Our vision for the wedding was architectural, minimal, elegant, classy and modern. We thought it’d be perfect to host a tea ceremony at our home in Richmond. That meant we could capture some special portraits in our beautiful home as well as around the neighbourhood we love.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Chiara – We’re both born and raised in Melbourne and have been together since we were 19 (11 years ago!). For the last three years we have been living in San Francisco both working in Tech. I work in Strategy and Courtney works in Sales.
Hugo offered to take a photo of me and told me to walk towards the sea with my back turned to him. I obliged and set off into the waves. Luckily I was wearing wellies but when I got ankle-deep in the water, I turned around to see if he’d got the shot yet, and there he was… kneeling half in the water with a ring. He said some beautiful things and then asked me to marry him. I jumped to hug him and nearly knocked the ring out of his hand into the sea – good job he had a steady grip on it!
I was inspired by Meg’s wedding in Little Women. The ladies arranged flowers the morning of, while the guys played beach volleyball. Since we were in my hometown and surrounded by friends with various skills, it truly felt like we had a village behind us, using their unique talents to pull together each element of our day. That made the whole process even more special.
I just remember looking at Rebecca, our celebrant, pleading with my eyes for her to speed things along! Luckily, just as we were about to postpone the family photos and quickly herd everyone back onto the bus to escape for the Packing Shed, the storm changed course and headed back into the hills. Someone was looking out for us that day!
Ultimately, we wanted our wedding to feel like us, not contrived or influenced by what a wedding ‘should’ be. It’s easy to see weddings on Instagram and think that you need to tick every box and have every single detail perfect to make it a special day, but that’s just not true!
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are based in London and met here 10 years ago. Kate is a teacher and Martin is a trader. We spend as much time as we can travelling, mainly to escape the house we have been renovating for the past 5 years… We love food and this was something we wanted to incorporate.
Julian will always try to claim that during our first date, I tried to ghost him towards the end by making up an excuse to walk the dog a second time that day. This moment for us is always up for debate as I was dog sitting for a friend at the time and her dog was super energetic.
See the full elopement of our cover stars, Daniella and Brody in Positano, Italy.
Rain clouds looming on the horizon can be a nightmare for any bride-to-be. But with all our styling and having our loved ones near, we were able to face even the threat of rain in confidence and style. From elegant umbrellas and thoughtfully styled sheltered spaces that offer protection from the elements, there were plenty of ways to make sure our special day isn't ruined by rain. With black tie and couture fashion, we could enjoy a beautiful wedding no matter what mother nature had in store!
He asked me to meet him on quay street to show me a car, I was still in my gym gear, and he took me down the road to the helipad and threw a white dress and shoes at me. I knew it was on when he did that. We took a helicopter out to Bethell’s Beach and landed on the top of the hill where there is a beautiful stone engraved with, "True love doesn’t have a happy ending, it is never ending."
I am famous amongst my friends for talking a LOT, and normally a lot of nonsense. We got our wedding video back and couldn’t stop laughing at my speech. I went on every tangent you could think of, I lost my train of thought and fumbled my words but it was so funny. And so me!
