The Perfect Venue

The highlight of Danielle and Mason Baylis’s wedding was a stunning reception at the Stamford Plaza, Melbourne.

Danni and Mason got engaged 18 months before their wedding, allowing plenty of time to research and organise their wedding. Danni had always dreamed of arriving at her wedding in a fairytale horse and carriage so practicalities dictated that she find a reception venue close to the church (St Mary’s Star of the Sea in central Melbourne).

When she went to view the Stamford Plaza, Danni quickly made up her mind. “I hadn’t been to a wedding at the Stamford Plaza before but the venue is beautiful. The Wedding Coordinator was a huge selling point – she was very friendly and I felt completely relaxed with her.”

photo credit: MattJP

The couple were also impressed with the wedding package: “The package included canapés, alternate entrees, mains and dessert, beverages, chair covers, a night’s accommodation, a taste testing and more. They use Wedding Works for the flowers, candelabra and chair covers and we were given options as to what we needed. They were flexible and could accommodate everything we wanted,” says Danni.

Danni chose white tablecloths and chair covers with fuchsia sashes to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. Each table was adorned with candelabra and flowers in her wedding theme colour.

Danni and Mason took advantage of the fact that they were allowed full run of the property. Pre-dinner drinks were held downstairs, followed by dinner in the main ballroom, with the band and dance floor in an adjoining room.

Danni and Mason’s wedding cake was a beautiful two-tiered creation covered in butter cream with silver bows around each tier and topped with pink sugar dough roses.

The bride looked gorgeous in a strapless A-line gown with ruching across the bodice and skirt, silver embroidery and beading and an elegant train. “I chose my gown the first day I went shopping – as soon as I tried it on I knew,” Danni recalls.

The bridesmaids’ gowns were not as simple because two of Danni’s wedding.co.nz/bridemaids”>bridesmaids were pregnant. In the end they decided to have strapless fuchsia gowns with a matching wrap made-to-measure, which “looked just gorgeous”.

The bride and groom enjoyed their day enormously. “There was a really good atmosphere, the staff at the Stamford Plaza were fantastic and it was all perfect,” says Danni.