Annelyse & Maximilan by Fiona & Bobby

The wedding of Annelyse & Maximilan in NSW, Australia as featured in Issue 17 …

Lyse: We’re just two adventurous, geeky kids who fell in love as teenagers in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. I was 18, he was 16 — not that I knew that until we started dating, because he certainly didn’t look or act 16.

I decided to try my hand at a new sport, fencing, and one night rocked up to a training session at the nearest club. It was Max’s club.

Our world is full of friendships, love, laughter, action and great food. We refer to our partnership as ‘the team’, and consider ourselves best friends as much as lovers. Our relationship was largely long distance for the first five years, as we each relocated for university and then our first jobs at different times. The periods of separation were hard, but we invested in our relationship, persevered and made the most of every second together.

We kept our wedding small, with only our closest family and friends in attendance, which allowed us to spend money on the things that were important to us, like our awe-inspiring photographers. We wanted to capture the beautiful, old-world, untamed, misty wilderness of the Southern Highlands, which has been the backdrop to our entire relationship, and went with a look we described as ‘dark fairytale’, with elements of our humour and interests scattered throughout in the form of our stationery and signs, and Star Wars and Harry Potter references.

Along with fairy lights, our wild and romantic florals and foliage were the focal point of our styling. We did them ourselves, with hours of help from our loved ones. There are some incredible companies in the Sydney region that we used to hire many of the other elements, from the rugs, candelabras and oversized games, to the grey-blue napkins, which we tied with black raw silk.

In lieu of gifts, we asked everyone to stay at The Robertson Hotel with us, so that we could all party the night away, then just crawl up to bed. That meant we had the venue to ourselves for pretty much the whole weekend, which allowed us to take our time without being rushed to set up or pack up.

Max: There were so many memorable moments. The roaring applause of our guests as Lyse made her entrance; almost falling into the fountain during our passionate first kiss, and the atmospheric and incredibly well-timed storm that hit minutes after the ceremony ended, whipping petals into the air and requiring everyone to frantically grab the antique lounge chairs off the lawn as the rain started coming down.

Lyse: Marriage doesn’t define our relationship or who we are, nor have our lives changed as a result. We still wake up every day next to our best friend and go through life hand in hand. For us, getting married was an affirmation of our decade of love, but Max jokes that now the fairytale is official, it’s harder for me to run away. Not that I’d ever want to.

Photography: Fiona & Bobby Photography | Videography: Cédric Jean- Baptiste | Bride’s ceremony gown: Odylyne The Ceremony from Hope X Page | Bride’s reception gown: Rebecca Vallance | Bride’s tiara: Teeki Designs by Amy Oram from Love Marie Bridal Boutique | Bride’s fragrance: Emporio Armani – Because It’s You from Myer | Celebrant: I Do Me Too | Groom’s pocket square: Jack London from David Jones | Venue & catering: The Robertson Hotel | Bride’s ceremony shoes: Chinese Laundry Custom | Bride’s reception shoes: Converse from Because42 Custom Kicks | Flora: Alison Kennon Botanical Design | Groom’s shoes: Jennen | Groom’s cufflinks: Peter’s of Kensington | Hair: Mae You Be | Makeup: Makeup by Megan | Hireage: Ashdown & Bee, George & Smee & Vintage Events Hire | Cake: Pip & Lou | Groom’s & groomsmen’s attire: The Bespoke Corner | Bridesmaids’ dresses: Leave Her Wilder from Love Marie Bridal Boutique | Rings: Planert Fine Jewellery & Boutique Design | Stationery: Off On My Bicycle