You’re invited: Take a look inside this season’s most unique SA weddings
Fairy floss, pinball, back gowns, cinema ceremonies, ditching the aisle walk and a touch of tinsel. You’re invited to 10 of SA’s most unique wedding.
SA News
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From colourful couture frocks, a “big fat gay” wedding and melded cultural traditions, this wedding season has been nothing short of vibrant.
Brides and grooms across South Australia are choosing to ditch traditional nuptials in favour of celebrations that resonate with them.
Meet 10 couples who have gone against the grain and picked something personal for their big day.
Hannah Edwards and SamO’Dea
Wedding date: December 3, 2022
Venue: Oddio, Bowden
Dress: Couture+Love+Madness
It’s not often you see a bride get hitched in a custom designed poofy pink dress.
Hannah Edwards dreamt of wearing something a little different for her wedding to Sam O’Dea and Adelaide couture designer Cristina Tridente of Couture+Love+Madness made it a reality.
“I saw Cristina’s designs on Instagram, and when I saw all the dresses she’d done I knew I needed one of her dresses,” Dr Edwards said.
“I don’t actually wear pink too often, I just wanted something different and always envisaged a dress that was fluffy, dramatic and tulle.”
Opting out of walking down the aisle Dr Edwards and Mr O’Dea surprised their guests by greeting them at the industrial Oddio ceremony.
The Kidman Park couple also swapped out the wedding cake for a vintage ice cream cart – the ideal summery sweet treat.
Natalie Marrocco and Joseph Mercorella
Wedding date: February 25, 2023
Venue: Ceremony at Life Christian Centre, reception at Chateau Apollo
Dresses and hat: Kyha Studios
Photographer: In The Mood For Love Photography
For her summer wedding to Joseph Mercorella, Natalie Marrocco couldn’t pick just one dress.
“I couldn’t nail it down to one, so I got two,” she said, adding: “Por que no los dos.”
That means “why not both” in Spanish, also referencing the Old El Paso TV advertisement about two varieties of taco shells.
The Beaumont couple were inspired by music and fashion when it came to choosing their unique outfits.
“I’m a creative so everything I do, I like to be unique. And your wedding should be the perfect example of this,” Mrs Mercorella said.
“I wanted the wedding to be a cross between rock and roll and glam. Always loved the moody pinks and black so I went all out in that colour palette.”
The pair took some sweet shots at popular restaurant Africola on East Terrace and wandered into the Garden of Unearthly Delights for fairy floss.
“We thought we’d make the most of the fact it only happens one month a year,” Mrs Mercorella said.
“At the reception we had a few fun things; strawberry daiquiri slushies, a Metallica pinball machine, foosball table, gelati cart … oh, and a change of dress.”
Philip Tridente and Duana Fisher
Wedding date: November 26, 2022
Venue: Ten Miles East, Norton Summit
Dress: Couture+Love+Madness
Wedding date: November 26, 2022
Venue: Ten Miles East, Norton Summit
Dress: Couture+Love+Madness
The vision for architects Philip Tridente and Duana Fisher’s wedding was “great food, great wine, great music, great people, fun times and lots of dancing”.
What also made their wedding unique was the bespoke bridal dress, made by the groom’s sister, Adelaide designer Cristina Tridente of Couture+Love+Madness.
“We wanted our wedding to reflect our personalities and be unique to our relationship,” Mr Tridente said.
“It was important to us that our wedding was a celebration that really felt like us. A joyous fun party for our close friends and family to come together from across Australia and overseas and have a great time.”
The couple picked photographers, Oh Wild, to capture their big day’s intimate moments.
“We arrived and walked down the aisle together. It felt like something special to do as a couple,” Mr Tridente said.
“We did all the signage and graphics ourselves, and Duana sewed all the linen napkins herself. She was quite specific about colours.”
At the reception, there was also a personalised neon sign of their initials in a pink heart.
Ben Schapel and Charlie Hamra
Wedding date: June 11, 2022
Venue: Ceremony, Regal Theatre. Reception, Hula Hoop
Suits: Oscar Hunt
After being together for nine years, Ben Schapel and Charlie Hamra knew they wanted a huge party to celebrate their nuptials.
“We wanted the ceremony to be really moody and dark and disco, just really fun,” Mr Schapel said.
“We really didn’t want traditional, we really wanted it to be our big fat gay wedding.”
Dressed in co-ordinating coloured velvet suits from Oscar Hunt, the couple tied the knot at The Regal Theatre, in a ceremony that looked like something straight out of a Hollywood movie premiere.
“Our guests loved sitting in the cinema chairs, and we even had a graphic on the big screen of the two of us with disco balls as heads, sort of like a Daft Punk album cover vibe,” Mr Schapel said.
“When the actual ceremony was about to begin we had the red velvet curtains closed ready for us to come out.”
What followed was a huge party next door at cocktail bar Hula Hoop, owned by Mr Hamra’s parents.
“We feel very fortunate as a same sex couple that there weren’t any traditions to follow, we could throw the rule book out a little bit, there were no preconceived notions of what our wedding should be,” Mr Schapel said.
Kirsti Fobister and Bren Georg
Wedding date: July 8, 2022
Venue: Adelaide Botanic Gardens
Dress: Selkie
Flowers: Little Boho Flower Co
Kirsti Fobister and Bren Georg originally planned a huge wedding with over 130 guests, until Covid motivated a change of heart.
Instead they eloped at Veale Gardens in November 2021, then hosted a vow renewal in July 2022 with 40 of their nearest and dearest at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
“We changed our minds, we were just sick of waiting because we had been engaged for nearly two and a half years, so we eloped,” Ms Fobister said.
“Our mums were accepting but disappointed, so we definitely needed to do a celebration.
“Honestly, our hearts were so full, the elopement was everything we needed so we just wanted something intimate.”
To the elopement, Ms Fobister wore a shrimp-printed Frida Las Vegas dress with bold red blooms.
But the showstopper was the bride’s renewal look – a pink winter coat, heart sunglasses and earthy dried flowers by Little Boho Flower Co.
Plus the Redwood Parks’ couple’s dog Reuben also made an appearance in a matching pink bow tie.
“Bren originally had a fancy suit and I had a big wedding dress, but it wasn’t us anymore,” Ms Fobister said.
“He ended up wearing his elopement outfit and I bought a Selkie dress online that felt a bit more like us, and it was so comfortable compared to the wedding dress I was meant to wear.”
Maria Do and Joaquim Gaspar
Wedding date: October 1, 2022
Venue: Salisbury Plains
It started with a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony and ended with drinking Australia’s entire supply of Portuguese beer.
For Australian-Vietnamese bride Maria Do and Australian-Portuguese groom Joaquim Gaspar it was important to honour both of their cultures.
“We wanted to acknowledge all of our heritage, so it was more of a fusion,” Ms Do said.
The bride wore a Vietnamese red ao dai and a Khan Dong headpiece for their tea ceremony – a tradition where the husband’s family comes to the bride’s family with gifts and presents them with tea.
“It’s kind of like a dowry, it’s more to show that you can take care of the bride,” Ms Do said.
“Our family will accept the gifts, then mum goes to collect me and I come out in my red dress and crown.
“We thank our ancestors and then what happens at the tea ceremony is you give your elders tea and they give you advice for the marriage.”
What followed was an extravagant western wedding ceremony at the couple’s Salisbury Plains property where the 300 guests enjoyed a taste of Ms Gaspar’s culture.
“We bought a palette of beer from Portugal, which ended up being 78 cases,” Ms Do said.
“We actually had all of Australia’s stock of Portuguese beer in our shed.”
Renee Harrington and Alice Lambert
Wedding date: November 5, 2022
Venue: Ortus Wines, Willunga
Dresses: Model Chic and City Chic
Black dresses and deep red roses were the perfect match for Renee Harrington and Alice Lambert who knew they wanted anything but a typical wedding.
Instead the Port Noarlunga newlyweds opted for dark romance in a nod to the years of hell they’d been through.
“We were meant to get married in December 2020 and in May of that year I was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer at the age of 33,” Ms Harrington said.
“I was actually in an emergency department waiting to be transferred to Flinders Medical Centre via ambulance when my wedding dress was delivered.”
The couple rescheduled and finally tied the knot in 2022.
Along with their non-traditional dresses and colour scheme, they also indulged with a coffee van, fresh hot cinnamon doughnuts and wood fired pizza.
“The vibe we wanted for our wedding was definitely a celebration. We had been through hell,” Ms Harrington said.
“I had three major surgeries, over two months in hospital, 25 rounds of radiation and two lots of chemotherapy. After everything we had been through and survived we needed to be surrounded by our loved ones and have one hell of a party with a little ceremony thrown in.”
Maria and Nick Kuchel
Wedding date: June 11, 2022
Venue: Red Cliffs
Dress: Ken Done x Romance Was Born
Tinsel coat: Calamity Tash
Maria and Nick Kuchel’s wedding day was a kaleidoscope of colour with a touch of tinsel and a dash of Australian art.
The South Plympton couple wanted their shared love of vibrant colour to shine when they said ‘I do’ on family property just over the border in Red Cliffs.
“We wanted our flavour to come across in the wedding … if I was to wear a white dress and Nick a black suit, it wouldn’t be us,” Ms Kuchel said.
When Mrs Kuchel’s favourite artist Ken Done, known for his colourful images of Australian landmarks, did a clothing collaboration with designer Romance Was Born, she knew she had found the dress.
But it was too short.
“I emailed them and asked if they could make a longer version and initially they said no. I started looking at other things but I kept coming back to this dress,” Mrs Kuchel.
“It was some kind of miracle, they said they could do a short print run for me. I couldn’t believe it.”
The dress was made and Mrs Kuchel topped it with a loud tinsel jacket by Adelaide artist Calamity Tash plus custom rings designed by Utopian Creations.
“My ring is two colourful stones offset, a sapphire and a pink sapphire. Nick’s is a rugged, scratchy ring that other people look at and say ‘oh, that ring is really wonky’, but that’s how he wanted it,” Mrs Kuchel said.
Jen and Karl Siebels
Wedding date: December 17, 2022
Venue: Woodstock Winery, McLaren Flat
Jen Siebels was married to her husband Karl in what looked like a runway couture gown … but in actual fact it was an off-the-rack dress.
“My mum and I went to a couple of bridal shops a couple of years ago, the dress I wore was actually straight off the rack from Zimmerman,” Mrs Siebels said.
“I just walked past and that was it, I fell in love with it.”
As a self confessed “shoe person”, Mrs Siebels wanted to show off her classic open-toed Gucci heels.
“I couldn’t have a floor length dress because I knew that whatever shoes I had were going to be special,” she said.
For the Kent Town couple, who now reside in Melbourne, the ceremony was the “highlight of the day”, which included one-liners friends and family had written about them to make the day more intimate.
Allyson and Arryn Mills
Wedding date: September 3, 2022
Venue: Inglewood Inn
Dress: Marian Rahme
Allyson Mills’ “something blue” was actually her wedding dress.
“I just didn’t seem to fall in love with more traditional wedding dresses that I had been looking at, but I had seen this blue dress that I absolutely loved on Instagram,” Mrs Mills said.
“The same dress did come in white and I had considered this as an option, but after some encouragement from a friend I realised I actually wanted to wear blue.”
The Greenwith couple wanted to “keep things simple” so they could enjoy the beautiful surrounds of their venue at Inglewood Inn.
“Overall we just wanted the day to feel relaxed and like ‘us’ and, importantly, an enjoyable experience for our friends and family,” Mrs Mills said.
The bride said she and husband Arryn decided not to have a wedding party, and instead asked their loved ones to do readings and act as witnesses.
“We really did work as a team to plan the wedding, which meant the day did feel like a good representation of us as a couple,” she said.
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