They wanted the look and feel of a Vegas elopement, but with their close friends and family there, so Elisha and Sean chose to get married locally, at The Altar Electric in Melbourne, which was decked out to look like a real Las Vegas chapel! The day was intimate and romantic with influences of Moulin Rouge. After the ceremony they and their loved ones went to Pepe’s Italian & Liquor for a dinner in a private room.

“I have always been obsessed with Moulin Rouge since I was a kid, I would make up dances (not really knowing what any of the lyrics meant)”, Elisha told us. “I always knew there was something magical about Baz Luhrmann’s vision, from the costumes to the colour schemes in the last closing scene to Come What May. Baz has always had a flair for making you fall in love with love! When I saw The Alter Electric I instantly knew that was our venue. I would say it was if Baz decided he wanted to design a wedding chapel as a side hustle, The Altar Electric would be it!”

The bride’s dress was a two-piece from Honeymoon Studios and the top had detachable sleeves which she removed in the evening and added a cardigan to keep warm. The groom’s outfit was inspired by James Bond and Ron Burgundy! “He’s a big fan of both”, the bride laughed. “When we couldn’t find a black corduroy suit after countless scrolls and deep dives into every suit shop in Melbourne, he hired Reiner Clothing to make his vision come to life.”

“My wedding dress was so reasonably priced and was also a local Melbourne designer”, she continued. “But it wasn’t just the price tag that made me go with them; it was the whole experience. I had just come from another dress shop and I was feeling pretty defeated to be honest. I had walked in and the first thing they asked was what was my budget. I had told them it was only going to be a small wedding, so we really wanted to keep the cost down. I got the feeling this wasn’t what they wanted to hear because they swiftly directed me to the sales rack and mentioned these were the only dresses within my price range.”

“My second appointment was Honeymoon Studio. Andrea greeted me with a warm smile and offered us a champers. Her question to me was not what my budget was but what my vision was. I loved every option that I tried on that it was really hard to decide what look I wanted because they were all stunning. I decided to go with the two piece setting with the detachable sleeves. Which was perfect because it essentially gave me two looks for both the ceremony and the reception, so in a way I saved money on a whole outfit!”

Having such a small wedding, the couple found the planning process very easy and stress-free, not least of all because of how great the team at the chapel were. They also organised everything in less than six months! The bride swotted up by watching movies like The Wedding Planner countless times! “I had always romanticised about becoming a wedding planner, so this was finally my chance to shine!” Elisha said.

“The advice that I would give to other couples is the same advice given to us by the old Greek jeweller that made Sean’s ring”, she concluded. “The first thing he said to us before we even looked at any of the rings was ‘A ring does not make the marriage‘. A big, massive wedding doesn’t make the marriage either. For us, keeping it low cost and low stress was the most important thing. We love to travel and really wanted to save the money to have an amazing honeymoon.”