A dreamy elopement

In a modern-day love story

that defies geographical boundaries, two souls from opposite sides of the world found each other online. What started as casual conversations soon blossomed into a deep connection, with daily calls and shared experiences making the distance feel insignificant. Despite the challenges of being continents apart, their bond only grew stronger over time, until they could finally unite in person.

When same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia, Regina and Chelsy seized the opportunity to solidify their commitment to each other by becoming engaged. A symbolic wedding ceremony in Europe preceded their official union, affirming their love in the presence of Regina’s family and friends. And when the couple decided to make it official in 2023, they chose to elope, ensuring their focus was purely on each other.

Regina’s family has a history of unconventional wedding day looks: their mother wore burgundy and ivory (then later re-used the bodice for a renaissance fair costume!), and their grandmother wore dark green. So when they started the search for their perfect wedding outfit, Regina discovered the colourful world of Manimekala, and reached out to ask about our bespoke design service.

“I saw one of your dresses in two marble colours in 2020 and just knew I'd go to you for my wedding outfit. I dress very colourfully and knew white wasn't me. I initially wanted a similar dress to your Niram dress, but I layer my clothes a lot and am non binary, so a dress didn't feel right,” Regina said.

“I wanted to look special enough so everyone could tell I was getting married, but in a way I dress usually, otherwise I wouldn't feel like me. But I also didn't want to look like I do every day, so, it required a very special outfit to find that balance.”

Sustainability and wearability are very important to Regina, so they opted to put together an outfit of separates in order to make the pieces as versatile as possible for future occasions. Founder Mekala worked with Regina to create their dream outfit, inspired by our popular Varshini skirt.

Mekala said, “We altered the silhouette to maxi length and split the skirt into panels to create multicoloured “rainbow stripes”, graduating from soft, dreamy shades at the waist to deep, rich tones at the hem. We created a series of custom marble prints to match the colours of a pair of earrings handmade by Regina’s friend, combining jewel tones, pastels and pops of neon brights. To tie the outfit together, we also created a matching marbled neck tie (pun intended).

My favourite detail is that Regina requested a tiny burgundy frill at the base of the skirt as an homage to their mother, whose own wedding outfit was burgundy. It’s a subtle but beautiful nod to family.“

Both pieces were made in our London studio, then shipped to Melbourne, where Regina excitedly received it and filmed the unboxing experience to share the moment with family.

“IT'S HERE AND I LOVE IT AND I CRIED SO HARD 😭 ... It's so beautiful and flowy and light, I love love love it. Thank you so much for making my dream piece come true. I've wanted to wear that fabric on my wedding day for 3 years and now it's HERE and it's RAINBOWY and I can wear every colour with it.” Regina after receiving their finished pieces.

For the big day, Regina wore their custom skirt styled with a button up shirt, handmade marbled earrings by a local Melbourne designer, a blazer with corset lacing details, and a second-hand veil that also doubled as a cape, because “a cape felt like the only option!”. They were thrilled while the whole outfit, and described it as “very mullet-nonbinary, business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back”.

Their wife Chelsy’s gown was also handmade to order, and was designed to come apart so that the sleeves and dress can be re-worn together or separately.

Regina says “I always said I felt very weird about not having an outfit I could wear to a gala. Not having a decent formal outfit is frustrating! But now we both do... so where are all the balls at?”

From virtual love-at-first-sight to real-world vows, Regina and Chelsy’s story is a testament to the power of love to transcend distance and defy conventions, proving that home is wherever the heart resides.

Now, please send all the gala invitations this way.