Brooke & Nimalen honour each other with mixed cultural wedding

Brooke Gardiner had a head start on her wedding plans with Nimalen Ganga. She had been planning it since eight years of age.

“I was obsessed with everything wedding [as a child], having my own scrapbook filled with ideas for my special day,” smiles Brooke, 35. Just as well – because after becoming engaged to Nimalen, 38, they locked in their wedding for just eight months later. “The planning was very stressful as we had such a short engagement; however, Nimalen helped out with a few things and even at one stage became ‘Groomzilla’,” laughs Brooke.

They were married on October 4, 2014 with a cultural wedding. As the two come from very different backgrounds, it made for an interesting theme. “Our wedding was dubbed as ‘Hollywood meets Bollywood’ or ‘East meets West’, as Nim’s family are Sri Lankan and my family have a strong Australian influence,” explains Brooke. To accommodate, the wedding cake favours were traditional Sri Lankan fruit cake, the meals were designed for the Hindu faith and the church ceremony was Catholic.

Brooke says her and Nim are a prime example of “opposites attract”. “But it works for us,” she smiles.

Brooke’s ivory and champagne gown was from Raffinato Bridal.

“I love his big brown eyes, his smile and his generosity,” Brooke says of her groom.

The couple used Jumbo’s Party Hire to decorate their wedding.

Photos by Viva Photography.
Video by Enchanted Films.