Wedding photos aren't new, but who was ready for the impact of Instagram on planning the big day? These Wollongong entrepreneurs, that's who.
Just as the wedding season was gathering pace last spring, the operator of a Wollongong venue started to notice a shift in priorities for brides and grooms when it came to their big day.
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They were spending more money on decorations than food, dipping into the filet mignon budget to cover the cost of lavish event decor.
Small posies in the centre of the tables were out, the event industry insider noted, and entrance arbours, floral garlands and balloon formations were in.
It all began to make sense when she realised these extravagant installations were being used as backdrops for Instagram-worthy photos.
Social media was feeding a growing appetite for aesthetics.
It's a phenomenon that Joanna Di Stasio saw coming four years ago while planning her daughter's Christening.
She was looking for a cake plinth to hire in order to create a jaw-droppingly beautiful party.
When she came up empty-handed, her styling and hire business, Arabella Events, was born.
"No one was doing event decor like this in Wollongong," Di Stasio said.
"Companies were well established in Sydney but they wouldn't deliver so there was a gap in the market and that's what motivated me to start my business."
While holding down a Sydney day job in finance, Di Stasio bought a few cake stands and trays to hire out for parties and was fielding about one enquiry a week.
It was a slow burn, but she started to get a feel for what people wanted and built up her inventory to the point where she and a business partner were able to furnish a variety of events from birthdays, showers and christenings, to larger functions like engagement parties and weddings.
It was about 18 months ago that things started to take off for the business.
Striking out alone, she'd just moved her growing rental inventory into a warehouse space on Jardine Street in Fairy Meadow when that single weekly booking suddenly jumped to 40 a month.
Di Stasio has now built a sizable social media following and customers are turning to her for large-scale numbers and letters, novelty items, carts, plinths and tables, custom signage and decor.
This boom in the event industry has also seen other businesses rise up, supplying the Illawarra with picnic ware, grazing tables, doughnut walls, balloon formations and more.
Di Stasio has accumulated 20 backdrops, dozens of cakes stands and an extensive range of props to cater for different events and styles, and she has plans to grow.
"I feel like in Wollongong it's just getting started," she says of the desire to create memorable - and enviable - parties with deluxe event decor.
"In the past year I feel like I've really cracked the market and now there's only room to grow.
"Trends change very quickly and I'm keen to stay up on the trends and keep building the brand and making it recognisable.
"And I'm passionate about giving Wollongong what it deserves - to bring us up to speed with what's happening in Sydney and around the world."
Di Stasio shares the warehouse space on Jardine Street with Lauren Basi.
The floral designer established her business, Fleurescent, three years ago and has watched it bloom from a small backyard operation to major player in that time.
She too noticed that the event industry expanded and evolved about 12 months ago.
Clients looking for more bang for their buck - more petal for their pennies - started investing in flowers that did double duty as a pretty backdrop for breathtaking photos.
"Some people still want a floral extravaganza and flowers on all the tables," she said.
"But now they're investing in focal areas that will serve as a backdrop for photos.
"It's more cost effective and they're creating memories that last."
THE MAKING OF A MAGICAL CHRISTENING
On the day of baby George's Christening, the three women took a step back to take in what they had created.
The show-stopping floral arrangement made up of 1000 blue flower heads, the gold tableware and candles, the custom-designed menus - and the dreamy blue cake.
Joanna Di Stasio, Lauren Basi and cake artist Chloe Kerr of Willow and George (below) knew they had created something special.
Their collaboration had began weeks earlier at a consultation with George's mum, Jessica Faddoul Saad, who had called in the professionals to style a small family function at the Harbourfront.
Faddoul Saad's brief was simple: she wanted her son's Christening to be bright, not too pretty, a bit modern - and something that had never been done before.
Other than that, she was handing over complete creative control.
Basi sketched a trailing fountain of blue flowers that spilled onto the floor, before heading to the markets to have a chat with the growers.
When it was time for Basi to bring her floral vision to life, she created a festoon of florals out of phalaenopsis orchid, 'Big Mum' chrysanthemum, Italian ruscus, delphinium, anthurium tropical and a dyed bloom that had just arrived at the markets - the Blue Twitter Rose.
"It all worked out beautifully," Basi said.
"And the styling, it's just so stunning and elegant.
"You know, (Joanna) rang me at 8pm at night stressing about all the details because she wanted it to be perfect, but that's how you create perfection right?
"Without the stress, without any care factor means you probably just don't love your job enough."
Faddoul Saad and her guests were thrilled with how it turned out and it's jobs like this that keep both Di Stasio and Basi coming back for more.
"The feeling of seeing the design completed is often overwhelming and sometimes I look at it and think, 'Wow, did I actually do that?'," Basi said.