Forget an elaborate flower budget and hours spent agonising over the menu. For Shani and Niyama, a beautiful garden, plenty of good brunch-style food, a brass band, and a room full of their favourite people mattered most. Their summer celebration at Hobart’s Corinda Collection brought all of that together, with Will from Finding Happy Photography capturing a day filled with bubbles and brilliant music.

We love a right-time, right-place story here, and that’s exactly how Niyama and Shani’s story began. “We met at work. Niyama was born and bred in Tasmania, and Shani was pretty fresh off the plane from the UK, starting his first Working Holiday Visa.”

Shani booked a romantic dinner at Sydney’s Aria Restaurant overlooking the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House for him and Niyama. At the time, they both lived and worked in Sydney, and had shared some of their favourite moments together right in the heart of the city. “After our main course, I handed Niyama a photo book that went through our relationship so far – with a timeline of my favourite bits,” Shani shared.

“At the end of the book it said, “Now look at me and answer one question” – this is where I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me. It took her what seemed like an eternity to answer!!! But she said yes!”

The historic Corinda Collection in Hobart was the perfect location for Shani and Niyama’s summer garden wedding. “We chose Corinda Collection because of their beautiful garden and building. We had viewed it when we first started looking at venues, but then COVID hit – and we all know how that went!”

Niyama and Shani shopped for her dress together, and it was in the best, most chaotic way ever! “I disliked my first dress try-on at another store… found this one at an EOFY deal at Strutt Bridal. I basically had 30 minutes, which meant I tried one on; it was a yes or a no, and then I moved on! I loved the speed and lack of chance to umm and ahh,” Niyama explained.

Shani’s brother sent over a traditional Indian/Pakistani Sherwani from the UK that was absolutely perfect for their garden wedding. “I had to have it altered slightly, but other than that, it was exactly what he was wanting!” she shared.

Is there anything more beautiful than live music at a ceremony? How about the live brass band Southside Steppers performing as the couple walks hand-in-hand down the aisle?! “It was incredible!”

Corinda Collection was their venue of choice because the beautiful gardens meant they didn’t need a huge flower budget. The flowers they did include were in Niyama’s bouquet, which they brought on Botanical Kate to create. “My bouquet was amazing. I just said, “I like colour; here is a photo of my dress and his suit – ‘Please make me a bouquet’, and they did a fantastic job!”

With their friend as the celebrant, Shani and Niyama’s ceremony was exactly what they wanted: chill and intimate. “Our celebrant was a friend of ours, which made us a little more relaxed about the whole thing. We just wanted a nice setting, great for pictures and a central location,” they explained.

Exiting the ceremony, Shani and Niyama had guests blow bubbles instead of confetti or flowers. “Niyama has a fair few nephews and nieces! And friends with kids too, as well as our own son, who was one at the time! We decided to have bubbles at the wedding! It worked out so great and just added a bit of fun to some of the photos, as well as for the kids! Exactly what we were after!”

Their brunch-style buffet was created by Silver Bean Events, who executed the food exactly as Shani and Niyama wanted. “We, as a friends group, like to brunch together! So we were sat around one day looking at menus that had been sent to us, and Niyama had the thought – “why don’t we do brunch style?!” I immediately emailed our food vendor and asked if they could accommodate. They said they could! They hit the nail on the head with our brunch-style menu!! It was the best idea ever! All our guests were super happy with the food; the vendor said that they had a lot of fun putting it all together! Again, very genuine and great to work with!”

Will from Finding Happy Photography captured Niyama and Shani’s summer wedding flawlessly. “Such a genuinely nice guy and was so easy to work with on the day. He captured some amazing photos and even now, almost two years later, he still stops and talks to us when we see each other out and about!”

The five things that Shani and Niyama feel made their wedding so incredibly special were:

“1. Family and friends were together celebrating

2. The band did a fantastic job – they even learnt how to play Bluey for the kids!!!

3. The bubbles made everything and everyone so happy – feel-good vibes were definitely present, which is what we wanted!

4. The food was 100% on point!

5. The photographer was amazing!”

The last thing Niyama and Shani want to leave for couples planning their own weddings is this piece of advice: “Pick the things that really matter. It’s one day, and while you want it to be perfect… there’s actually so much you can just do without!”

Congratulations to the happy couple! And thanks to Finding Happy Photography for sharing these beautiful moments with us.