Me & My Wedding: An Australian Family Affair

The Proposal

Billy and I had been together for about five years by the time he proposed. We’d met on Hinge during Covid, so we spent a lot of time together at the start of our relationship. Marriage was always on the cards and he eventually proposed on Moreton Island near Brisbane in July 2025 – somewhere we’d been a lot when we were first dating. He got down on one knee at the top of this big sand dune – although he kind of shouted the proposal at me because it was so windy! Of course, I said yes.

The Ring

I was quite specific about what ring I wanted and a friend of mine had used Protea Diamonds in Sydney for years. I decided on an emerald cut diamond with a simple gold band. They also made our wedding bands – Billy’s is silver and mine’s a diamond band to match my engagement ring. 

The Planning

A shorter engagement was preferable for me. We decided to have the wedding at my family's property just outside of Brisbane. It’s a more remote area, in the bush, and I always thought a wedding at home would be quite special. My sister also had her wedding there many years ago, so we already knew what went into organising an event there. We didn’t bring in a professional planner – my mum and I did the whole thing. It was a lot because we had to bring in every single vendor ourselves but because of my sister, we already knew where to start. Everyone pitched in, which was great.

The Details

The vision was ‘elevated bush wedding’ by which I mean something I could look back on 20 years from now and still think looked really beautiful. For example, we had 90 white stem roses in bud vases on the tables – we ordered them, along with some tulips for the top table, from Flower Shed – lots of long-stem candles and glassware. No real negative space. The place cards and menus I made myself on Canva and we also had little tambourines made with our names and wedding date for favours for our guests. 

The Photographer, Videographer & Content Creator

Matt Godkin was a photographer I’d saved on Instagram. We’d also worked together back when I was modelling, so it felt like a full-circle moment. He has a very fashion-editorial style, which I really wanted. I then had Simao from Sunny Day Films as my videographer, who was brilliant. He slipped into the background but he still got all the shots I was looking for. He was able to give me the full reel of the whole day too, which was really important to me, to have all those moments forever. The content creator was my little sister's friend Mikaela. She’d just started her business but all of her shots seem to have gone viral!

The Dress

My best friend Nichhia is a stylist and she was instrumental to the process. I wanted something modern and chic, but still with a bit of edge – and it was Nichhia who suggested going custom. She put together a ten-page PDF for Lillian Khallouf in Sydney – who Nichhia had worked with before – and she was just incredible. She's so talented at bringing a vision to life and her craftsmanship is second to none. 

Nichhia advised me to have a cathedral-length veil and make it as sheer as possible. I also wore some pearl earrings from my mum and my shoes were Aquazzura. My something blue and borrowed was a ring my mum lent me that my dad gave her 20 years ago. It’s a beautiful sapphire and I asked her if I could keep it but she said no chance! 

My second look for the after-party was from Annie's Ibiza. I'd gone to Ibiza in 2024 on holiday, tried it on  and actually thought about wearing it for my hen. But then we ended up doing a swing dance for our first dance – ‘In The Mood’ by Glen Miller – and I knew it would be perfect. 

The Hair & Make-Up

I brought in Shauna from Sydney Bridal Makeup. Nichhia had worked with her on several shoots and recommended her highly. I did a trial with her and the make-up was so good – on the day itself, I didn’t need a single touch-up. My hair was done by Jaala Brinsmead from The Future Mrs. She was fantastic too. I just wanted to look like an elevated version of myself. 

The Bridal Party

We only decided on the black-and-white colour theme for the bridal party about a week before the wedding. I wanted my two sisters to feel comfortable in whatever I put them in but I also wanted it to look coherent. Self-Portrait dropped this dress the week before, or maybe even the week of, the wedding and so I paid for express delivery from the UK to Australia. Luckily, it looked so good on both of them. 

Billy wore a double-breasted suit from P. Johnson with shoes from Suitsupply. All his groomsmen were in Suitsupply, too. 

The Ceremony

We got married at St Mary's church in Brisbane. It’s a beautiful stone Anglican church on the river and it just really aligned with us – we love the priest, Father Richard, too. We had three prayers and one reading – and the ceremony lasted only 30 to 40 minutes, which felt right for us. 

The Food

Our caterers, Wine & Dine’m were fantastic. We didn’t want to have people sitting for too long and Wine & Dine’m were brilliant at maintaining a good flow for the day. We had canapés during cocktail hour on the lawn – duck spring rolls and fish ceviche. Then, for our sit-down meal, we had scallops and pork to start, beef and chicken for the mains and our wedding cake – red velvet – for dessert. We strategically did the wedding cake cutting during cocktail hour, so no one missed it – such a good tip. Wine & Dine’m were also brilliant at bringing in all the equipment – from the tables, chairs, and utensils to recommending the marquee supplier. 

The Entertainment

We had a string quartet, Four Strings, in the church and then we shipped everyone back to the reception venue in coaches. We had a jazz band, The Gypsy Cats, on the lawn during cocktail hour – my mum’s idea – which was really fun. For the reception, we hired Ryan from Mr Sax. I can’t sing his praises enough. He really helped with some of our entrances and getting people up and dancing. Everyone had their tambourines too, which helped!

The Day Before & After

The day before was spent setting up. It was a family affair – Billy's parents came to help as well, along with my brothers’ girlfriends, my auntie, everyone! The day after, we had a big recovery pool party. We held the wedding on Friday 8th May 2026, so people could stay on Saturday but still use Sunday to get back home without too much stress. Lots of people made a weekend of it, which was great. One of Billy's friends is a DJ, so that was great and we also brought in a van from Otto Cucina.