Marquee weddings offer a charming blend of natural landscapes and customisable celebration spaces. Today, we're exploring what you need to know about planning a seamless marquee wedding day as we chat with Julia Vardy from the picturesque Mewburn Park. Nestled 2.5 hours from Melbourne, Mewburn Park marries historical buildings with beautiful country surroundings. With multiple wedding spaces, including a grand clear marquee, and on-site accommodation, it's an ideal choice for a weekend escape...

A wedding day where everything falls magically into place - that's the power of a great wedding planner. In this month's episode of The Feel Good Wedding podcast, Sarah Johnston from Girl Friday Weddings pulls back the curtain on hiring a pro for your big day. With over 15 years of experience, Girl Friday Weddings opened its doors in 2009. This award-winning Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane boutique wedding planning agency offers services ranging from full planning to day-of coordination....

Often, there’s a dilemma when it comes to wedding photos. We all want to have beautiful pictures that contain even just a speck of the emotion of the day—but so many of us feel awkward in front of the camera. Fortunately, this isn’t an impossible problem. This month's guest, Dani Bartlett exemplifies our point that no one is truly “unphotogenic.” All they need to do is find the right photographer that helps them get comfortable. Dani is the face,  the talent behind Melbourne-based wedding...

A wedding’s style isn’t just about aesthetics. Floral and event designer Steph Jordan makes sure that every design detail and flower arrangement reflects the couple accurately.  Steph is the Owner and Director of Nunu Designs, award-winning wedding florists passionate about making your event even better than how you imagined.   In this chat we discuss: ●      The difference between a wedding stylist and wedding florist  ●      Hiring the right wedding stylist and florist  ●      How to start...

People marvel at weddings, but it’s the preparation and hard work that makes it happen in the first place! For this week’s episode, the Polka Dot Wedding team chats about the mental load of wedding planning. The pressure to plan typically falls on the bride, but Ms Polka (Dot), Ms Rose (Mary), and Ms Peacock (Julia) give tips on how to share the work load as a couple. In this chat we discuss: How we each approached planning our own weddingsThe pros and cons of DIY weddingsPlanning your...

Music enhances whatever emotion we feel in the moment. That’s why it’s so important to curate your wedding playlist. To help us get started, musician Lucas Evans reveals his favourite songs to play at weddings that really sets the mood. Lucas is the drummer and band leader of Orlando Combo, one of Melbourne’s finest jazz bands. The band regularly performs at the Australian Tennis Open, Australian Grand Prix, AFL Grand Finals, and of course, weddings! In this chat we discuss: About Orlando...

“The way you get married is how you’re going to be married.” Those wise words came from Josh Withers, wedding celebrant extraordinaire and our guest on Episode #25 of The Feel Good Wedding Podcast. The ceremony kicks off married life, and according to Josh, you want it to be as intentional as possible. Apart from being a wedding celebrant, Josh is also the author of The Rebel’s Guide to Getting Married. He and his wife Britt are the founders of the Elopement Collective, a team of vendors that...

Dressing your wedding party can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be if you talk about the important stuff early on. Here with us today is Tessa Hartnett of Bridesmaids Only,, giving us tips on how to coordinate outfits without the stress! Tessa is the owner of Bridesmaids Only, your one-stop shop for wedding party attire.  With over 10,000 designs, they have a wide range of styles, colours, fabrics and sizes that cater to every body type. Their “Try Before You Buy” service is a godsend,...

Weddings are usually multi-venue affairs, but there are definitely perks to having the ceremony and reception all in one place. With a venue like Zonzo Estate, which houses a farm, restaurant, and winery, you’ll want for nothing more. Rod Micallef, the director of Zonzo Estate, is here to talk about their humble beginnings as a restaurant and how they became one of the most booked wedding venues in Yarra Valley. Fun fact: Rod met his wife at Zonzo Estate and of course, got married there! In...

Stories are at the heart of what we do at Polka Dot Wedding. And we’ve got room for all kinds of them! As a blog and an online membership for vendors in our directory, we want everyone to feel represented and included in the weddings we feature. Today in a very special episode, two of the Polka Dot Wedding team sit down to chat about why we’re so passionate about inclusivity and the wedding industry. In this chat, we discuss: The humble beginnings of Polka Dot WeddingThe Polka Dot Wedding...

What’s better than one wedding? TWO weddings, of course! Polka Dot You Bride Racquela Hill talks about her own nupitals and how she made the best of them despite all the things that didn’t go as planned! In this chat we discuss: How Racquela and Michael metRacquela & Michael’s intimate first weddingTheir second wedding at Kantara HouseChoosing wedding gownsHighlighting the venue’s natural charmsRacquela and Michael’s wedding vendorsHow to adapt to unforeseen eventsAdvantages of a nearby...

You know what they say, "First impressions last." This is why wedding stationery should never be overlooked. Invitations provide a glimpse of what your special day will be like. On a practical level, they also contain important information for your guests. To help us make sense of wedding stationery, Natalie Reidy of A Tactile Perception shares her industry expertise. She is passionate about being creative with paper and stationery, providing a totally touchable experience for her couples...

Like most industries, there is a growing trend from florists, wedding planners, and couples looking to make their weddings more sustainable. The big question is, where do you start? According to Kris McKee of Kris McKee Floral Design, to go down the sustainable route, you need to make ethical choices in the flowers and construction techniques you use to make your presentation. The good news is you don't have to break the bank or sacrifice beauty to be successful. Kris McKee is a former nurse,...

Aside from the favours, the only things you can really take home from a wedding are the memories and photos. Choosing the right photographer is crucial so that your special day is remembered the way you want it to. As an expert himself, Leo Farrell of Leo Farrell Photography knows that a photographer’s skills, style, and personality can make or break a couple’s photos. Leo is a wedding photojournalist based in Melbourne. When he was just starting out, his documentary-style photography stood...

“Why are you having a wedding?” might be an unusual question to ask engaged couples, but Kat Wray believes this is the starting point for intentional wedding planning. Kat is an elopement and small wedding photographer at Red Eclectic. She is also the editor of Less Stuff - More Meaning, an eco-ethical wedding blog. Kat is passionate about mindful and sustainable weddings that are genuine and full of character. In this chat we discuss: How to come up with your marriage mission...

Running a wedding business is a handful, but Zee Scott runs three AND makes it look like a cakewalk! Zee’s love for sweets and performing led her to become a baker, MC, and marriage celebrant. Admittedly, she doesn’t get to sleep much¾not because of work, but because she can’t contain her excitement for life! In this chat we discuss: What it’s like to run several wedding businessesManaging burn outCRM tools & automation tipsBeing a trendsetter, not a followerBeing a BIPOC woman in the...

Engagement season is upon us! In honour of that, we’ve put together this engagement ring guide with Melbourne jeweller Jasmine Fraser . She’s been in the biz for 16 years, carefully handcrafting custom jewellery for special occasions. Her grandfather owned a jewellery store, so Jasmine’s love for gems and trinkets started at an early age. In fact, she went to trade school right after high school. Jasmine describes her pieces and signature style as “timeless, but with a contemporary...

The dancefloor is not the only place where the music matters. Award-winning DJ and MC, Serge Olivieri of DJ:Plus! Entertainment, would definitely agree. Although Serge found himself servicing weddings by accident, he has grown so fond of them that couples make up the bulk of his clientele. He’s been doing this for over 40 years now, and seeing such powerful emotions during weddings never fails to make him feel fulfilled. In this chat we discuss: What to consider before booking...

When it comes to DIY weddings, we aim for a celebration where we get to decorate the space based on who we are. Years on from her big day and with plenty of golden advice to share, Amy Frank joins today’s episode to dive into her DIY wedding and how she and Malen transformed an old warehouse into a beautifully colourful and handmade day that was definitely one to remember. Amy Franks is a DIY expert who owns a graphic design (Crumpet Club) and event party business (Make Parties). Her aim for...

Catering is one of those subtle things that can make or break your wedding. It’s a given that the food and drinks should be amazing; but when it’s not, it can leave a negative impression. This is why we have Lauren Davie with us today, to help us steer clear of catering disasters. Lauren is the sales and marketing manager at The Farm Café, the exclusive wedding provider at Melbourne’s Collingwood Children's Farm. In this chat we discuss: Booking a caterer on a budgetFamily-style feast or...

Weddings are a celebration of love. It only seems fair that couples get to decide how it’s done! For Molly and Malcolm, they had a “no compromises” kind of mindset when it came to wedding planning.  From the ceremony, venue, music, down to the attire, Molly and Malcolm’s wedding was 100% their own. In this chat, they shared all the intimate details of their nuptials and how their chosen vendors fulfilled their vision of a dramatic and moody wedding. In this chat we discuss: ·       How...

There's a misconception that country weddings are more difficult to plan due to the lack of vendors and venues. in celebration of The Country Issue, country wedding photographer Kirsten Cunningham is here with us today to dispel this myth! Kirsten (she/her) is a full-time wedding photographer based in Orange, New South Wales. She's had five years of experience shooting couples across Orange, Blue Mountains, Mudgee, Bathurst, and the central west. Her photography style is an extension of her...

The pandemic has not been kind to the wedding industry. Businesses were hit hard. Dorothy (she/her) sat down with Joel Mailo (he/him) of Sydney photography studio Ava Me Photography,  to talk about his career as a wedding photographer, his reflections during the pandemic, and his secret to building good rapport with clients. Joel is a seasoned wedding photographer at Ava Me Photography for seven years now. His interest in photography began when his first child, Ava, was born. On Facebook,...

We all know how planning a wedding can be such a stressful affair. But when the bride is in a wheelchair, that's a whole different level of stress - from choosing and fitting the gown, to finding a wheelchair-accessible wedding venue with adapted restrooms, to needing an expansive dance floor for the wheelchair dance. Throw in the pandemic, and the complexity goes a level higher. But yes, some couples do manage to pull it off. And our guests for this week's episode are one of those...