Georgia and Nathan’s wedding grew out of the life they already share and featured many of their favourite things: The arcade they go for date nights, the board games and Lego they loved to play together, and a shared fluency in internet jokes and pop culture references. The brief was never about landing on a single theme. “Whimsical, retro, camp, kitschy, Vegas-ish and arcade culture” was their reference point, as well as creating a day that felt manageable and comfortable for the neurodivergent bride.

The day was held at Cherry Bomb Chapel in Perth, who handled all the décor and helped out with so many of the logistics, “In Perth our venue choices seemed limited to wineries, parks or beaches”, Georgia said. “As beautiful as they are, Cherry Bomb Chapel was so much more our style. The owners, Jodie and Chandre, have built an incredible space and assembled some amazing vendors with them. The venue was the biggest chunk of the budget, but that also came bundled with bar, food, furniture, décor and staff. Plus the girls from Cherry Bomb are absolute legends and made it worth every cent!”

The ceremony was intimate, just 20 guests, with more people arriving for the party afterwards. “We are both the classic nerdy introverts who hate public speaking, so the rest of our guests joined us after to celebrate at the reception. Nathan walked to Porter Robinson, Georgia walked to Sleep Token. Our celebrant, Eddie, was an absolute star, even for a small crowd. We rolled a D20 dice to see who would say their vows first. Our vows were very us…weird, and included the phrases ‘Ben to my Lesley, Tuilo to my Miguel’ which are references to Parks & Rec and Road to El Dorado.“

The reception was designed to feel like a house party but fancier. The dress code was ‘that outfit you bought but never worn’ or the most extra thing you own. Guests understood the assignment and showed up accordingly.

“It was important to me to ensure a safe space for our neurodiverse guests”, Georgia continued. “We made sure to have a range of foods available in small sizes so everyone could eat freely all night, rather than a more formal sit-down dinner, and a separate room from the dancefloor with board games and couches as a de-stimulation area. We had a phone guestbook making its way around to everyone all night, and a temporary tattoo station that the guests completely ransacked! Our fave addition was a DIY sunglasses wall sign to welcome guests, designed and decorated by me, built by Nathan’s dad and painted by Nathan’s sister.”

Instead of cutting a cake, Georgia and Nathan cut a heart shaped pizza. Their first dance was also shortened and folded into the wider party so everyone could join them on the floor. Later in the night they changed into sweatshirts and LED sneakers.

The biggest saving came from Georgia’s dress. She explained, “The boutique had recently changed ownership and were throwing a competition for any dress bought within a few months would go in the running to win their dress for free. I am typically pretty thrifty and alternative but the dress I fell in love with was one I didn’t think I would have usually even glanced at on the rack. I went for it and I was the lucky winner of her dress!! It was definitely the universe’s way of blessing our nuptials.”

Looking back, the only regret was not leaving for their honeymoon straight away. After a year of planning, the idea of organising one more thing felt exhausting. They delayed it, returned to work, and normal life resumed quickly. A few extra days away together would have softened the landing.

“Wedding planning is really hard, especially as a neurodivergent person”, the bride concluded. “Even with help, you have to be in constant communication with lots of people, make lots of little decisions, and be in control of a lot of people. But once we had found all our vendors, they came together to be their most amazing, communicative, neurodiverse team of absolute heroes for us in every way! Just to make sure you plan the wedding YOU want. The people that love you the most will just be happy to be there celebrating with you!”