It’s the 4th time I’ve had a Sunday Mail Feature, with the last being back in March of 2021 🙂
Sunday Mail Feature
Sunday Mail Feature – Jan 8, 2023
Ritamaree Varricchio &
Sydney Sparrow
Married at Sunnybrae Dunction Centre, followed by a celebration at the Donato Reception Centre
PEONY-loving bride Ritamaree chose the date for her marriage to Sydney based on when her favourite flower would be in bloom.
“I wanted peonies… yes, I based my entire wedding around these flowers,” she laughs.
“I also wanted a cake that would showcase some beautiful pink peonies and Rebecca (Rebecca’s Cakes) made this dream come true.”
The couple opted to have their ceremony, officiated by celebrant Annette Perry, in the pavilion at Sunnybrae Estate, which they say is a first, moving to an indoor location for their reception, sharing the special occasion with 170 guests.
Photos were taken in the garden at each venue, as well as Port Adelaide’s wool stores.
“Sydney used to live in Port Adelaide and the very first time we drove past (the wool stores) together he told me that we would take our wedding photos there.” she says.
Social Worker Ritamaree, 27, the daughter of Dernancourt’s Elisa and Silvio Varricchio, pays tribute to her sister and matron of honour Cassandra whom she says she couldn’t have done it without, in the lead-up to her specil day.
Cassandra was joined in the bridal party by bridesmaids Chelsea Marks and Medica Eliepa and Ritamaree’s godson, Miliano Di Pinto.
Sydney had two best men, Ashley Olsen and Kieran McCutcheon, accompanied by the bride’s brother, Luciano Varricchio, as a groomsman.
Draftsman Sydney, 29, proposed to Ritamaree, who he met on dating app Tinder seven years earlier, in the rose garden at the Adelaide Botanic Garden.
The couple plan to honeymoon in the US later this year.
Every wedding requires something unique to set it apart from the others. That highlight is a neon wedding sign. Any wedding theme, whether modern or classic, can use neon wedding signs.
being a wedding phtoographer, I see so many different types of wedding decor, but I keep thinking of those weddings who took it one step further and had something unique made just for their wedding.
It could be vynal stickers of the bridal couple’s names on the dancefloor, the bride being lowered into the reception by hot airballoon, or perhaps some custom name neon? You can place a neon wedding sign near your bar, on the dance floor, or as a background.
A Personalized neon wedding sign can give your wedding a unique touch. With the assistance of a professional, discover more entertaining lighting tricks and get ideas for your wedding décor. Below are some suggestions for incorporating this elegant feature into your party.
Bride and groom kiss under neon wedding signs
Make a Neon Sign for the Backdrop of Your Wedding
Your wedding backdrop will seem lively and modern with a neon sign added. For a creative touch to your wedding album, ask your photographer to take pictures of your guests in front of your wedding sign.
Display Your New Last Name With a Neon Sign
Your customized neon sign may serve as more than simply temporary wedding décor. Together, bring your neon sign inside your new house and devise a unique method to display it. As a memento of your wedding, hang it over the bar or in an entertainment area.
Decorate Your Greenery Wall With Neon Sign
A greenery wall is an elegant and low-maintenance background for your wedding. Adding a neon sign that will catch visitors’ eyes elevates this concept.
Use Neon to Design Your Initials
Use your initials as a more subtle alternative for a customized neon wedding sign. You will adore this timeless look for many years to come. Neon signs are a timeless way to spell out your initials.
Transform Your Wedding Bar With Neon
Use whatever design you want for your neon sign to display over your wedding bar, a funny statement, a wordplay, or both. Use your signage to highlight the personality or theme of your wedding. With the aid of a professional, discover even more ideas for wedding bars.
#Hashtag Neon Wedding Signs
A creative approach to encourage guests to utilize your wedding hashtag on social media is with the neon wedding signs. After your wedding, you will have a digital wedding album that is candid to peruse while you await your photographer and videographer to finish editing your stylish images and videos.
Neon wedding signs are a fun way to draw attention to your wedding decor.
Bouquet toss result
How Should Your Neon Wedding Signs Be Hung?
Neon signage is a feature with which you can have a lot of fun and creativity, so think about what you want it to convey, Then choose a location to hang it. Display it behind your band at the bandstand, beside the reception bar area, or on the DJ booth. You can either surround it with flowers and greenery or just let it shine on the wall and make a statement on its own.
Your event planner, design team, and maybe your venue will collaborate to come up with a secure and reliable way to hang your customized sign. You can achieve your concept with an event planner, wedding décor firm, and other suppliers.
How Do You Choose the Text for Your Neon Wedding Sign?
You may find many ideas for your wedding décor online. Browse some wedding galleries to see examples of actual weddings and inspiration for your own, as well as suggestions for the menu, beverages, invites, and more. Consider working with a professional as your go-to resource for all things related to wedding and event planning if you are unfamiliar with the internet or would prefer to speak with someone in person.
Echo Neon’s neon signs are certain to give your event uniqueness and a means to infuse new energy into your event. More so, they are easy to install yourself.
Why Choose Neon Signs for Your Wedding
Couples today are embracing neon because it blends style and meaning. Here are the main reasons:
Personalisation – With countless neon sign ideas for wedding, couples can display initials, meaningful dates or favourite quotes.
Flexible decoration – Neon is versatile and works in different spaces, such as the bar, entrance or head table.
Photography appeal – Neon lighting adds colour and depth, creating striking backdrops for photos.
Dual purpose – Acts as both decoration and a photo feature, making it a wise investment.
Memorable impact – Wedding neon signs ideas help create a unique atmosphere that reflects the couple’s personality.
Make Your Wedding Shine with Neon Signs
The right lighting can transform a wedding space, and neon signs do exactly that. Their warm glow creates ambience, enhances decoration and ensures every corner of your venue feels alive. Couples today are embracing wedding neon sign ideas because they instantly bring energy and character to a celebration.
Imagine walking into your reception and being greeted by your name shining in neon, or dancing the night away under a glowing phrase like “Better Together.” These creative touches not only wow your guests but also provide stunning backdrops for photographs. Among the most popular neon sign ideas for a wedding are signs hung on greenery walls, positioned above the dance floor, or styled near the cake table for unforgettable detail shots.
Ultimately, neon is more than decoration. It’s a way to make your wedding shine both visually and emotionally. Each sign reflects your story, ensuring your big day glows as brightly as the memories you’ll carry forever.
Weddings are considered one of the best days in a person’s life. Given its value, surely you won’t let the amazing photos just sit on your computer or in a box. You can show those gorgeous captured events honourably by documenting them in wedding photo frames. They become valuable home décor that tell the story of your love and of that magical day. Whatever your style, whether glam, rustic, classic or something in between, you’re sure to find some frames that suit your home perfectly.
You can get these frames as gifts for your wedding, shower, engagement, or other occasions, so don’t forget to put them on your registry. To help you decide what to get, here are the six best picture frames to display your wedding photos.
6 Best Picture Frames To Display Your Favourite Wedding Photos
Personalized Wedding Picture Frames
Personalized photo frames for your wedding shots are fabulous items to feature your wedding photo. Who wouldn’t adore this affordable style produced from scratch with love?
Materials can be wood, metal, glass, or plastic. It is the perfect variation of materials to make a personalized picture frame that features grey edges, the couple’s name and wedding year in a charming script. Not just that, there are many more ideas to choose from, widening your imagination to reach your preferred design.
white wall with photos of the family in various photo frames
Floating Frames
Floating frames are trendy these days to ensure your photo is at the centre of attention. For wedding photography to display in a favourite frame, see Adelaide wedding photographers. Depending on what will complement your home decor, you can choose between a variety of materials such as brass or matte black bolts. With a plain light background theme, it will contrast with the frame and highlight it with some warm spotlight.
Touchscreen Digital Picture Frame
If you seek to be in the modern style, go high-tech with this touchscreen digital picture frame. This frame allows you to display hundreds of photos that rotate throughout the day. Aside from that, you can also highlight your favourite picture from your best wedding photos. Therefore, this saves you from the heartbreak of having to select a few ones to feature on your home, as you can have them shown throughout the day.
Customized Two Frame With Sand Ritual
This customised picture frame is a good option if you seek to elevate your beachy wedding theme. Such an item can display two photos, and the frame is designed for a couple who had their wedding on the beach, using coloured sand as a ritual symbol.
Thus, this customized frame is the best picture frame for a couple who wants to treasure the rituals made on their wedding day and seek to highlight them in their home.
Wooden Photo Ledge
If a classic picture frame for your wedding or any event is what attracts you, why not go for a classic wooden photo ledge?
Such an item can help you display several photos at a time and effortlessly rotate or replace them as your mood changes. This frame is easy to install and use.
If you’re interested in it but couldn’t purchase it anywhere near you, it’s easy to make it yourself too. Materials needed are only basic materials for carpentry, like wood, metal or plastics. Paints and polishing can be used, too, depending on your preferred design and liking. Simply put, you can definitely do whatever your mood will lead you.
Acrylic And Brass Picture Frame
Couples with an extra and ultra-modern aesthetic attitude will love the combination of acrylic and brass with a sleek frame or wooden stand design. Adding some small glittery lights or a spotlight pointing to the structure is undoubtedly an excellent way to feature a wedding photo.
It’s also beneficial because it can be in a trio of versatile sizes. These frames can be designed to stand alone as blocks or thin with a wooden stand. They’re great for narrow surfaces or on a centre accent table.
Acrylic mounted prints
You’ve spent months preparing, planning, and designing your wedding day, and once it’s over, the most pleasing way to relive it for years is through beautiful and captivating photos. So Display your favourite wedding photos!
Possibilities are limitless when it comes to framing your bridal portraits and wedding photos. You can devote an entire wall in your home to a set of gallery frames by gathering all your hundreds and favourite images. A large frame at the centre of a lighted wall is also classy.
Whatever your tone, likes or style, there’s always a perfect frame to exhibit your treasured memories and help you reminisce those events that happened for years.
You deserve an eventful trip to beautiful places for your honeymoon. Planning a great wedding is crucial, but you also need a perfect honeymoon to complete your experience. Your wedding requires you to be conscious of your guests, friends, and family as you make memories. However, your honeymoon is the real introduction to married life where you and your spouse would get to know each other intimately. This is why you must take note of some essential honeymoon tips to guide you through your trip.
10 Honeymoon Tips For An Amazing Trip
1. Plan it Together
Marriage is a partnership. You can start living the reality of that fact even while planning for your honeymoon. Make sure that you and your spouse are actively involved in the planning process to ensure that it is not one-sided. Consider your partner’s interests when choosing the right destination, the duration, and the convenient time to travel. Considering these factors would require a lot of compromises and selfless thinking so you can meet each other’s needs.
Santorini Couple Shoot
2. Plan Early
Planning a wedding is tiring; however, combining it with plans for your honeymoon can be nerve-wracking. This is why you must ensure that everything goes smoothly. Check out for events you both might want to attend and see if you could schedule your honeymoon around that period. Also, take the necessary breaks off work to ensure you can enjoy your honeymoon to the fullest. You can book your flight tickets ahead of time to cut down on costs and even get hotels that offer special services to new couples.
3. Set A Realistic Budget
To enjoy an eventful trip, you need a reasonable budget that can cater to both of your needs. There’s nothing cheap about a memorable trip for your honeymoon, and it’s best if you set money aside to cater for it. You need to consider the cost of flight tickets, accommodation, food, and other experiences you would love to have during the trip. If you want a worry-free experience, you should settle the financial aspect.
4. Create The Perfect Itinerary
It’s normal for you to get excited about your honeymoon. However, you can plan hectic activities, touring, and sightseeing that will wear you out easily. Avoid the temptation to do many things within a short time; it would only leave you to steal the perfect moment from yourself. Create a plan with lazy walks across the beach or intimate talks on the balcony. These activities would help you regain energy and make you spend quality time with your spouse. Take out time to relax your nerves; you can even schedule a spa session that would help you achieve that.
couples photography small
5. Get Some Help
You can always find ways to lessen the workload when planning an eventful trip. Instead of handling it, you can get a travel agent to book a package for you both. Choose the one that covers hotel bookings, tours, and feeding. Also, some agencies offer discounts for new couples that can help them save costs while having the best time of their lives. Perform thorough research to find the best agencies that provide premium service for new couples.
6. Choose The Right Timing
Most couples assume they have to leave for their honeymoon immediately after getting married. However, that’s only a myth that happens in fairy tales. Planning your wedding can be exhausting and it’s only fair that you get some rest before you go on a trip. For more inspiration while planning your day, browse our wedding ideas.
One of the great Honeymoon tips I can give you is take some time to blow off steam from the heavy dancing and singing you’ve done at your wedding reception. Afterwards, you can go on your honeymoon, that way; you’d be refreshed to enjoy the pleasant experience. Timing is key which is why you must carefully consider it when planning your honeymoon to avoid unexpected situations.
7. Plan Surprises
Since you would be spending the rest of your life with someone you love deeply, it’s only proper for you to make them feel special during the honeymoon. You can spice up the entire trip by paying for an event that you both didn’t plan for initially. Make sure you choose something that would delight your spouse; if your husband loves games, you can find the nearest game centre to get him excited. On the other hand, you can take your wife shopping for new clothing items. Whatever you decide, make sure it suits their needs.
8. Capture Your Moments
Although you would go on multiple trips as a couple, your honeymoon only happens once. This is why you need to capture every moment to help you remember this lovely event even after you’ve gone home. Imagine showing your children cute pictures from your honeymoon after decades of marriage. You can take a camera along or use a smartphone that captures vivid images. Don’t forget to make videos also because they always have a way of putting a smile on your face when things get difficult.
What would be even better though would be to enlist the help of a local professional photographer for a bit of a photoshoot – similar to an engagement shoot!
Belair National Park engagement photo
9. Pack Smart
If you plan to visit multiple destinations, it can be burdensome to pack too much stuff. New brides, don’t try to take all of your new shoes and clothes. It’s good that you’re excited but you need to reduce what you pack. Try to study the weather of your destination to determine the perfect clothes to take along. Also, take out materials that would take too much room in your bag.
10. Try Out New Meals
What’s an amazing trip with great food? One fun part you must explore during your honeymoon trip is the food, especially the ones specific to the culture of the people. This way, you can spice up your adventure and include something new in your archives. No need to stick with boring meals when you can explore new ones.
The best way to make your wedding reception stand out is to personalise every aspect of the night event with thrilling moments that keep your guests entertained and wanting more – think of it like a concert, or any other entertainment event – it’s not justb a trip to a restaurant!
For a start, you can take out some of your time to ponder (with your spouse) what both of you represent. Shared interests, travel experiences, and childhood memories are also great sources of inspiration when planning out fun-filled wedding reception.
As much as your wedding is all about celebrating your union with your spouse, it’s also vital that you put your guest’s enjoyment to heart. Here are a few top secrets that will create that spark of excitement during your wedding reception.
NB: If you’re short on time and still want to cop some amazing reception ideas, below are a few areas to put into consideration.
Where you both met
Your first dinner
Mutual interest
Your favorite sport
Your first travel or holiday trip
Ivybrook Farm wedding first dance
Top 8 Secrets To a Fun Wedding Reception
This list of fun wedding reception secrets is in no defined order as every suggestion is unique in its way to bring some spark of fun to your event.
1.Strategic Seating Arrangement
As obvious as this idea may sound for a wedding reception, do not make the mistake of discounting the Importance of having a rock-solid seating arrangement. Ensure you strategically place your guests right beside people that you’re sure will easily get along with. This might appear like a matchmaking idea, but you intend to create a more engaging night for your guests.
To make it a little more interesting, you should make your college mates seat beside each other or force your guests to seat with strangers. This will lead to sharing interesting discussions and ultimately an amazing dance party.
Guests cheers
2.Hire a DJ to Spruce Up The Place
Alright, this appears to be the norm at every wedding reception but there’s the need to make mention of it. This is primarily because music happens to be a crucial part of any enjoyable event. Talk to your DJ about songs that should be played as you don’t want to witness an empty dance floor when an obscure song is being played.
Serafino wines wedding dancefloor
3.Request For a Song
Do you want your guests to enjoy every moment of your wedding reception? Then proceed to get a request for their favorite song. You can ask all of your invitees to write down what song they would like you to perform on their RSVP card. Another way to go about this is to allow your guests to send their song requests to your email.
If you have a wonderful voice, you can surprise them by performing alongside a live band or take it up a notch by making a duo performance with your spouse. If on the other hand, your voice is not that great, compile the list of song requests and hand it over to your DJ for an entertaining jam all through the event.
Guests having fun on the dance floor
4.A Short and Sweet Toast Will Do
What other way can you lighten up the atmosphere of a wedding reception other than to make an exciting toast with your guests? When you’re in to give everyone a treat, never undermine the power of a timely toast. Take note of the time when the party enjoyment is building up and pause to make a quick toast that climaxes the reception fun. You can toast to memorable moments shared with friends and family, to carry everyone along with the event
Groom Speech under awning
5.Step onto The Dance Floor
The perfect opportunity you get to wow your guests is to show them what great dance moves you’ve got. Hit the dance floor with your spouse and start with a slow dance before carefully transitioning into something more energetic like a Latin not break dance song from Bruno Mars.
To leave an indelible mark on the heart of your guests, you can have a few of them join you on the dance floor or challenge a random invitee to a dance battle.
Dancing guest jumping
6.Prepare The Kid’s Quarter
Remember to keep the kids entertained while their parents have fun on the dance floor. Prepare a designated area for the kids, in a different room and make proper arrangements for a babysitter that will oversee their affairs like organizing crafts, games, and kid-centric parties. A fun wedding reception should be fun for everyone – especially the kids as it keeps them out of the way!
children dancing
7.Go Neon
There’s no doubt about the charming look of an elegant mirror or wooden sign at your wedding reception. The problem however with these is that everyone makes use of them at their reception. To host your guests in an outstanding way that sends shivers down their spine, opt for a creative sign that communicates your theme. Having a love-centric neon sign as the backdrop of your photo booth will turn the event around for the best.
Bride and groom kiss under neon wedding signs
8.Map Out a Food Station
Nothing else makes for an exciting celebration other than good food. However, offering great dishes that each guest can customize to their taste makes it even better. Here’s where having an interactive food station comes into play. By considering a sushi rolling setup as well as a mac-and-cheese bar where guests can have suitable bites, you will leave an impression on their hearts that makes them anticipate more fun.
Food platter on display
Here you have it! The 8 top-secrets that promise to crack open the shell of excitement at any fun wedding reception. Although there are a dozen ways to achieve the goal of entertaining your guests, our list has been carefully curated to meet the basic needs of any reception theme.
Have Some Fun!
Enjoy every aspect of your wedding reception to the fullest. Dance with the love of your life and save yourself from worries. Make sure that you keep yourself in a good mood throughout the day. Once you’ve assigned the various aspects to the planners, your job is to show up looking great. Ditch the formalities and make the most of the time to have a fun wedding reception!
