With deep jewel tones of magenta, emerald, silver and navy, a sparkling magenta wedding gown and the sparkliest decorations enveloping it all, Karina and Dean got their dream of “a vintage-inspired wedding with jewel tones” and celebrated their marriage right in the heart of Melbourne’s urban landscape.

With Lovegood Images joining the celebration behind the camera, and an urban winery (and distillery and brewery) paying homage to their love of gin,  this was a wedding that celebrated colour, celebrated the season and most of all, celebrated the story of Karina and Dean.

It was apt really, that the city played host to their wedding, seeing as a chance meeting in the CBD is the beginning of their story. In Karina’s own words “It was the afternoon and I remember walking up to a man outside Flinders Street Station who was wearing the most ill-fitting suit I have ever seen in my life to which his first words were “hey how are ya?”. We then went to a cafe and the next thing the waiter is telling us we have to leave because it was closing time. Seven years later and we have been inseparable ever since.”

Dean popped the question with a special present or four under the Christmas tree. He tells the story “I know I wanted the element of surprise as I had a feeling she was expecting it, but I’m not a very emotional/romantic person so I had no idea what to do. I ended up individually wrapping tins of tuna, an avocado, potato and the engagement ring box in Christmas wrapping. I  then cut a Coke bottle in half, put them inside and then wrapped the coke bottle in Christmas wrapping as well. By this point, I was questioning the sanity of what I was doing, but I didn’t have a plan B so I just went with it. At night, I told her that I got her a bottle of her favourite gin. After unwrapping what was an obvious coke bottle shape that was bent to one side and going through the confusion of unwrapping half of the pantry, she found the ring, cried and said yes.”

Karina and Dean chose Later Story to capture a film of their day. Karina shared “All of our vendors were absolutely fantastic!”

“My husband knows he hasn’t got the best fashion sense, so he let me choose his attire” admits Karina. “I picked for him a Johnny Bigg blue suit as a compliment to his complexion and his blue eyes. His shoes were black Gucci boots.”

Karina’s background is Hungarian, so she chose a gown from Hungarian designer Celeni, having a custom dress made of dark pink glitter fabric. Her look was completed with her dream Manolo Blahnik wedding shoes.

The couple met before their ceremony for a first look, their photographer Lovegood Images receiving all the praise. “She was amazing” raves Karina. “I chose her because I could see from her previous work that she had an eye for catching candid photos as we really didn’t want people posing and not looking natural. Meleah was so great at getting everyone to feel comfortable in front of the camera and we were so happy with how the photos turned out.”

Karina and Dean invited their favourite people to stand beside them on the day. “They were my closest friends from all walks of life” explains Karina, “I didn’t specify what they should wear, so everyone just wore whatever they felt the most comfortable in. My best friend, who was my man of honour, wore a Peter Pilotto suit and Margiela silver glitter boots.”

Flower wise, Karina and Dean booked local Hawthorn florist Lucy Loves Charlie. “I always wanted their beautiful flowers at our wedding” remarked Karina, “For the colour theme, I wanted it to match the wedding which was forest green, pink, navy and silver, so they used some beautiful winter flowers to match the season and theme of our wedding.”

Urban brewery, distillery and winery Craft and Co set the scene for Karina and Dean’s ceremony and reception.  “It was the entire top floor of a gin distillery so we were lucky enough to have some of the best gin in Melbourne for everyone to enjoy. We got married in their ceremony space and then held the reception in the dining area. We decided to have a three-course shared dining meal and our wedding cake was the dessert.”

Karina chose “At Last” by Etta James to play as she walked down the aisle with her mum. “My favourite moment was walking down the aisle and seeing Dean’s face and knowing that I am going to spend the rest of my life with him.”

The couple hired Weddings By Danielle Emily to officiate. “We wanted a short and sweet ceremony so everyone could focus on enjoying the food and the party” explains Karina.

Karina is an advocate for a solid budget. “I think from the beginning that it’s really important to set a budget and try to stick to it. Also, make sure you try to actually enjoy the day and not worry about the possibility of things not going as planned.”

Karina swapped into an elegant green dress for the reception. “My second wedding dress was a forest green Roksanda dress that I paired with Chanel slingback shoes. From early on I decided that I didn’t want to wear a traditional white wedding dress as that wouldn’t match my personality.”

The reception celebration began with a sitdown feast back at The Craft & Co. The room was decorated by Karina herself with a little help. “My main overall focus was to ensure that everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves as we all celebrated our special day. Most of the decorations were sourced by myself either from Marketplace or small Etsy businesses. But one of the things that made it special was our hanging decorations by Bangin Hangins.”

The couple chose “Islands In The Stream” by Dolly Parton to serenade them on the dance floor says Karina,  “We wanted something more upbeat to match our personalities” Dean added “I would advise learning some dance moves before the actual wedding because I had no idea what I was doing.”

The biggest of congratulations to you both Karina and Dean on such a beautiful wedding day. What an honour to be able to share it. Thank you to Lovegood Images for sending this one our way.