After meeting and falling in love, Abirami and Dilshan maintained a long-distance relationship. But the distance was simply too much, so Dilshan proposed to Abirami by surprising her at her apartment—on one knee, holding out a beautiful diamond ring. What followed was a magnificent wedding full of vibrancy, vivacity, and colors inspired by their South Indian and Sri Lankan cultures.

“Our favorite moment was when we first saw each other at the Hindu wedding. We could not stop grinning at each other and were completely oblivious to all the other wedding commotion happening around us.

We had epic levels of fun during our first dance. Our song was You Give Me Something by Jamiroquai, and we choreographed a dance that incorporated plenty of twirls to show off my layered lehenga skirt. It was such an upbeat way to open up the dance floor for the evening.

I was overcome with emotion during my reception speech as I looked around the room at our family and closest friends. We were grateful beyond measure to have so many loved ones celebrating our love with us.

We wanted to make sure that our personality as a couple was reflected in our wedding events. We wanted to keep things simple, fun, and above all, we wanted our loved ones to relax and enjoy the celebrations.

Thirteen months seems like ample time to plan a wedding, but time literally flies. We enjoyed our post-engagement bliss for one month before locking in a venue. We had attended many friends weddings and had a fair idea about Sydney wedding venues.

The only challenge was trying to coordinate auspicious dates with our pundit and the availability of our preferred venues. As a result of the to and fro, and because we wanted to celebrate both my South Indian Hindu background and Dilshan's Sri Lankan Buddhist faith, we ended up having our Hindu wedding on a Sunday and our Buddhist wedding on the following Friday. A Friday reception worked out well in hindsight as a nice gate-opener to the weekend. Securing suppliers for Sundays and Fridays is generally a lot easier than Saturdays. The gap between the two events worked well in terms of planning unique elements for each event.”

Words by Abirami, the bride, as told to Amber Marlow. Photos by Splendid Photos & Video.

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sri lankan wedding in sydney australia abirami’s necklace, rings, earrings, and bracelets laid out

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VENDORS

Venues | Miramare Gardens | Sergeants Mess | The Kingsbury Hotel

Photography/ Cinematography | Splendid Photos & Video

Invitations and stationery | BWedding Invitations

Event stationery | Giant Invitations

Printing | InkTank Printing

Decor | VIP Decorating | Miramare Gardens | DIY

Florals | Flowers by Drosia

Bride's jewelry | Sukra Jewellers | GRT Jewellers | Suhana Art & Jewels | Carma

Bride's accessories | Tarini Nirula

Bride's shoes | Nine West

Hair and makeup | Gather and Stitch Beauty

Henna artist | Reema's Henna Designs

Groom's outfits | Manyavar | Joe Black | David Jones

Groom's accessories | Manyavar | Malebox

Groom's shoes | Manyavar | Aldo

Bridesmaids’ outfits | Nalli Silks | Vogue Loving

Groomsmen’s outfits | Myer

DJ & live music | Systematic Solutions

Catering | Surjit’s Indian Restaurant | Taj Caterers

Cake | Paintbrush Patisserie

Transportation | JC Limousines

SPLENDID PHOTOS & VIDEO

We at Splendid Photos & Video believe that love, weddings, and commitment are a huge aspect of what life is all about. It is our honour to capture these subtle and meaningful exchanges and turn them into your beautiful story! Our style is all about storytelling, editorial and fine art photography. Our approach is a blend of candid moments with fine art portraiture. We combine a novel artistic approach with storytelling to produce meaningful images that show connection. Splendid Photography focuses not only on creating amazing images, but also on offering you the best experience both before and after your wedding day.