We run a tight ship here at Danish Island Weddings, and our business is intentionally small so that we, as a team, can better create your intimate wedding. For us it is always quality over quantity and we love our little well oiled family business.
At the heart of DIW is Louise Badino who founded the company back in 2008 as the first wedding planning business in Denmark servicing the growing number of international couples eloping to Aeroe island. Over the years, Louise’s two sisters, Anna and Yuki, her husband John and mother, have all been a part of the business. And any employees have been “adopted” into the family, as we all know each other extremely well, and each team member brings their own unique set of skills, so we can create the absolute best family wedding day experience for our couples.
Get to know each of us better below…
Louise Badino
I always knew that our island was the most perfect wedding location. Ærø has a calm romantic charm I have never found anywhere else. My family are from Ærø, we can trace our ancestors back 500 years, which is as far as the church records go and the island has always felt like home to us and like the swallows we returned to Ærø every summer.
When I was 4yrs old we moved to Ghana, W. Africa, then Kobe Japan until I was 16 yrs. I later worked as a cabin attendant for Japan Airlines for 5 years before starting my first business importing stylish Danish stuff to the UK, where I lived for 12 years. I married John Moloney (we call him Moloney) in Vicenza, Italy in 2000 and we have lived in both England, Italy, Berlin and Belgium with our 2 boys, Max & Charlie, before we were lucky enough to settle on Ærø for good.
Yuki Badino
I was born in Japan - hence my name - and grew up there, as well as in the UK, USA and on Ærø. I got my Master’s degree in corporate law & economics at Copenhagen Business School and lived there for a few years before moving back to Ærø in 2013 to work with my sister. I now share the day-to-day administration of DIW with Louise and absolutely love working with our small team creating an unforgettable experience for our couples!
I live with my English husband, Michael, and our Ukranian rescue dog, Ivana. I’m a big football fan, but my true passion is singing and I still play the occasional gig when I have the time.
Anna Badino
I grew up in Ghana and Japan and worked as a flight attendant for JAL based in the UK - Louise and I even flew together a few times. I married an American and now live in the States. I love languages and I try to keep my Japanese up to date.
My two children are now both grown up, so although I am no longer part of the DIW team on a day to day level, I spend as much time as I can on Ærø, and help my sisters out whenever I am there. The rest of the team tease me for using 5 different colour codes when I file wedding bookings, but hey, I like to be organized.
John Moloney
When Louise and I got married, I had no idea she was nurturing a secret plan to make Ærø the wedding centre of the world. So my plans to golf, fish and hike were put on hold for a bit.
Born in the UK, I flew Tornadoes and Jaguars for the RAF, ending up as the Air Attache in the UK Embassy in Berlin, and finally as a staff officer in NATO HQ. My 30 years of military training come in handy for opening bottles of Moet and officiating the occasional vow renewal, but my main jobs are accounting and invoicing.
You might be interested in reading my thoughts on “International Marriage and Human Rights” on the Blog, an issue which is close to my heart.
Lone
Lone is mother to Louise, Anna and Yuki, and has been helping with just about everything since the early days of our little family business. You are likely to bump into her during your stay, generally being busy in the old Merchants House – cleaning table cloths, chauffeuring brides, filling vases of flowers, and so much more.
Lone was happily married for 45 years to Frederik (a true Ærø boy), until he passed away in 2011. They were an adventurous couple, travelling the world with their three daughters, until they finally settled back home on Ærø in the 90s.
Mira
Mira grew up here on Ærø, but moved off the island to train as a beautician in Copenhagen. (She was also a finalist in Denmark's Next Top Model, but is too humble to ever mention that herself). Mira loves all things natural, especially Danish design and organic cosmetics.
She joined our team in 2013, and alongside running her own holistic skincare clinic, she creates the stunning floral arrangements for our venues, and helps keep everything clean and organised. When Mira and her husband Stefan married back in 2017, we all helped create a stunnning wedding day for them, DIW style of course.
Camilla
For a decade, Camilla Jørvad worked as a photographer for DIW and she became best known as one of Scandinavia’s top destination wedding photographers, but she retired from wedding photography and life “on the road” in 2018, focusing instead on lifestyle and brand photography.
Preferring to work behind-the-scenes here at DIW, she grows organic cut flowers on her farm exclusively for our bouquets and arrangements; she is in charge of our online presence, website, Instagram etc., and works closely with Louise on all the aesthetic aspects of our business and everything we do and create for our couples.
Neli
British-born photographer, Neli Garnet, has been friends with Louise for over 25 years. After listening to endless stories about our magical little island, she decided to come over for a visit and fell completely in love. Now that her 4 kids have grown up, she has made a home for herself here on Ærø.
For almost a decade, she has worked with us to make sure our couples’ big day is captured in every unforgettable detail. 90% of the beautiful photos featured on our website are Neli’s but you can also view her wedding photography portfolio.
Augusta
Hair stylist and make-up artist, Augusta, was born and raised on Ærø, but trained as a beautician, and later as hair stylist too, on the mainland. As a teenager she always dreamed of becoming a fashion designer and her favourite tv-show was “Say yes to the dress”.
She has been working with us since 2017 and takes such good care of our brides. Beauty and styling truly is her passion and she has always known that a job with a strong focus on creativity was part of her future.
watch a little film about us:
Filmed and edited by Rotera Wedding