MAATHANGI & LIAM

Congratulations MAATHANGI & LIAM

25.4.22 & 1.5.22

“We were married on 25 April 2022 in a Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu Ceremony and had our Civil Ceremony and Reception on 1 May 2022.

Maathangi Karunaharan and Liam Hackett met over a decade ago at The University of Queensland’s Young Scholar’s Program. “It was at YSP, affectionately known as ‘nerd camp’, during a game of Quidditch. Liam very quickly realised that I was not very athletic and placed all his efforts on getting me out of the game. With great sportsmanship and all the grace of a humble loser, in retaliation I decided to kick him in the shins! We started dating several months later and tied the knot on our ten-year anniversary.”

“On the eve of our nine-year anniversary, Liam orchestrated a scavenger hunt with our feline daughters. It involved me searching for hints and photos placed around our home, which when put together formed a chronology of the years we have spent together, from our very first photo at YSP to a heartfelt proposal at the end, which left no room for anything but a resounding ‘Yes’.”

“The ‘Ring Game’ was the biggest highlight of our Hindu ceremony and our series of wedding dances was the best part of our civil ceremony. We say dances in plural as the groomsmen did a routine (including a homage to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’), followed by the bridesmaids performing to a medley starting with Megan Trainor’s ‘Dear Future Husband’ and a mix of Hindi/Tamil songs. We ended with our bridal waltz to a duet version of ‘A Thousand Years’, which was complemented by a fog effect and sparkulars during our partnered lift. We’re fortunate to have had two ceremonies, so it is hard to choose from the many beautiful memories. Honestly both days were just magical.”

“As much as this may be disheartening for some to hear, expect things to not go exactly to plan. For example, during our civil ceremony it kept spitting with rain, but our best man organised umbrellas and despite how cramped it was with us all sheltering together, it added some whimsy to the day that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. As long as you’re with your partner, thick and thin, that’s all that matters. Most importantly, we can say that rain or shine, we still got married!”

“Our advice for other couples planning their wedding is to work out what your must-haves are and your budget. We had a clear idea of which vendors we wanted and therefore were happy to splurge on particular services based on the image we had in mind. Otherwise, we DIY’d smaller things like wedding cake/ bonbonniere boxes, menus, welcome signs and seating charts.”

“In Sri Lankan Tamil culture, red is considered an auspicious colour, which is why traditionally many brides wear a rich red-coloured saree. For our civil ceremony, we chose white as our secondary colour to reflect Liam’s heritage. To unify both weddings, we had accents of gold, resulting in a theme of red and gold for the Hindu ceremony and white and gold for the civil ceremony.

MAATHANGI & LIAM’S WEDDING CREW

Civil Ceremony and Reception HILLSTONE ST LUCIA

www.hillstonestlucia.com.au enquiries@hillstonestlucia.com.au

Cake - Civil Ceremony SIMPLY DIVINE OCCASIONS

www.simplydivineoccasions.com.au enquiries@simplydivineoccasions.com.au

Attire - By Elora (Bespoke Bridal Gown), Tony Barlow (Suits) Cake - Bina Gorasia’s Kitchen (Hindu Ceremony) Civil Ceremony and Reception - Hillstone St Lucia Favours - Chocablock Chocolates Florals - Archara Flowers (Hindu Ceremony), Chandni Events (Civil Ceremony) Hair and Makeup - Bhawna Mmahajan Hindu Ceremony - Serbian Australian Community Centre Hire and Styling - Rupali’s Mandaps (Hindu Ceremony), Chandni Events (Civil Ceremony and Reception) Jewellery - Molten Store (Bride’s Engagement and Wedding Rings), Argyle Jewellers (Grooms Wedding Band) Light Up Letters - Events Fantastic Marriage Celebrant - Anne-Marie Campbell Music - DJ Desi Photography - Willidea Studio (Hindu Ceremony), Evernew Studio (Civil Ceremony) Special Effects - G&M Event Group (Fog & Sparkulars) Stationery and Invitations - Seven Colors Card (Invitations), Theresa Cooper Designs (Thank You cards for parents and bridal party) Transport - Specialised Transport Australia Videography - Willidea Studio (Hindu Ceremony) “ In the theme of having two weddings, we had two ‘mini-moons’ with five days in Port Douglas immediately after our wedding and eight days in June on a west-coast roadtrip from Perth to Exmouth.