When Ben opened his vows with, “I have a confession to make,” Anucia was ready to run. “I was convincing myself I was about to be dropped at the altar.” His confession? “That I am funnier than him and that he had been stealing my jokes since we met. Not only was I relieved but I was smug as. Because I am indeed the funnier one.” So yes, they are as fun as they look, friends (also proven in the proposal story below). And they hired a top-notch crew of vendors to bring their day together like Beck Rocchi (on pics),  Bloom Boy (on erm, blooms), Oscar Hunt Tailors (for that suit) and Windfall Jewellery (for those rings) to name a few. Scroll down for more – including some incredible colour combinations – equally as surprising as they are beautiful. Orange and lilac anyone?

THE PROPOSAL “It happened one glorious night under the stars down in front of the SuperNatural Amphitheatre at Golden Plains Music Festival. We spent the rest of the night running up to strangers and telling them we got engaged because we had lost our friends. It was amazing, though. We did eventually tell our friends and we floated around the festival in a love haze for the next two days before popping in to surprise our families and tell them the news.”

THE INSPO “We really didn’t want to go down the traditional garden party aesthetic or feel. ‘Grammy’s red carpet’ had been the inspiration for both of our outfits and we took that and ran with it. Our styling inspiration was hazy, summer, disco, Vogue editorial in the garden and Cassie (Firecracker Event) and Ross (Bloom Boy) brought that to life with us. The final result was incredible. We love marigolds and it was a tie back to Anucia’s Hindu and Sri Lankan culture.”

FAVE DEETS “Our crew – they are so brilliant and creative! Flowers and styling – Ross (Bloom Boy) absolutely blew us away with his incredible design. We knew it would be amazing, but it surpassed anything we could have imagined. The table looked incredible and our ‘photo moment’ lounge was hot. Food – we really wanted food to be a centerpiece of the wedding and had always imagined a long table with an abundance of shared dishes. Cassie and the Firecracker Event team really made this a reality – you could feel those amazing feels when people are loving their meal and having great conversation, passing plates around, sitting back contented.”

THE DRESS “I had a Pinterest board that had everything from lilac tulle gowns to gold disco jumpsuits. I was lucky enough to have a friendship with Silvana Tedesco and went to her for advice and direction. We chatted about how much I love her bronze skirt and the next thing I know, she’s offering for me to wear it. She [then] designed me a top to wear with it and that’s how I ended up in my dream dress! I feel so lucky to have been able to wear something so beautiful, a piece that is extremely special to her as a designer.”

THE SUIT “I first started googling red carpet fashion for inspiration for my suit as I didn’t want to wear the standard black suit, white shirt combo. When I stumbled upon Mahershala Ali’s suit for the 2018 Oscars I felt like that would make me feel a million dollars. Thanks to the team at Oscar Hunt Tailors for making that dream a reality.”

STANDOUT VENDORS “We were so blown away by our vendors. Standouts were our celebrant, Bloom Boy our florist, Beck Rocchi our photographer who we’ve built really great relationships with and put so much love into us and our day… But Cassie from Firecracker Event, we will love her forever after this experience. That woman can plan an event. We had high expectations, but she more than exceeded them. She thought of every detail, she is so talented, kind and creative. Our wedding day belongs to her as well cos she is the reason it happened at all in the end.”

Anucia and Ben’s one-of-a-kind nuptials were originally featured in Issue 36 and you can find a whole slew of their incredible vendors over on our Directory at the following links; Bloom Boy, Windfall Jewellery, and Oscar Hunt Tailors. Inspo for days. And days. And days. But first, scroll down…

CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Beck Rocchi Photography Stylist, Stationery, Signage & Catering Firecracker Event Florist Bloom Boy Printer Chic Creative (Invites) Ceremony & Reception Oak & Monkey Puzzle Wedding Favours Natasha Morgan (Fruit Syrups) Hire Items Mood Objects (Lounge), Dalgarnos (Umbrellas & Dining Tables), Pepper Sprout (Cocktail Tables & Bar Stools) & On Trend Event Hire (Mirror Plinths) Celebrant Precious Celebrations Rings Windfall Jewellery THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Silvana Tedesco Robe Piyama Shoes Wittner Accessories Alix Yang (Earrings) Hair Chick’s Studio (Family) Makeup Bec Shannon THE GROOM Suit & Shirt Oscar Hunt Tailors Bow Tie Jeff Banks Shoes Thursday Boots Watch Fossil Grooming  Chick’s Studio (Family)