Real Bride Georgie wearing Inbal Dror
“It was effortless, fun and a truly beautiful and unforgettable experience. For the first visit I took a couple of my bridesmaids, my mother and my mother in law. It was such a fun appointment and my bridesmaids fell in love with my dress immediately! Then I took my mum and my bridesmaid who lived overseas to my fittings. It was so nice to go on that journey with them all.”
Bride & Groom: Georgie & Marc
Planning & Styling: Georgie (Bride) After The Rock Weddings
Gown: Inbal Dror from Helen Rodrigues Bridal
Venue: Stones of the Yalla Valley, Victoria
Photography: Erin & Tara
Floral: Cecilia Fox
Georgie Karloci (nee Duddy) is one of Australia’s best wedding and event planner and stylists having been at the helm of magazine worthy occasions including the wedding of Montara Pitt, Anna Heinrich and Tim Robards and Kate Waterhouse’s 30th.
We can only begin to imagine the pressure Georgie felt to ensure her very own wedding was all she could image and as you will see in the below images captured by renown wedding photographers Erin & Tara it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Georgie, your wedding is so incredibly beautiful. What was your vision for your special day?
Thank you! Overall I wanted the day to feel effortless, beautiful, romantic and fun. It really evolved throughout the year. I started with the venue - working with it however always making sure the styling had my own spin on it. I knew I wanted the ceremony to really WOW - it was the place of most importance to us as that's where we made the relationship official. I wanted depth with lightness and really enjoyed watching my brief evolve throughout the year. I wanted it to feel classic however still have a modern twist to it and I wanted there to be 'moments' everywhere for guests to stop, stare and enjoy.
Has planning your own wedding changed your viewpoint and the way you work as a wedding planner?
I believe it's changed how I plan a great deal. One big distinction for me is my ability to help guide my clients more with decision making as I understand when they have decision fatigue and they need some help to be pushed to make a decision versus when it’s actually a really important element that they want some space to consider their options further. Before I got married myself, I'd also not really understand why the couple wouldn't just go for it with the add-ons - thinking it's a once in a lifetime event so why not?! Now I understand that you get to a point where enough is enough! It doesn't matter how large your budget, it's all about making considered decisions.
What was the highlight of your wedding day?
I would have to say surprising my guests with a flash mob gospel choir at the completion of the ceremony! Marc, myself and my parents were the only ones that knew it was happening! It was a year of planning, months of sourcing the right people to bring together with the help of Rutherford Entertainment and rehearsal after rehearsal to get it just right! The choir were disguised as guests sitting in the ceremony with the remainder of the choir upstairs in the chapel and it really was an amazing performance. It certainly is something everyone can't stop talking about and seems to have set a trend!
Is there anything you would do differently?
As cliched as it sounds, no I wouldn't. It really was the most perfect day. I wish I could relive it again and again!
When you went looking for your wedding gown did you have anything specific in mind?
After all the years of experiencing this with my brides and seeing my friends get married, I knew to just trust the process and not rule anything out! I knew I would just feel it when it was my dress.
When did you know your Inbal Gown was 'the one'?
After recommending my brides to Helen for years I knew I wanted to go there first when looking for my gown - and I didn’t go any further! I had a feeling I would wear Inbal after all of my research - and narrowed it down to 2 gowns. I was so torn, however Helen and my bridesmaids knew the gown I chose was the standout and were very vocal about it!
How was your experience with Helen Rodrigues Bridal?
It was effortless, fun and a truly beautiful and unforgettable experience. For the first visit I took a couple of my bridesmaids, my mother and my mother in law. It was such a fun appointment and my bridesmaids fell in love with my dress immediately! Then I took my mum and my bridesmaid who lived overseas to my fittings. It was so nice to go on that journey with them all.
How did you select your wedding venue and suppliers?
I knew we wanted to get married somewhere other than Sydney. After working in events and weddings in Sydney for the past 14 years I wanted my wedding to feel like the opposite of work! We both love Melbourne so started to look in Victoria. Marc and I narrowed it down to 2 venues, one in the Yarra Valley and another in the Mornington Peninsula. In the end, I asked my parents to choose which one they preferred as I couldn't decide! They both loved Stones of the Yarra Valley - as it was a nod to my country roots and Marc's Italian heritage. It felt more 'us'.
For our suppliers, they came from everywhere! I did have a rule and wanted to work with suppliers I mostly hadn't worked with before! My invitation suite was created by the talented Tara Spencer in Canada, Hair and make up was from Sydney (as I knew I had to have Sarah Laidlaw with her combination of incredible talent and beautiful personality), our minister came from Sydney also (Garry Lee-Lindsay was the perfect choice - we knew he would do a beautiful service and he surely did!) and my favourite lighting and sound guru Rob King came down to Melbourne from Sydney also as I'm a self professed lighting snob! Our florist Cecelia Fox was incredible, I'd wanted to work with her for ever and it was a dream to see what she created - and also Erin and Tara (photo) and Moon and Back (video) were Melbourne based and we have worked together so much since as I loved what they produced and so enjoyed working with them. My friend Georgie and her colleague Claire from Georgeous Occasions helped with planning on the day and also recommended their favourite suppliers in Melbourne like Rutherford Entertainment for our Choir and DJ / Singer / Sax combo, Electric Confetti to create my custom Ti Amo sign, my incredible cake maker and multiple wonderful decor suppliers.
This week you celebrated your 1st wedding anniversary, how has the 1st year of married life been for you and do you think being married changes your relationship?
The first year of marriage has completely flown by! I still get a huge kick out of introducing Marc as my husband. I definitely feel marriage has changed our relationship - everything just feels more 'together' in every sense of the word. He's my world.
