Celebrity couple Terry Biviano and Anthony Minichiello asked multiple party suppliers for ‘free’ services at their daughter’s extravagant birthday party, offering social media plugs in exchange.
The rugby league legend and his fashion designer wife celebrated daughter Azura’s fifth birthday in style over the weekend, with the customary party pies and sausage rolls nowhere to be seen.
Instead, the five-year-old and her friends were treated to a Swan Lake-themed festival that included a macaroon tower, a two-metre cheese platter and a ballerina dancing in a bubble.
The birthday girl also wore a $2,600 silver crown handmade with Swarovski crystals.
But while it appeared no expense was spared, Daily Mail Australia understands in the lead-up to the party a representative for the couple sent an email asking suppliers if they would provide services free of charge in return for social media coverage.
Terry Biviano (left) and Anthony Minichiello (right) asked party suppliers to provide services at their daughter Azura’s extravagant birthday party
Ms Biviano, a shoe designer and social media influencer, had a representative email potential businesses in the lead-up to her daughter’s birthday asking if they would work ‘in exchange for contra’ (freebies). Azura wears a $2,600 crown in this picture
‘Just wanted to let you know if your (sic) interested, in exchange for contra we would happily offer you personalised social media posts/mentions on Terry and her husband Anthony Minichiello’s Instagram and all other media for maximum exposure,’ the email read.
‘Please let me know your thoughts and if you’re interested, we can discuss it further.’
But Daily Mail Australia has been told the couple’s approaches were denied by all the suppliers involved in the party, before Minichiello and Biviano agreed to pay a quoted rate.
Renee Gannon, whose boutique catering business ‘On The Board’ provided platters for the party, said it is now common for high-profile people to offer up free plugs.
‘We get approached by social media influencers asking us for things in exchange for posts all the time,’ Ms Gannon said.
‘Unfortunately it’s just not viable for our business.
‘I explained this to Terry and Anthony and they were fine with that. They were happy to pay us like normal and were just lovely to deal with.’
This email from a representative of Ms Biviano and Mr Minichiello was sent to potential suppliers in the lead-up to their daughter’s big day
The birthday girl was treated to a spectacular Swan Lake-themed celebration (pictured)
Instead of the customary party pies and sausage rolls, the fifth birthday party featured a tower of macaroons (left), a two-metre cheese platter and a ballerina dancing in a bubble, which cost $650 (right)
Other recent birthdays have included an equally extravagant Disney-themed party (pictured)
Mario Martinez, whose company Pistachio Entertainment provided the performers at the birthday party, said after providing a quote for $650 they were asked to perform for nothing.
‘Their representative sent us an email like normal and when we responded with our quote, she asked if we could do a contra arrangement in exchange for marketing,’ Mr Martinez said.
‘But we told them we couldn’t do that because we had to pay performers and they were fine with that, and in the end they tagged us on Instagram anyway.’
One supplier who declined to be involved in the party said she wished Ms Biviano, as a working mum herself, would appreciate people need to be paid for their services.
Since the party, Minichiello and Ms Biviano have festooned their social media posts with adorable photos of the birthday party.
Among the guests were fashion icon Kate Waterhouse and Luke Ricketson’s children.
Ms Biviano and Mr Minichiello married in 2012, and Azura is their only child
The celebrity couple, who are regulars on the social scene, did not respond to requests for comment
‘Thank you for a beautiful afternoon,’ Ms Waterhouse commented on one photo from the party.
Minichiello and Biviano have thrown similarly lavish parties for their only child in the last few years.
Azura’s fourth birthday was a unicorn-themed extravaganza, with a Disney-themed celebration held when she turned three.
In 2014 the couple bought a property at Vaucluse, in Sydney’s east for $3 million, which they currently in the process of renovating.
Neither the couple nor their representative responded to requests for comment.