Tell us a little about yourselves!
We’re an Australian couple, who moved to Austria during lockdown, and now live in London. We met working together in Melbourne, friends for a few years, secretly dating for a while and then moving across the world together. We got engaged on horseback in Sicily in 2023 so the wedding had a lot to live up to!
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We officially started dating after a flirty weekend at Dark Mofo - Hobart’s inaugural winter solstice festival, so it felt fitting we would return there with everyone else we love to celebrate. Hobart is the perfect size city for a weekend wedding, amazing venues on the water where everyone could walk around and meet up with ease. We both love great food and hospitality, so when it came to picking the space for our ceremony and reception The Agrarian Kitchen was our first choice. Rodney and Severine who run the restaurant are incredible and all of the staff were wonderful, and the rest of the weekend took shape around that.
How many guests did you have?
We shared the day with 70 of our closest friends and family. We sat there the week of the wedding, finalising the table settings, thinking about how lucky we were to be in a room with that group of people. I can’t recommend enough choosing the guest list for you and your partner only. We were lucky to have supportive families who supported us in celebrating the way we wanted.
Tell us about your outfits.
We started the weekend with a sunset cruise through Hobart’s harbour and up the Derwent river, followed the next day by a garden ceremony and long lunch. Finishing up with a party at a bar at night - so it was fun to choose our outfits around this! I wore a dress by The Own Studio on the boat, with Callum wearing a blazer, shirt and tie from P. Johnson paired with APC jeans.
On the wedding day, I wore a Mirror Palais corset and slip dress. Before getting engaged I had been eyeing off the amazing bridal collections, so it was a dream to get to wear the set. I tried it on by myself in our Austrian apartment, and it wasn’t until my amazing alterations Jess Innes fitted it to me that I was able to finally feel like a bride. I paired it with some second hand Toteme heels and my mum’s necklace and earrings she wore on her wedding day.
Callum continued in P. Johnson with a custom suit, Burberry tie, Lemaire belt and Our Legacy shoes.
I had one final costume change for our bar party reception, working with Jess to alter my mum’s 1990 wedding dress into a short party dress. It was super fun and special to be able to give new life to something that had been zipped up for 30 years - mum of course was proud to see it too!
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Living away from home we wanted it to not be over in a few hours, so picking a weekend away where we could selfishly indulge in everyone’s company across multiple events was our dream. Importantly - the wedding had to be really fun! We wanted everyone to feel like there was always a margarita in their hand, delicious food nearby and good music curated by friends playing all weekend (thanks La Sardina Loca for letting us play Diet Pepsi on repeat)! We were super focused on these effortless feeling details, including invitations and individual table settings designed by Callum, to make sure everyone felt relaxed all weekend.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
We wanted to incorporate our friends and family into the short but sweet ceremony. Our friend Gavin welcomed the group and gave my dad Frank & I a nice entrance down the aisle, before handing the mic to Callum’s dad John who read out some words on why we both wanted to get married. Our dear friend Brittany then read some words on marriage by Nick Cave, an artist we both admire, followed with our own personal vows before handing over to our amazing celebrant Rachael Calvert who made it all official.
Any tips for couples getting married?
While travelling back to Melbourne, we stopped via Singapore to meet up with friends Gavin and Phoebe, who gave us some great advice. They said that they would kill to be where we are now - two weeks out and finalising the wedding and planning - it goes by so quick! So have fun with every moment, including everything in the lead up to the day too!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
We had two very special friends help out with the wedding in a big way. The first was Kelly who runs Kelly’s London and did all of the food at our boat party. Not only is she an amazing cook, but having worked at Aesop for years and as a designer too, she has an amazing visual eye to make the food pop on the table. It was one of the most complimented meals of the weekend and it was so special to have it put on by friends.
The flowers on the day were simple and elegant and done by my dear friend Emma who arranged, prepped and set up everything on the day of the wedding. I collected vintage English silverware we used for the vases, and Emma turned them into magic. She helped me select the simple Calla Lillies bouquet I had on the day of the wedding and it was such a gift to have her personal touch on everything.
Finally we can’t thank our amazing photographer Zara Staples enough. Zara made us feel so comfortable and excited about our wedding. Her style of photography feels so warm and beautiful, and the photos we have from the day are our most special treasure.
Photographer: Zara Staples @zarastaplesweddings | Flora: by a friend of the couple | Pre Wedding Boat Party: Spirit Of Hobart | Ceremony & Reception Location: The Agrarian Kitchen @agrariankitchen | After-Party Location: La Sardia Loca @las.ardina | Celebrant: Rachael Calvert @rachael_calvert_weddings | Catering & Beverages: Kellys London @kellys.london (Boat) The Agrarian Kitchen (Wedding) @agrariankitchen | Cake: The Agrarian Kitchen @agrariankitchen | Entertainment: Georgia Lily Shine @georgialilyshine | Dresses: The Own Studio (Boat Day), Mirror Palais (Wedding) @mirrorpalais & reworked her mother's wedding dress for after party | Suit: P. Johnson @pjohnsontailors | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Bella Clark Jewellery @bellaclarkjewellery | Bride Shoes: Toteme @toteme