Surrounded by beautiful classic architecture, bright florals and plenty of sweets from their cultures, Athena and Kaushik brought their dream wedding to life. If there’s one thing you take away from this wedding – it’s to listen to your heart and not other people’s opinions. Matt from Stone and Wool Photography captured the bright smiles and gorgeous atmosphere that followed this couple – and now we get to share it with all of you!

These busy bees were inseparable once they had matched on Bumble! “We spoke over the app and on the phone for about five days before meeting in person – we spent the next seven days together.”

After living together in Cleveland, QLD, for a while, the couple took a day trip up to North Stradbroke Island for the day – something they’d been planning since the day they met. “We were sitting on a bench in the park, and Kaushik gave me a poem he had written for me in the style of a Shakespearean sonnet (Shakespeare is one of my favourites). He gave me a ring made by my favourite jewellery designer and asked me to marry him.”

Athena wore this beautiful strapless gown from Booming Moda. “I had originally bought a different dress. It was made from Mikado silk and was beautiful, but I chose it because I listened to what everyone else was telling me rather than my heart. When I went to pick it up and tried it on for the last time, I knew it wasn’t for me. I spent weeks thinking about it and ultimately decided that even though the dress was beautiful, it wouldn’t make me feel beautiful on my wedding day, so I started looking for something else. It was too late to get something made, so I had to find a dress off the rack. I found one similar to the dress I should have bought, and luckily, they had one in-store, which was my size.”

One of the standout vendors for Athena was her hair and make-up artist Brittany from Bella Brides. “I was very anxious about my hair and make-up, but Brittany made me feel so relaxed during our trial that I forgot about many of the things I was worried about,” she shared. “I could not recommend her enough.”

The Calilie Hotel in Fortitude Valley, Queensland, was Athena and Kaushik’s dream wedding venue. So they were thrilled to score their ceremony on this bright outdoor terrace filled with sunshine and flowers. “We’ve always loved the architecture and the décor, and getting married there was everything we could have wanted. The wedding coordinator there, Kate, was so easy to work with, and the rest of the staff were also amazing. Our guests still talk about how fantastic the service was at our wedding.”

These gorgeous pastel flowers were Athena’s favourite detail of the day. “I told Kat from Garden Graffiti that I wanted “unstructured colour”, and she did the rest. I’m so glad I trusted her vision because our flowers were spectacular.”

Kaushik wore this classic custom-made green suit from Patrick Mackenzie that perfectly contrasted Athena’s gown. “I chose a deep green for my suit because I wanted something a little different. I also wore patent leather loafers from Aquila.”

Both of Athena’s parents were meant to walk her down the aisle, but once she saw Kaushik standing there, she forgot her pacing and rushed forward to be with him sooner – how sweet is that?!

They wanted the ceremony to be relaxed, fun and personal – and with the sunshine streaming down on them, they did exactly that. Their celebrant, Roxy Hotten, was everything they wanted: joyous, colourful and inclusive. To shake up the ceremony proceedings, Athena and Kaushik chose to hold a lottery for their witnesses – and drew the most perfect people!

Once the ceremony had concluded, the couple stepped aside with their photographer, Matt, from Stone and Wool Photography, to capture some couple portraits. “Matt was so easy to work with. I was very anxious about the photos because I never liked photos of myself, and I wanted to like photos of myself on my wedding day,” Athena explained. “I told Matt this at the start of the day. Having him there felt like having just another friend at our wedding. He made both of us feel so comfortable, and he took some beautiful photos of us and our guests.”

Their reception took place in this gorgeous room, with classic architecture overlooking the Brisbane cityscapes. These huge windows let in plenty of light, brightening the space and allowing in the afternoon glow.

Athena and Kaushik couldn’t have been happier with how their wedding turned out. So here’s some advice they want to leave for future married couples: “Do what feels right for you. It’s your wedding. You don’t have to please everyone else, and you don’t have to do what everyone expects. If you don’t want to do a first dance with everyone watching, then you don’t have to. If you both want to walk down the aisle together, go for it. Your guests won’t remember the little details like the napkins’ colour or the order of the speeches, so don’t stress about these things. Relax and enjoy your day.”

Kaushik comes from a Fijian Indian background, so the couple wanted to include their favourite Indian sweets for their guests to enjoy. Athena comes from a Greek Cypriot background on her mum’s side, and when her cousin heard about the Indian sweets, she offered to make some Greek ones to go with them—so they had the perfect blend of their two cultures coming together.

After their musician, Cryss Coleman, had played a few songs, all the speeches had concluded, and the dinner had wrapped up, it was time for Kaushik and Athena to have their first dance. They chose “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, as it was the first song they had ever danced to together—just a few days after they met.

Please join us in congratulating Athena and Kaushik on bringing their bright, classic wedding to life! And a huge thanks to Stone and Wool Photography for capturing and sharing it with us.