When did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together?

“…we met six years ago [and] I had a one-way ticket booked to go travelling. My plan was to be away from home for at least a year. After only seeing each other for two months, it was already so hard to say goodbye. We ended up talking most days and Mike came over to visit six months in. After almost 12 months, I ended up cancelling part of my plans to surprise Mike by coming home early. It just felt right.”

How did you approach planning the wedding?

“Our approach to planning the wedding was very hands on but flexible. Mike and I are both creative and have a keen eye for detail. We had originally booked our wedding in Italy before the Covid, so when we realised that wouldn’t be possible anytime soon, we knew we wanted the elements we would have had there as part of our day in Byron. Our guests were all travelling for the day, so it was really important to us that everyone left full, happy and felt like they could have been anywhere in the world.”

Please share the journey to finding your dream dress

“My wedding dress journey felt effortless. I went to a couple of dress try-ons to get an idea but nothing felt ‘wow’. I had a dress in the back of my mind from Pallas [Couture] that I was obsessed with. However, I tried on a few other styles also and fell in love with another one. We customised it with lace and pearls to make it me.”

What was your bridal beauty look?

“My inspiration for my hair and make-up was natural glam. On a day-to-day, I don’t usually wear make-up so it was important I still looked like myself but with a little extra. Plus, lots of Victoria’s Secret-style hair!”

What did you love about your Homebodii pre-wedding ‘moment’?

“My Homebodii moment was special because one of my bridesmaids had organised to have pyjama sets with our initials. She also surprised me with [Homebodii Florence Luxury Velvet] slippers with my new married initials.”

Style note: Kiara wore a dreamy Homebodii Kassiah Long Lace Robe to get ready for her wedding. And, one of Kiara's bridesmaids was our Mother's Day muse, former Miss Universe, Monika Rad (read our interview with Monika, here).

What were the standout styling details you loved on the day?

“The styling details that I loved were all our florals. Estelle from French Petal nailed it. I wanted timeless so we kept the pallet white and green. It looked lush and blended in perfectly to the venue. I also loved our table settings. Again, timeless but a little different with the amber glassware and the stationary Mike designed himself.”

What was the biggest surprise on the day?

“The most unexpected part of the day was the sunset! With the whole wedding outside, we had the most magical sunset while our guests sat for dinner. It felt like it went for hours as it continued to change colours.”

When you look back on the day now, how do you feel?

“When I look back on the day now, I feel so grateful and lucky. We had a perfect sunny day which was surrounded by rain and floods in the following weeks.”

What did you love about your venue?

“We were so happy we chose the venue because we were able to have the whole wedding outside. Our ceremony was held under the shade of the beautiful macadamia trees. Cocktails, antipasto and dinner were all out on the grass, giving everyone room to mingle and soak up the perfect afternoon.”

What are you most glad about when you look back at your beautiful wedding?

“Looking back on the day we are so glad that we made our day a little longer. A 2pm ceremony gave us plenty of time to not only get lots of footage but speak with our guests, not having to rush greeting them all while they were eating. We had time to have many quiet moments alone, allowing us to really soak up the whole day.”

Who helped bring your special day together?

“The standout vendors were Bruno from Terra Catering. Being Italian, he just got us and want we really wanted. We had cured meat and cheese stations. Everyone raved about his food, drinks and staff. Wilde Visual our photographers and videographers [were another standout]. Jesseka and her team just blended in and really joined in the day. We could not be happier with the photos and video.

Wedding credits:

Dress: Pallas Couture

Hair and make-up: Alex Ousten

Photography and videography: Wilde Visual

Planner: Creative Weddings Byron Bay

Celebrant: Ali Rollison

Florist: French Petal

Venue: Orchard Estate

Stationary: my hubby, Mike Lazaris

Catering: Terra Catering

Cake: Hello Little Crumb

Bridesmaids dresses: Acler.”