Set against the rolling hills of the Yarra Valley, Dipti and Yasith gathered their loved ones at The Stones of the Yarra Valley for a wedding that honoured heritage and family. With a flower-filled Poruwa ceremony rich with blessings to a reception that began with every guest on the dance floor, each detail of the day was designed to prioritise connection and joy. Cultural details were layered throughout; in the music, the ceremony, the styling and the language shared across signage.

Behind the lens, Margot from Hey Jack Photography captured it all. Every proud glance from family and every exuberant spin on the dance floor was perfectly immortalised.

A trip to Melbourne and a few Tinder dates was supposed to be a fun week of experience for Dipti, but when she laid eyes on Yasith for the first time she was a goner! “I was visiting Melbourne for a week from Tasmania, where I was studying at university, and decided to go on Tinder to organise a few dates, thinking it would just be a fun experience and not expecting anything serious. Yasith was my first ever online date! We went on three dates that week, convinced each other to be in a long-distance relationship for three years, and the rest is history!”

After five years of being together, Yasith finally asked that all-important question that took their relationship to the next level. “We designed my engagement ring together at Kavalri – it is a Toi et Moi ring with a diamond to symbolise the engagement and a Sri Lankan sapphire to honour our South Asian cultures,” Dipti shared.

“We are both very private people, so he proposed in the privacy of our apartment, with just the two of us and a beautiful flower arch. After the proposal, he organised for both our families to surprise us, and we had a lovely celebratory dinner after!”

Working with P. Johnson, Yasith created a beautiful custom suit for the day. “He wanted a classic double-breasted tuxedo look, and P. Johnson was able to make a gorgeous suit that was both traditional and modern.”

His wedding party was made up of his brother and friends from school, dressed to the nines in custom suits from InStitchu.

Dipti’s wedding party was filled with her sister and her friends from school and university, all wearing beautiful baby-pink dresses from Shona Joy.

For herself, Dipti wore a stunning custom gown by Luci di Bella. “I went to several bridal design houses, but Luci was definitely the most personable and understanding of my design concept. I wanted my dress, particularly once the overskirt was removed after the ceremony, not to feel like a bridal gown and be simple and modern. Luci was able to make the most beautiful dress that met all of my requests!” she explained.

“The experience of working with Luci on this custom dress was amazing – it almost felt like she was reading my mind and knew exactly what I wanted and what would look beautiful.”

Nestled in the heart of the Yarra Valley, The Stones of the Yarra Valley is a beautiful venue with a long history – perfect for Dipti and Yasith’s day. “We visited Stones about a year and a half prior to our wedding and fell in love with it instantly. It is such a gorgeous venue, with its Tuscan architecture, rolling hills, and vineyards, and it is a beautiful mix of modernity and tradition – exactly what we wanted for our wedding. We fell in love instantly!”

Florals are a huge part of South Asian weddings, so it was important for Dipti and Yasith to have an abundance of fresh flowers. “Red is traditionally the wedding colour of Indian weddings (my culture), and so they were incorporated heavily in our florals and signage. Floss and Fleur, our amazing florist, did an incredible job with our lush flowers and gorgeous reception backdrop. She also worked with us to ensure that our signage was written in both English, Tamil and Sinhalese to incorporate our Australian, Sri Lankan and Tamil backgrounds,” Dipti explained.

“Jasmine, in particular, is used in Indian weddings, but was not available in March for our wedding. So Britt from Floss and Fleur came up with the brilliant idea of having jasmine incense during our reception to replicate the smell of the traditional flowers in Indian weddings.”

Dipti walked down the aisle with a parent on either arm as “Can’t Help Falling In Love” played by Little Wolf Entertainment. “It was important to me to have both my parents walk me down the aisle as they are both my biggest supports in my life,” she shared.

Their ceremony was a swirling pot of Australian, Indian and Sri Lankan cultural elements, primarily focusing on the Sri Lankan Poruwa ceremony. They completed the ceremony with personalised vows and a ring exchange. “The Poruwa ceremony (the traditional Sri Lankan wedding ceremony) includes a ritual where elder family members come up to the stage and bless us. This was a touching and memorable moment where we received good blessings and love from our extended family, some of whom had come all the way from India and Sri Lanka to be by our side for the day,” Dipti shared.

“As part of the Poruwa ceremony, Yasith’s mother gifted me a beautiful sapphire and diamond necklace to match my engagement ring. This will become a family heirloom.”

Of all the beautiful moments captured by their photographer, Dipti’s favourite is the one of her and Yasith walking out of their ceremony hand in hand. “It is such a joyous moment for us!”

Margot from Hey Jack Photography captured everything alongside Yasith and Dipti, all in their timeless style. “Margot was absolutely incredible! She was everywhere on the day, so calm and collected, and provided such warmth and comfort for both of us on our wedding day. As two people who are both camera shy, she very much made us feel comfortable in front of the camera!”

Even though they loved all of their vendors, Dipti and Yasith couldn’t help but be enamoured by Britt from Floss and Fleur. “Our incredible florist, Britt, was exceptional! She was able to incorporate cultural elements into our florals and styling, and was so lovely and kind to work with. My first tears on the day were when she brought in my bouquet, and I was so stunned by how gorgeous it was!”

The five things that stood out the most to Dipti from their autumnal South Asian wedding included:

“1. We wanted our wedding to be primarily a joyful experience for us and all our guests, so we prioritised many moments of joy during the day, including starting off our reception with a big dance floor opener with all our guests, having games throughout the reception for our guests, having an ice-cream cart and fireworks at the end of the night!

2. Incorporating cultural elements in our wedding that honoured our heritage.

3. Having our extended family and friends from all over the world join us to celebrate our wedding.

4. Incorporating our family into our ceremony, e.g. during the blessing ritual in the Poruwa ceremony.

5. We made time for many private moments together during the ceremony, which allowed us to take in the special moments together.”

Including cultural touches wherever they could was really important for Dipti and Yasith, so it came as no surprise to anyone that their signage included English, Tamil and Sinhalese text. “Our mothers and extended family also wore saris, the traditional dress of South Asia. We also played Tamil and Sinhalese music (which got all our older family members on the dance floor!).”

To kick off the reception, Yasith and Dipti opened with a dance surrounded by all their guests. “We did not want to have a first dance, and it was important to us to honour our preferences. Instead, we started off our reception with a big dance with all our guests on the dance floor (with our incredible saxophonist jumping in and starting off the dance floor!) to “Crazy in Love”. It was a lovely way to get all the guests up and partying before the formalities began!”

After being together for over seven years now, Yasith and Dipti have a wealth of knowledge to share. For couples planning their weddings, they have this to say: “We intentionally made our wedding not only a commitment to a lifetime together, but also a celebration of our memories and time together. Our advice for future couples getting married is to make sure your weddings are a reflection of who you are, your time together, as well as a commitment to the future.”

Please join us in congratulating Yasith and Dipti on their incredible wedding! And thanks to Hey Jack for capturing and sharing these heartwarming moments with us.