Do you know what seventeen years in blog terms feels like? Let me tell you, dear reader, it feels like 105.

Today, we turn seventeen, and it’s tradition around these parts to get a little lovey-dovey, to do a little reflecting, to stand in the moment with cake and bubbles before it passes us by.

So here we are. As the dawn of 2024 breaks and the year ahead looms, the year just gone has been nothing like those before. We’ve stayed true to ourselves: our commitment to creating a space where everyone feels welcome, telling love stories, and championing Australian weddings.

2023 saw us do so many things we were proud of. Endless love stories told, meeting amazing new vendors (and getting to know ones we’ve loved and followed for years), having tricky conversations and lovely ones too. 

The year saw brand new team members join us (welcome, Ms. Peacock and Ms. Houndstooth), two amazing people brimming with new ideas, fresh perspectives, and innovations to bring to our table. They join the already incredible Polka Dot team of Ms Rose, Ms Fleur De Lys, Ms Honeycomb and Ms Stripey. And our table? It’s full. It’s full of inspiration ideas, and brainstorms, and hard discussions and laughter and working around children and bad internet and illnesses. It’s a daily delight that somehow, I have managed to find such incredible women who step up and love on Polka Dot Wedding every day.

Polka Dot Wedding has never been just about simply tying the knot. It started as a place to celebrate what I adored most in the world—weddings. Where I championed vendors and discovered new ideas, and as I grew to understand the world as it was, it became a place to tell love stories. Even now, as we evolve, we want to create a safe space where you can see yourself and never walk away feeling anything less than the amazing human with an incredible love story that you are.

For the year ahead, we’ve been dreaming up ideas to make what we do even more inclusive. Our commitment to making this place as inclusive as possible has not ever wavered. We centre this mission at the core of every decision we make and take figuring out how we can do and be better and how we can make a small mark on the industry we cherish. Our goal with our content in 2024 is to ensure that the content we produce resonates with our increasingly diverse audience and welcomes you with open arms. From the partners we work with, to the educational content we create. We’ve had a long list of ideas for many a moon in our back pocket, and we’re thrilled to finally work on bringing them to life.

But do you know what else? I started Polka Dot Wedding for me, for sharing what I loved with the world about my adoration of weddings. From sharing what gave me tingles, what I was passionately in love with, and this year? We’re going to do more of what we love.

Every day, with the support of our amazingly talented, and passionate in their own right Polka Dot Wedding members, we strive to create a space tailored for you. We’re immensely grateful for your ongoing support and dedication. The community we’ve built and the way you challenge, support, and collaborate with us inspire us daily to do everything we can to make your day every bit beautifully yours.

Your messages, direct messages, comments, words, likes, thumbs up and hearts – every one of them is a little sparkle in our day. This is not a one-way street and we are keenly aware of how what you do drives us. So thank you.

We love a celebration, and we believe the golden moments, the milestones, and the anniversaries are always worthy of a piece of cake and a glass of bubbles. So please, join us today. We offer you a piece (as virtual as it may be) of this beautiful cake by Polka Dot Wedding member Ladybird Cakes, who consistently wows us with her cake skills, and a glass of our favourite Prosecco, because this? It’s all for you.