When a love story can withstand long distances, travel restrictions, and years apart, you know it’s meant to be! Hayley and Nari’s journey took them from different corners of the world to the same aisle, proving that true love always finds a way. Their intimate wedding was a stunning reflection of their personalities – equal parts timeless and fun, with colourful details, heartfelt traditions, and, of course, incredible food! Dive into their love-filled celebration, from a breathtaking proposal on a candlelit yacht to a reception bursting with warmth, laughter, and the best kind of surprises, all captured by Justine from Dream Cave.

After meeting through mutual friends, Hayley and Nari’s love story has spanned years and continents! “After a year and a half of dating (in 2017), both of us decided to pursue our masters overseas. I moved to Melbourne and Narayanan to Singapore. Yes, our love has even withstood the COVID travel restrictions of 2020 and 2021, with us finally reuniting in 2022!”

In late December 2022, Hayley returned to the United Arab Emirates to celebrate one last Christmas in her family home. Little did she know that Nari was planning an extra special surprise date night for her! “He picked me up and took me to the mangroves, where I was surprised with a yacht decorated with beautiful candles! The yacht barely left the shore when Narayanan proposed to me! He said he proposed so quickly because he was nervous and had to do it immediately! When we returned, I was surprised to find my family and Narayanan’s family waiting to celebrate with us over dinner!”

Not typically a suit man, Nari wanted something that was as comfortable as it was stylish. This warm grey suit from Politix was his final pick – a great choice for their classic wedding. Altered by Rameez at Final Fitting for the perfect fit, he finished the look with this floral tie from Peggy and Finn.

His intimate wedding party consisted of his best friends from school, who were wearing chinos from Country Road, white shirts, and matching bowties from Peggy and Finn!

Hayley opted for this simple yet elegant dress by Madi Lane from Luv Bridal. After further alterations by Kelly from Bridal Tailors, they made the train detachable and moulded the gown to her body for a classic, modern look. “I mean, look at those curves!”

Her wedding party was made up of her cousins and best friends. The girls were told to pick out any gown in an emerald green tone. “I wanted them to also be comfortable in what they were wearing on the day!”

Their ceremony occurred at St. Francis of Assisi in Mill Park, a church where Hayley attends Sunday mass weekly. “It is a beautiful church with a gorgeous stained glass painting of St. Francis of Assisi. We were also lucky to have developed a close relationship with our celebrant, Fr. Zaher,” she shared.

Hayley walked down the aisle with her mum and dad on either arm. The couple wanted an intimate ceremony in the church. Nari is Hindu, so it was a simple ceremony, and their priest did a wonderful job ensuring the proceedings were inclusive and wholesome. “We had a few laughs and a lot of beautiful moments throughout the ceremony.”

With so many incredible photos throughout the day, it was hard for Hayley and Nari to pick one. Even so, these shots of her and Nari outside Farm Vigano are definitely up there as their favourites! “We have already got it printed and put up in our house!”

These beautiful flowers were created by Elle from Mary Norma Botanicals, who took Hayley and Nari’s vision and brought it to life! “Our brief was very short and simple as I am not a very visual person. I told her I wanted bright colours; however, I was still sticking to what was available for the season. We chose peaches, pinks, lemony yellows and oranges and a touch of mauve,” she explained. “For my bridesmaid’s bouquets, I wanted each of them to have an individual colour that came together to form my bouquet. For Narayanan, we chose to have a pocket square that received compliments from every single guest during the day! Our tables were covered in beautiful bud vases that just added so much colour to our day!”

Justine from Dream Cave was the photographer for Hayley and Nari’s intimate wedding, and did an incredible job capturing the day’s classic vibe. “Justine is super talented at her work, and we have absolutely loved each and every one of our sneak peeks. We cannot wait to see the rest of our gallery and cherish each of those memories!”

Unfortunately, many of Nari and Hayley’s friends and family were unable to make their wedding, including Nari’s sister. Luckily for the couple, Hayley’s cousin (who was also one of her bridesmaids) recorded video messages from each of them! “It was amazing to see all of our loved ones and hear from each of them on our big day. There were definitely lots of tears shed!”

Farm Vigano was their venue of choice for the reception, as it was one of the restaurants Nari and Hayley had visited on a holiday in Australia. “We really enjoyed the views and the FOOD! Fast-forward to Farm Vigano being placed at the top of our list of venues. We met with Evie, one of the wedding coordinators who paid close attention to detail, was super patient, and was just overall a lovely person to work with! We knew Farm Vigano had to be our venue!”

Their favourite moment of the night was just before the reception kicked off, as Nari, Hayley, and their wedding party enjoyed some quiet canapés in the wedding suite. “Evie had offered this as a suggestion during the planning process, and honestly, we are so grateful because it was the first bit of food any of us had had for the day and, honestly, the BEST food!”

The two vendors from their dream team that went above and beyond were the Farm Vigano team and Sweet Bakes by Alisha Henderson! “Right from Evie, our wedding coordinator, to every single staff member who worked that night, we are so grateful that they were able to create a fun and intimate reception for us! Also, have I mentioned the FOOD?!” she gushed before adding: “Our cake was literally a work of art! That cake summarised our entire wedding theme! Not only did it look beautiful, but Alisha also nailed the brief with the flavours of chocolate, salty dulce de leche, and biscoff. YUM!”

When it came to picking their first dance song, both Nari and Hayley thought they were sly and sneaking in their favourite pick. “Narayanan and I spent an evening listening to a Spotify playlist of first dance songs and rating them. Little did Narayanan know that my mind was already set on Lover by Taylor Swift, and I snuck it into the queue. Little did I KNOW Narayanan was onto me and he picked it as our song!” she shared. “Narayanan and I are not dancers, so we found a YouTube video for beginners and practised in our living room the week before our wedding. Safe to say, we surprised our families with our moves! The first dance was even more special as it was sung with live vocals by our DJ Claudia Allegro.”

The top five things that made their classic intimate wedding so special included:

“1. The father-daughter dance. Both of my sisters got married in 2020 during COVID-19, and they did not get the chance to have a father-daughter dance. During my dance with my dad, I surprised them by stepping off the dance floor a third of the way into the song, and my dad danced with each of them as well. It’s safe to say there was not a dry eye in the room at that moment!

2. Seeing our family and friends travel in from overseas and interstates to attend our wedding and have the best time with each other.

3. THE FOOD!

4. The little moments that Narayanan and I had together will always be some of my favourite memories!

5. The colour of our flowers, our cake, wearing my runners, my heart sunglasses, all the small details that were very US. In the lead-up to our wedding, I kept saying our details feel a bit mismatched, but that’s kind of like us; we are a bit mismatched, but it all comes together to work beautifully!”

The advice Nari and Hayley want to leave for future married couples is this: “You can plan for every single thing on the day, but sometimes things are not going to go according to plan. On the morning of our wedding, when it was cloudy and drizzling (after a couple of dry weeks), I was quick to embrace the motto “Such is life”. Anything that did not go to plan for the rest of the day I would mutter to myself such is life and quickly move on from that moment so that I could continue to enjoy the even better things that were happening instead. Also, buy umbrellas the week before your wedding, and keep the tags on! You can always return it if you are more fortunate than us to not have rain!”

Please join us in congratulating Hayley and Nari on this incredible intimate wedding! And thanks to Dream Cave for sharing these wonderful moments with us.