Inside the Vegas chapel-themed wedding of Melbourne DJ, Larrie Mikati

“Think cheesy neon signs, disco balls, red velvet couches and framed photos of Elvis and Priscilla in the bathrooms.”

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Melbourne-based couple Larrie and Dez Mitaki started dating back in 2016, after meeting through DJing. Six years later, the couple’s Vegas-themed wedding was as fun, colourful and full of “best ’80s and ’90s R&B ballads” as you’d expect. Larrie was 35 weeks pregnant and the couple wore a colour palette of powder blue and lavender, perfectly complementing the disco-chapel background of The Altar Electric. Below, Larrie gives us an intimate glimpse into her big day.

How did you meet your partner, and how did the proposal happen?

We both DJd for years around several clubs in Melbourne, running in the same circles but never actually met. In April 2015, Dez accepted a DJ residency at Laundry Bar in Fitzroy, where I already held my own residence for the past five or so years. Our friendship blossomed over time and we started dating in 2016.

In April 2019, the morning after his best friend’s wedding on the Easter long break, Dez took me for a weekend away in Daylesford. I had zero ideas as to what was to eventuate. After a few days of hot springs, massages, eating and drinking, we took a stroll through the Daylesford botanic gardens on our last day there. We sat down on a log surrounded by autumn leaves to exchange Easter gifts (which I was expecting to be loads of chocolate!).

After he gave me some chocolates, he said, “Oh no, I forgot to give you the card”. He pulled the card out, which said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and when I looked up, he was sitting there holding a ring with a big cheeky grin on his face. I yelled out “I DO!” and he laughed and said, “I haven’t even asked you anything yet”. The rest is history.

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

We had planned to get married in 2020 and well, we all know what happened there. Then the restrictions lifted, so we thought, 2021. But yet again, this got derailed. In 2022 we thought, ‘This is it. This is the year’. Then in January, I got pregnant.

With baby due at the start of October 2022, everything was going swimmingly. Then in the last week of July, Dez says “Should we get married before the baby is born?”. I said, “In the next two months? You’ll never make it happen”. He replied, “Challenge accepted”.

My best friend (who is a makeup artist) did makeup for a couple who got married at The Altar Electric – Melbourne’s answer to a shotgun Vegas wedding chapel. Think cheesy neon signs, disco balls, red velvet couches and framed photos of Elvis and Priscilla in the bathrooms. We spoke to the team there, who helped us organise everything from the legal paperwork, in-house celebrant, photography and music. It’s an absolutely rad group of people who run an amazing venue!

How many guests did you have?

As it was a shotgun wedding, we kept it super intimate [so] as not to put pressure on friends and family from overseas to try and make it down with only four weeks’ notice. We kept the guestlist to immediate family and a couple of our best friends, with 13 guests total.

Where was your outfit from, and what was the process of sourcing it like?

It was always going to be a bit tricky to find a cute little number on such short notice, especially when pregnant. Prior to being pregnant, I wanted either a big bright Molly Goddard dress or an Issey Miyake pleats dress. However, I had none of those options available to me – just my bestie Charlie (who was also my incredible makeup artist) and my determination to find something perfect.

We went EVERYWHERE. Money wasn’t even an option. Super high-end stuff didn’t fit  (or even have sizes catered to pregnant brides) [and] I scoured everywhere for the right Issey Pleats Please dress and couldn’t find anything. I did look at a cute pink Ganni smock dress, but it just hid the fact I was pregnant.

[I] ended up at David Jones and before I could even breathe, Charlie found a brand called Lideé. They specialise in pleated-style dresses that have stretch and… pieces in a multitude of colours. I settled on a beautiful light lilac-coloured dress, which was one-shouldered, hugged my beautiful preggo belly and celebrated my maternity figure… oh, and it had a fire side-split to show off a leg!

I had to get it, but it was the first dress we came across at the mall. We looked everywhere else that day to see if there was anything better but there absolutely wasn’t. It was THE ONE! I also bought a Skims strapless bandeau and G-string to try and minimise the VPL, which seemed to do the trick!

I had some cute vintage heels in a pearl-white that I was going to wear, but I opted for something lower in heel height and scored some silver kitten heels with a diamante trim from Betts (after searching across multiple malls and boutiques!) I kept my hair in a simple freshly-cut bob [and] accessorised with a beautiful jewelled headband by a brand called Morgan & Taylor, that I got from The Iconic. [The] diamond tennis bracelet and earrings were a gift from Dez especially for the wedding!

On the way to the venue, I had a little cropped leather suit jacket from Asoss that I wore to keep me a little warm if need be (and to wear on the way to the restaurant afterwards). The beautiful floral bouquet was handmade with love by none other than Rose Studios in Collingwood. I picked up the bouquet on the way to the venue! She even made my partner a little flower to pin to his suit so we could match. I still think about that bouquet, so incredible and it complimented both mine and Dez’s outfits so well.

What about your partner’s outfit?

After hunting around all day for a suit that wasn’t navy blue, grey or black, we eventually struck gold when we found a nice powder blue suit from David Jones. To complement this, he accessorised with a tie, belt and loafers from Gucci. Our rings were designed and custom-made at Janai with help from the incredible Irene. I went for a diamond band to match my solitaire engagement ring.

My husband went for a chunky signet ring with three small diamonds down one side (we customised that ring design!) Perhaps the most incredible accessory on the day, however, was when my husband lifted the sleeve of his shirt to show me two small hearts he had tattooed on his wrist the week prior, with my initials, as well as the initials of our unborn daughter. How he kept that secret from me for a week I will never know!

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 hair/makeup or hire someone?

I didn’t have any inspiration, to be honest, I just knew a beautiful jewelled headband would be a simple yet elegant accessory for my hair. I didn’t want to have to fuss with my hair… plus it was so short, not a lot could be done with it that I would’ve felt comfortable with. This just felt right.

As for makeup, my bestie, Charlie (who is a professional MUA) had my face glowing all day. She used Charlotte Tilbury products for the majority of the look. I let her take the reins, I really didn’t have much of a preference in how I looked, except to keep it glam but not over the top. Oh, and I definitely requested fake lashes on the day. Mine on a good day are so average!

What kind of food and/or entertainment did you have on the day?

We had an open bar at the Altar Electric, with some bar snacks and a curated playlist of the best ’80s and ’90s R&B ballads from the likes of Chaka Khan, Prince and Mariah Carey.

What did you do to celebrate after the wedding?

Our first date was at Ichi Ni Nana in Fitzroy, which is one of our favourite places to eat to this date… the same building hosts an Italian restaurant called Capo Sociale, where we took our guests for a banquet dinner, drinks and dessert. The food was fantastic and it was a great way to cap the day off.

Being 35 weeks pregnant at this point, a relaxing dinner with friends and family was more than enough to send me home before midnight (especially since we had a baby shower to host the very next day).

You can follow Larrie for more here.