Inside the wedding of Melbourne artist, Minna Gilligan

“We had full control over how we were going to present the space, and there weren’t too many immovable features to work around, except the gardens of course, but they were a positive attribute.”

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Working primarily with painting, collage and drawing, Minna is known for her vibrant, technicolour art, and her forays into fashion through collaborations with labels like Kuwaii and Rachel Antonoff. When it came to bringing her vision for her wedding to life, her penchant for vibrant bursts of colour and a keen eye for detail made it memorable for all the right reasons. Below, she gives us an intimate glimpse into her big day.

What venue did you choose for your wedding, and why?

We chose the Abbotsford Convent as the venue for our wedding. I’d had a studio there in 2018 so I knew the grounds quite well. A lot of the other venues we looked at were smaller in scale and didn’t allow guests to have the experience of moving through different spaces. We had our ceremony in the gardens, then moved to the Rosina Courtyard for drinks and canapés, and finally into the Rosina Function Space for dinner, speeches and dancing. I liked that moving through the spaces gave the different points of the evening a different energy.

We had full control over how we were going to present the space, and there weren’t too many immovable features to work around, except the gardens of course, but they were a positive attribute. My mother did all our flowers. She is a florist and we worked together to come up with a colour scheme and loose concept, [and] then she took it from there. It was absolutely magnificent, and the visuals were a real highlight for everyone who attended.

How many guests did you have?

We pretty much [had] bang on 100 guests. The wedding was on March 26 this year, which was also bang on in one of the first major COVID waves. We were expecting to have some last-minute cancellations. Thankfully we only had a couple!

What was the process of sourcing your dress like?

There was a little bit of drama with the dress, but in the end, it worked out and I was super happy. Because our wedding was largely planned in lockdowns, I had to wait until restrictions were eased to try on dresses. This then meant I was trying on dresses with only a few months before the wedding, which I thought would be tonnes of time, but [it] turns out it’s like no time at all in wedding dress time. It’s weird, a lot of people expect you to know the process of getting a wedding dress but most people haven’t done it before and have no idea what to expect and need to be guided through the process a bit more.

I paid a rush fee to secure the dress quicker, and when it arrived it needed major adjustments which I wasn’t expecting, and I also wasn’t aware of how major the process of altering a wedding dress was and by the time we got the dress we were only a few weeks out. Then, the person we chose to alter the dress literally went AWOL a week before the wedding, wasn’t answering her phone and didn’t turn up to an appointment we made. I was freaking out. When I finally pinned her down, the dress was in pieces, like chopped up. I literally cried.

Nearly $1000 in alterations later, she came through, and she dropped it off at my house a couple of days before. I let out the biggest ‘Phew’ in my life! My advice for anyone thinking about purchasing a wedding dress in a more traditional sense [is to] assert yourself, and make it clear that you need to be thoroughly taken through the process. You’re spending a lot of money! Also, if it’s avoidable, don’t go into lockdown so you don’t have to rush things! And, research the person who you are going to get to alter the dress because it’s pretty much the most important part, and I had no idea.

What about the groom?

Simon purchased his suit from Masons in the Melbourne CBD. I went with him, and it was literally such a wonderful experience. Every salesperson we had was generous and really helpful. The suit is by Corneliani which is an Italian brand. Simon had also purchased two ties for the day and couldn’t choose between them, so he ended up having a tie change when I had my outfit change!

In terms of beauty, tell us about the look you went for on the day, and what your inspiration for it was. Did you do your own makeup or use a makeup artist?

I was so happy with my makeup and hair. I just wanted to feel like myself but a more glamorous version! I always wear a red lip so that was a must. Then, I just wanted subtle eyeshadow and quite a bit of blush because it’s my favourite. My makeup artist was Dana Leviston and she was absolutely fantastic. My hair was done by Amelia Mills and I absolutely loved it. Dana and Amelia were a great presence to have around on the morning too, and that was important to me.

Did you choose the bridesmaids’ dresses, or did they select their own?

I chose my bridesmaids’ dresses, in close consultation with them! My bridesmaids were my two sisters so they weren’t shy to say if they didn’t want to wear something. Initially, I had this idea that I wanted them in little matching headscarves but they were horrified at that idea. I suppose it was for the best.

I went with gingham for the bridesmaids’ dresses as I wanted a little bit of a Little House on the Prairie vibe. Their earrings were by Shrimps and were little corns so they teamed with the loose theme! I adored the bridesmaids’ outfits, I think I nearly had more fun putting those looks together than my own!

What type of cake and food did you have on the day?

The cake was a real highlight, it was by Digby Cakes. I reached out to her with a maddening idea, and I kept emailing her to make sure it was going to be ‘tall enough’. I wanted it to make a real statement, [and] it definitely did! Not only was it delicious but it was completely beautiful and fun. It was so tall and heavy that it was very nearly dropped while being delivered – Simon pretty much had to do a slow-motion dive to go and save it!

My nanna made the lace heart for the top, and I purchased the little wedding figurine and hand-painted it to look more like us, which was quite the hilarious process! The non-cake food was by Peter Rowland Catering as they have a contract at the Abbotsford Convent.