Lauren and Setefano’s Wedding at Sophia, Prahran Arcade

Tell me about your The Beginning!

I (Set) first met Loz, when I was working as a waiter at a wedding venue. Introduced to me by my sister who was also working there at the time, I never could’ve imagined I’d be calling her my wife someday, to me she was just my sisters hot friend. A few years had gone passed and I had gotten to know Lauren a whole lot better. We found that we shared a strong common interest in Soul music, this brought us closer together. I remember her calling me one day, asking if I could help her with her “Uni assignment”. I was studying Design at the same time, she was studying Marketing, so she needed help with some design tasks. We would catch up after hours and work on her projects (mind you she got HD’s for this work I did) LOL. We would spend evenings crying with laughter at stupid things we thought were funny. We continued to work together the following years and got to know each other more and more. We built such a solid friendship and that’s where things eventuated for the better. I remember messaging her one day with my last two messages I had left with my old Optus plan. “I can’t help but want to speak to you” (I know, no game right?) and the rest was history…

When and where did you get engaged?

In September 2021, we were in the middle of the pandemic lockdowns. I (Lauren) was planning on celebrating my 30th birthday which i had rescheduled for the second time due to lockdowns. Unfortunately, my 30th birthday party could not go ahead so instead Setefano suggested we order our favorite Italian food and a nice bottle of wine and have a dinner at home together to celebrate instead. After a nice meal and dancing around our living room together, Setefano got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He was waiting for us to get out of lockdown to pop the question, but at the time, it seemed like that day was never coming, so he didn’t wait any longer. Looking back, we’re so pleased it happened the way it did. It was the two of us at our happiest in the home we bought together.

What do you both do for work?

Setefano is a Digital Designer & Videographer.
Lauren is a Digital Manager in Fashion Retail.

How do you envision your wedding day?

I think given the last couple of years in lockdown, we just want this day to be a celebration of our families coming together and being fortunate enough to share these memories together as a family. Aside from all the dreams we have visually for the aesthetics of the wedding we want our wedding day to be “warm”. We want to break down the bounds of tradition and want all our family and guests to feel welcome. We want everyone to feel comfortable and free.

We chose Sophia because of it’s rich history in Melbourne. A place where many people before us have had the opportunity to make a memory, memories from the past 100+ years.

We’ve chosen to have live soul music artists at our ceremony because our love for music is one of main things we love about each other. We both grew up around music. Growing up, Lauren would watch her mother sing and perform and I was raised in a culture where music is used in aspect of family life.

We are going for a modern ethereal aesthetic with natural candle light because want the space to feel warm and intimate.

What are you most looking forward to on the day?

Lauren: Walking down the aisle
Nano: Seeing Lauren for the first time walking down the aisle

Additionally: A friend told me that there will be a quiet moment, when the formalities are done and everyone is having good time where you will stop and sit back and take in that this is all actually happening, and there is a overwhelming feeling of happiness, relief and excitement all at the same time. I want to remember that feeling too.

Top Tips!

Don’t sweat the small stuff!

Hire a wedding planner! If you a have a busy lifestyle with work and socially then you need one!

Hire Maegan now!!!

Don’t try and please everyone. It’s your day so try not to stress about other people’s opinions.