table dinner location, which was why the contemporary lawn and arbour at the Botanical Garden were perfect. Especially when it down-poured for a quick 30 mins during dinner but being under the arbour saved us!"

Alex and Noah saw their wedding as an opportunity to celebrate all the special people who had helped them get to that moment. "We prioritized making everyone feel genuinely loved, and made sure the whole thing felt like us: warm, handcrafted, a little imperfect in the best way. There’s no checklist. You don’t have to do something just because 'it’s what you do at a wedding' and Leave your phone somewhere you can’t find it."

Jin and Paddy knew they wanted something that was easy, casual and fun. "This meant choosing a location that was easy for people to get to, a venue where we didn't need to put much effort into decorating and having a cocktail style reception, so we didn't need to worry too much about finalising exact numbers and putting a seating chart together. Also, for anyone who knows Paddy they will know that he can't sit still!"

Lucie and Albert planned their wedding in just three months. "We didn’t want to follow any standard formula, so we kept coming up with ideas right up until the last minute, and spent a lot of time running around to make them happen, basically until the week before. But at some point we just told ourselves: it will be what it will be. We quickly stopped overthinking how everything would look and we instead focused our energy on small and cute details."

Keerti and Yoann planned an Indian ceremony, a post signing cocktail afternoon called ‘Vin d’honneur’ and a dinner party. "Our planning philosophy was to treat it like a joint birthday party. We picked things we both loved, and even though traditional wedding venues would have made life much easier in Paris, we went with an experimental hotel courtyard instead. The “birthday” mindset kept everything personal and real—and far away from the idea of playing royalty for a day."

Lia and Josh planned their wedding themselves. "It was important for us to incorporate both Chinese and Jewish traditions in our ceremony in a way that felt authentic. David, our officiant, perfectly balanced personability, humour, and acknowledgements for both cultures."

Both Mia and Bradley did not want to do a traditional walking down the aisle. "However, we felt like we had to do some sort of ceremony. So instead Bradley arranged an entire 30-minute show for our guests. Him and his friends played three songs. We also had a “late night” inspired portion where our officiant brought up two friends to interview and tell silly stories about us, then Bradley’s best friend and my sister did a trivia game about our relationship."

Antonella and Tyler had a low-key courthouse wedding following by a reception with 24 loved ones. "Stay grounded in your why. There will always be opinions, expectations, and pressure to do things a certain way but none of that matters if it doesn’t feel aligned. The most powerful thing you can do is choose each other fully and build a day that reflects that."

Lily and Hunter are close with their families and wanted their day to feel intimate and special. "We love how cozy and warm Hunter’s parents’ home is and decided their backyard would be the perfect place for the ceremony. We wanted our day to be a fancy party where we all dress up and have martinis, yet still have a very relaxed and intimate feel. Achieving this really came down to the setting, all the decor we picked out, and the vendors we hired."

Ash and Tim had a low-key registry wedding and celebrated with 15 loved ones. We chose the registry because we wanted something simple, unfussy and deeply unserious (in the best way!). No aisle anxiety, no chair covers, no pretending we’re people who enjoy being centrepieces. We also knew we wanted to be in the city. It allowed us to celebrate in a way that felt effortless rather than performative."

Gabriella is originally from New York and Jordan is from London, where they now live - and the couple had a destination wedding in Portugal. "Having a wedding abroad made sense (to us at least!) As my family was traveling from the US, we figured we might as well get everyone to a place we loved! We wanted our day to feel like one big love fest. The food and music mattered a lot, but we really felt like if we got the energy right, everything else would fall into place."

Soumia and Vince's plan was to keep their day very low-key. "We got married on the courts, played a few friendly matches in the afternoon, and then headed inside for dinner and a dance floor. We kept things simple and community-driven, so apart from the venue and our photographer, most of the day came together with the help of friends. It just felt like the most natural way for us to celebrate."

Alicia Rae and Jeremy didn’t want a production. "It was about intention in the small details. We also didn’t overload the day with traditions just because they’re expected. We kept the ones that felt meaningful and let the rest go. We cared about how the room felt. The lighting, the texture, the pace of the evening. Subtle things people feel, even if they can’t quite name them."

"We are deeply rooted in our homeland, endlessly inspired by where we come from: the light, the sea, the long conversations, the way family and friends are never just “close” but essential. Even while living abroad, we carry Catalonia with us — in our values, our rhythms, and the way we celebrate life. For us, incorporating art and local culture was essential. From live painting to traditional Empordà ceramics, every detail reflected our love for creativity and authenticity."

Lila and Geoff got engaged in July last year. "After our summer travels we returned to New York in September, and started talking about the wedding. It was my dream to have a fall wedding—the most romantic season in New York. We weren’t sure if we could pull it off, given that it was already September—but on September 9th we sent out a poll to our 17 guests and two days later we had confirmed a date where everyone could attend. The wedding was on for November 15th!"

Haley and Brendon had recently been on a trip to Mallorca before getting engaged, and thought it would be a cool place to bring their closest friends and family. "We wanted it to feel like a beautiful party, where everyone had an opportunity to feel like the best version of themselves. Our attire was “Avante Garden”, inspiring folks to dress to the nines with eccentric sculptural pieces that always need an “excuse” to be worn."

Shima and Andrea wanted to create a warm, welcoming space that felt like home. "In both of our Latina and Persian cultures, gathering with loved ones is sacred. It’s how we celebrate, how we show love, and how we build community. We wanted our closest friends and family to feel honored, included, and truly part of the experience, not just witnesses to it."