‘Best day ever’: How these South Aussie couples celebrated their love with a bang
From famous guests to beautiful cultural traditions, these couples filled their special day with a range of one-of-a-kind features.
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A couple’s wedding day is the most special celebration of their life and their love.
When it comes to curating their dream day some follow tradition while other’s write their own rule book.
From special musical guests to fashion-forward wedding attire and luxurious details, we have found the top 10 unique South Australian weddings from the 2024/25 wedding season.
Check out the list below.
Sophie Jay and Rajat Malhorta
Wedding date: April 19, 2025
Location: South Australian Museum
Photographer: Jaz from In the Mood for Love
A small wedding was not an option for Sophie and Raj’s fusion nuptials with more than 200 of their loved ones on the guest list.
The day included elements from Raj’s Indian culture with the bride and groom wearing traditional Indian attire.
Sophie wore a stunning lehenga and dupatta made from a custom fabric and sewn together by Kasia Litwinienko from Dressmaking Boutique.
Meanwhile the groom’s Sherwani was custom-made in India and paired with a turban and jewellery also from India.
“For around half our guests, it would be their first time going to an Indian wedding which have some quite unique elements like the Baraat (grooms procession), the Hindu ceremony and the food,” Sophie said.
The pair remember their day as “pretty epic” with an incredible dance floor.
“One of Raj’s family members from India performed a song and his parents, along with some of his aunts and uncles, did this amazing dance performance which at one point involved some pink tinsel foil curtains and a cowboy hat – this kicked off our dance floor and really set the tone for the rest of the night,” Sophie said.
After originally meeting in 2018, Sophie popped the question in front of the Eiffel Tower with a message written on a pizza with kewpie mayonnaise.
“Some may say this is sacrilegious but (Raj) genuinely loves the kewpie and pizza combination so I carried around these little sachets of kewpie mayonnaise with me throughout our whole Europe trip waiting for a pizza and the right moment,” Sophie said.
They will return to Europe for their honeymoon.
Bailey Williams and Jordan Edmondson
Wedding date: February 15, 2025
Location: Simon Hackett Winery
Photographer: House of Love
Incredibly dressed grooms, beautiful decorations and an appearance from an Australian music icon – Bailey and Jordan’s wedding truly had it all.
The “very organised” couple tied the knot at their intimate wedding attended by 70 guests.
Many travelled from interstate for the special occasion to see the grooms say ‘I do’ in their custom suits.
“The whole day was a highlight, there was not a moment that anyone had less than a smile,” Bailey said.
The couple’s wedding was “non-traditional” with their “groomsmaids” dressed in sequin black suits with dramatic hair and make up.
However, perhaps the greatest surprise of the night was from Bailey who organised Ricki-Lee to perform at the reception.
“It was just the most unreal experience you could have,” the pair said.
“(We also had a) performance from the groommaids (who entered) to This Is What Dreams Are Made Of by Hilary Duff with headset microphones and choreography.”
Guests were also able to snap a picture in the onsite portrait studio created by TheWedEdition providing them with the ultimate “red carpet” experience.
Whitney and Hayden Miller
Wedding date: April 5, 2025
Location: Glanville Hall
Photographer: Ashley Jones from Jones and Jagger
Whitney and Hayden surprised their loved ones by announcing at their “engagement party” that they were actually attending their wedding.
“We jumped on the mic to do some housekeeping 40 minutes in and announced our surprise,” Whitney said.
“In beautiful chaos, we all did outfit changes and our venue magically transformed into our dream ceremony under a century old fig tree, to tunes beautifully crafted by the stunning Aurora Strings.”
The couple purposefully “scrapped every tradition known to man” with the groom being the one in white and Whitney opting for a stunning baby pink set by Eliya the Label.
“I never imagined myself in a traditional white wedding gown because I’m always in colour so I chose my favourite colour and managed to find my dream fit,” Whitney said.
As well as grazing board and wood oven pizzas, the newlyweds provided a soft serve machine and DIY sundae bar – the perfect dessert to top off a fabulous day!
Andrew Munckton and Stellios Ketses
Wedding date: March 22, 2025
Location: Mandalay House and Garden
Photographer: B Captured by Ky Luu
Every element of Andrew and Stellios’ wedding oozed with luxury and drama.
Their ceremony was “relaxed, warm and emotional” with each of the grooms walked down the aisle with their parents by their side.
The couple’s adored corgis, Cleo, Olly and Percy came along to see them say ‘I do’ and walked them back up the aisle for the first time as newlyweds,
“Not a dry eye in sight,” Stellios said.
Cocktail hour followed with the pair’s signature cocktails on offer – a spicy marg for Andrew and Stellios’ ouzo spritz a nod to his Greek heritage.
Their reception was styled with “extraordinary” draping, candelabras, crystal chandeliers and gold urns filled with breathtaking floral arrangements.
“One person deserves special thanks: Charlotte from Events by Charlotte, the fairy godmother of this wedding,” Stellios said,
“She made every idea come to life and ensured the day ran seamlessly from start to finish.”
The dance floor was pumping until 2am with DJ George Apostal keeping the tunes coming all night long while live drumming from Harry Darbuka and bouzouki by Kristopher Ioannides accompanied Greek dancing.
“Instead of the traditional bouquet and garter toss, (we) handed out Mardi Gras beads and sunglasses for a dance floor moment that felt like a true party,” Stellios said.
“And yes — there was Greek plate smashing.”
Alex Glen and Lachlan Cotton
Wedding date: February 1, 2025
Location: South Australian Museum
Photographer: Love Fool Photography
Alex and Lachie would not change a thing about their big day.
Their ceremony was quintessentially them with plenty aspects of “nerd culture” included.
“Lachie made me (Dungeons & Dragons) figurines that were painted in the colours we wore on the day,” Alex said.
“(And) in our vows we included references to Lord of the Rings, (The Marvel Cinematic Universe) and Sports.”
The bride knew she was “not a dress gal” so enlisted Kasia from The Dressmaking Boutique to create the “most wonderful, sparkly, silver jumpsuit”.
The groom wore a custom suit from Instichu with the lining feature pictures of the pair’s two pups, Bruce and Dottie.
As a nod to their shared love of sport, their MC and friend organised Alex’s basketball team to create a “game style guard of honour with pompoms” to welcome them to their reception.
“We finished our formalities early in the evening and I didn’t leave the dancefloor all night,” Alex said.
Another adorable touch to the day came in the form of cake with Lachie’s grandma making the sweet treat.
“It was the same kind of cake she has made for Lachie on his birthday every year – we call it Grandma Cake,” Alex said.
Cristina Tridente and Petar Filipovic
Wedding date: August and September, 2024
Location: First wedding held in Adelaide, second on the Amalfi Coast
Photographer: Dean Snushall Photography
What’s better than one wedding? Two!
Cristina, who is the founder of couture+love+madness, wore four different gowns during her hometown wedding including her stunning ceremony ballgown which was paired with black, pearl-encrusted opera gloves.
After exchanging vows at Jackson Square in Hindmarsh, the newlyweds partied the night away at Out in the Paddock’s Soho Supper Club activation on Festival Plaza.
Less than a fortnight later, the couple headed to Positano on the Amalfi Coast to tie the knot once again with Cristina wearing another fabulous frock.
The gown, inspired by Cristina’s Italian heritage was handpainted by Adelaide artist, Tiziana Rinna.
The nuptials took place at the luxurious Hotel Marincanto against a stunning backdrop of the Italian coastline.
Josphanie Loh and Matthew Hung
Wedding date: May 9 and 10, 2025
Location: Mandalay House and Garden
Photographer: B Captured by Ky Luu
Josphanie and Matthew’s wedding celebrations were held over two days.
On the first day the couple participated in a tea ceremony, which is a tradition in their Taiwanese and Malaysian Chinese culture.
The following day was the elegant garden wedding of the bride’s dreams with loved ones from interstate and overseas in attendance.
The reception was pumping from the beginning with the newlywed’s parents and bridal party dancing their way into the marquee.
As a gift to her new husband, Josphanie surprised Matthew with a K-pop dance routine which she had been practising with her besties since December last year.
“Our biggest highlight was simply being present and able to enjoy every moment of the day. It meant so much to take it all in with the people we love,” Josphanie said.
The couple have recently headed to Malaysia for another wedding reception organised by Josphanie’s parents to mark their nuptials with their close family and friends.
Jaz and Renee Swan
Wedding date: April 26, 2024
Location: Ceremony at home and reception and Patch Kitchen and Garden
Photographer: Last of the Seventh
Tradition was not on the menu for Renee and Jaz’s wedding day but good food, good wine and great company certainly were.
The couple were married in their garden during an intimate ceremony attended by only 44 guests.
“We wanted to be able to sit in our garden after the wedding with our morning tea and reminisce about the beautiful day we had right here in our home, the newlyweds said.
Among the exclusive crowd was Renee’s nanna, Elaine Swan who travelled all the way from her nursing home in Meningie for the happy occasion.
The pair walked down the aisle, dressed in gorgeous vibrant suits, with their little niece.
“We had a ‘flash mob I do’ which meant we had friends and family members read the ‘I do’ questions rather than our celebrant,” they said.
When it came to the vows, the lovebirds played a game of shot roulette to see who would speak first, depending on whether they received a shot of gin or water.
The food was the star of the show with culinary geniuses Andy and Belle from Patch Kitchen and Garden whipping up a feast.
“It is our favourite restaurant in the Adelaide Hills … everyone raved about the food,” the pair said.
After enjoying “the wedding of a lifetime”, they danced the night away to a self-curated playlist featuring song requests from all attendees.
“Jaz contacted all of my friends in secret and asked them what songs remind them of me and included them,” Renee said.
Gia Terranova and Nicholas Munro
Wedding date: February 1, 2025
Location: Ceremony at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral and reception at EOS by SkyCity
Photographer: B Captured by Ky Luu
A range of luxurious details came together for Gia and Nicholas’s special day.
After getting ready separately with their bridal party, Gia walked down the aisle while Adelaide Symphony Orchestra harpist, Carolyn Burgess played a stunning tune.
Once their marriage was sealed with a kiss, the newlyweds took off in their stylish classic Jags for a post-ceremony drink and photo session.
Then it was on to the reception venue which was complete with incredible views of Adelaide Oval.
The space was decorated with an amazing crystal and ribbon chandelier provided by Venue Productions.
No expense was spared with fireworks and dry ice creating the ultimate romantic setting while DJ Sav from Entertainment Adelaide kept the party going with great music and CO2 guns.
To top off the celebrity-style celebration, the bride wore not one, but two, Pallas Couture gowns slipping into a short party dress to dance the night away in.
Briony and Jess Rafanelli
Wedding date: March 23, 2024
Location: Hard Days Night
Photographer: Sama Photo + Film
Briony and Jess’s wedding was an explosion of colour and fun.
Their special day took place at a “funky retro bar” in Adelaide with the bride, groom and bridal party dressed in bright colours to match the vibe.
Briony opted for a short dress with her bridal look made complete with chunky red heels, a bright lip and a stunning headdress.
The couple made adjustments throughout their day to keep Briony’s chronic pain and autism in mind and chose to have a seated ceremony.
“(We) took time to ourselves throughout the day to help regulate and take it all in,” Briony said.
“The highlights were our first look, this was incredibly special, (and) getting to see the venue for the first time.”
The pair also have the sweetest proposal story with Jess popping the question with the help of Briony’s beloved cat, Milly who had the ring around her neck.
“It was incredibly special as it was so important to Bri that she was here to see us engaged,” Jess said.
The precious kitty passed one month before she turned 22, with the couple grateful she was able to be a part of this important moment in their story.
Originally published as ‘Best day ever’: How these South Aussie couples celebrated their love with a bang
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