Real Bridal Shower – Dee, Brighton East VIC
We don’t often feature the celebrations leading into a wedding, but when Dee’s elevated, romantic celebration landed in our inbox, we were entranced – and we are sure you will be, too.
When personal meets poetic, magic unfolds.
For bride-to-be Dee, celebrating her journey to ‘I do’ meant creating an intimate celebration in the comfort of her new Brighton East home – one that would honor both her path to finding love and the women who had been her constant supporters along the way.
Working with Philoxi Styling’s Vanessa, Dee’s vision for an elevated bridal shower came to life through a sophisticated European-inspired design that eschewed traditional bridal shower styling in favor of artistic elements drawn from the French Renaissance. A considered palette of light grey, sage green and cream, accented with touches of blush and pearl details, created a seamless connection with the home’s existing aesthetic.
Hydrangeas cascaded through the space in a grand architectural display, while artisan-crafted table skirting and ethereal drapes transformed the familiar into the extraordinary. Between these carefully considered elements were whispers of Dee and Tuan’s love story – subtle, meaningful touches that made this celebration as personal as it was beautiful, captured with artistry by Smokey Oscar photography.
The meeting.
We matched on Hinge in December 2021. I ‘liked’ Tuan’s profile first. Tuan had a selfie of himself with a giant smile. He then liked my profile back, and we matched. His first message politely thanked me for the like!
After many long messages (I was convinced he was after a pen pal), Tuan asked me on a date, and we met at Williamstown for an ice cream date. I strategically thought that his idea of an ice-cream date was great because if the date had gone pear-shaped, then it could be cut short. That was not the case; we ended up sitting on a bench talking late into the night. The first date was followed by many dates afterwards, and he officially asked me to be his girlfriend on the 27th of February 2022.
The one.
I knew Tuan was the one the moment I realised that being with him felt like home—like a sense of peace and belonging that I had never experienced before. It wasn’t about grand gestures but the little things: the way he made me laugh when I needed it most, how he listened without judgment, and how effortlessly we could be ourselves together. Our connection felt natural, as if we had known each other forever and I could just be my authentic self.
Early in our relationship, I was faced with having to make a scary decision relating to my career. Tuan was there for me, and his words of encouragement were that no matter what my decision was, if it didn’t work out, then we would be ok. I believe this was the moment that I fell in love with him, as his unwavering support and love made me feel safe.
The proposal.
On 20th May, I woke up beside Tuan, and he was already awake at 6am (no idea why he was up so early on a weekend). The first thing he said was that he wanted to go for a morning walk, but it was raining. I then suggested having breakfast, and if the weather cleared, then we would head to the Botanical Gardens, and he agreed.
After breakfast, the sun came out, and we headed towards the Botanical Gardens. As we entered the gates to the garden, Tuan had to use the toilet (I later found out it was to check on the ring) – I didn’t think anything of it.
We crossed through the garden towards the Tan as I wanted to walk through the memorial park. On returning, Tuan then mentioned that he wanted to see a statue (I thought that this was odd, as he was quite familiar with the Tan – it’s his running track). I supported him, and we searched for the ‘statue’.
As we walked into an open garden area, it crossed my mind that this may be the moment but then I convinced myself to close off the thought just in case it didn’t happen, and I would save myself from disappointment. Tuan then said out loud that he had to tie his shoelaces, and we walked towards the nearest bench.
As we got to the bench, he quickly sat me down and then presented me with a gift from a backpack that he had hidden under his puffer jacket. I unwrapped the gift, and it was an album of photos of us from the beginning. On the last page he wrote, ‘Dee, please don’t turn the page’. I then looked up and he was on his knee with the ring. I recall nodding but cannot remember the words that he had spoken nor whether I actually said yes, but he understood that it was a yes!
Planning the bridal shower.
Tuan and I moved into our family home in Brighton East after our engagement, and I had always known that I wanted my bridal shower in our home with my mum, sisters and best friends who have been on my journey of finding love. I wanted it to be a celebration of love with all the women who have been the light in my life and how Tuan makes me feel loved and safe and at home.
In terms of styling, I knew that I wanted something different, but it was easier to list the things that I didn’t want. I didn’t want balloons. I didn’t want it too obvious that it was a bridal shower. At this point, I had a venue, being my home, and I knew that I wanted hydrangeas (one of my favourite flowers) to be featured. So, this led to my search for an event stylist and planner using Instagram to help me put together the dream bridal shower.
I came across Philoxi Styling through socialite Martha K’s Instagram page. She had posted images of her son’s beautiful baptism comprising of beautiful, preserved hydrangeas. The event was styled by Philoxi Styling, and it instantly appealed to me. I then checked out Philoxi Styling’s Instagram page and found Vanessa’s work to be elegant, beautiful in its simplicity, detail orientated and unique – so I contacted Vanessa, sending her images of arrangements of hydrangeas as my ‘inspo’. I was a little nervous about the timeframes as I had contacted Vanessa 12 weeks before the proposed date for the bridal shower. Vanessa responded to me instantly and proposed a phone call to have a quick chat.
In our initial call, Vanessa made me feel so at ease when she confirmed her availability and that she could work within the timeframe! She was super enthusiastic about my idea of featuring hydrangeas at my bridal shower. As I’m quite a visual person, Vanessa sent me photos via text while we were on speaker to show me ideas of how we could elevate space within the home with hydrangeas for an intimate event. Vanessa showed me styling concepts in Europe (where I often travelled) for more inspo! We were both super excited to start and agreed to meet in person to go through styling ideas and to walk Vanessa through my home. In our face-to-face meeting, Vanessa had told me that Philoxi Styling stemmed from the ancient Greek word ‘Philoxenia’ where strangers are welcomed as friends and treated so well that they’ll want to return again and the warmth behind her business philosophy resonated me with so much.
Vanessa put together the most beautiful brief for my bridal shower. What was instantly appealing was that she had picked a colour palette that worked with my home. Shades of light grey, sage green, a hint of blush, creams and marble! The brief captured artistic European elements, the French Renaissance, to be specific. One of my favourite gemstones is pearls, and Vanessa added them to the stationary. The brief was so detailed, and it was more than I had ever envisioned!
My favourite parts of the brief was Vanessa’s table skirt for the cake. It was so artistic, stylish and unique and worked with my pendant in my home; the grand hydrangeas arrangement that was going to be featured in the centre of my home; and the magnificent drapes which was what dreams are made of! Vanessa’s work was so incredible, I just had to approve every detail of the brief!
Style inspiration.
I wanted a bridal shower that was going to be different. It was easy to list the things that I didn’t want, such as balloons, a giant board with ‘Soon to be Mrs ‘Dee’s Bridal Shower’. I wanted Vanessa to create a space in the comfort of my home that was personal to me, encapsulating elements that I loved like food, Europe, hydrangeas.
Instagram and pinterest were my two go-to platforms. I followed the following list of pages, post, stories for inspiration:
- Photographers capturing real events in Australia and Europe i.e weddings, baptisms, christenings, commercial events such as a launch of a product, fashion line, styled shoots
- Wedding and event planners and stylists
- Content creators
- Other event vendors such as digital designers, event hiring companies, cake vendors.
The heart of the event.
It has been quite a journey finding love. The online dating world wasn’t easy, and I needed a lot of patience. But then I found Tuan, and in him, I found that great love that I’ve always hoped existed for me. With him, I feel safe, myself and at home. Vanessa had sentimental quotes about Tuan in the final design brief and she completely moved me (a few tears were shared between Vanessa and I). It was the personal and unique finish to the bridal shower that I adored!
The event was more than just a bridal shower, it was about celebrating my journey finding love, it was about the way Tuan made me feel, and it was about celebrating the women who have been a part of my journey and who have been a constant in my life. Vanessa’s creativity, my mother, sisters and best friends collectively brought my vision to life.
The outfit.
I wanted to save the ‘white’ dress for my wedding day so I opted for a pastel blue dress by Camilla and Marc.
Favourite moment.
The bridal shower was so special that it’s hard to pick a favourite moment of the day! The reveal of the event before the guests arrived was breathtaking. Philoxi Styling and the team transformed my home into the most beautiful space. The brief was executed flawlessly. It was the most beautiful event that I’ve seen, and I couldn’t believe that all of it was tailored for me and my guests.
I’m happiest when I am surrounded by the people that I love, and my second favourite moment was being in the comfort of my home with my mother, sisters and best friends. I was surrounded by love, and my heart was so full seeing them enjoy the space as much as I did, and that was another favourite moment.
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage is the ultimate commitment to support each other and to continuously grow together. Marriage is so sacred and it’s a promise to protect one another’s heart.
Bridal shower tips.
The best decision was having an event stylist and planner help me with my bridal shower. It allowed me to enjoy and be present on the day of the event because Vanessa had managed every detail of the day.
If you have an event stylist and planner, then trust them with the process and to focus on the end game – marrying the love of your life.
Looking for a stylist to bring your dream day vision or event experience to stunningly curated life? Our directory contains some of the best in the biz.
DEE’S BRIDAL SHOWER SUPPLIERS
Photographer: Smokey Oscar.
Content creation: Bespoke Content Creations
Design, styling & coordination: Philoxi Styling
Florals: Blonde Florals
Desserts: Torte By Mirjana
Catering: Little Naples Pizzeria Andrea Cozzolino Official
Bartender: Event Staff Australia
Event stationary: Kartini Digital
Custom plinth tablecloth: Maison Paper
Furniture hire: Dann Event Hire
Plinth hire: Hire by Elle
Draping: Active Draping
Custom table runner draping: Table Art Event Hire
Linen: Rendr the Label
Stone: House of Stone
Printing: Smada Design and Print
Dress: Camilla and Marc at Curated Collection
MUA: Aimmey
Tan: Perfect Tan by Carol
