Anni– I work at a charity running an education program and occasionally do floristry jobs on the side.
I grew up in Finland where my mother is from, but I’ve spent a lot of time in Australia because my dad’s from Sydney. I have a passion for learning new things, boxing, exploring nature, and diving.
Josh– I’m a cabinet maker and I love my job! I’m very keen on anything to do with water — diving, surfing, swimming. I’m originally from the UK and I met Anni in Sydney when I was backpacking and she was visiting family. We both swiped right on the infamous Tinder app and I decided that I would send Anni a really cheesy joke every morning to start the day… It seemed to work!
Josh- My first impressions of Anni were that she was a straight shooter, very down to earth.
Anni– From the first moment Josh and I met, I just felt at ease and the person sitting next to us at the bar even whispered to me that he couldn’t believe we were on a Tinder date,
that’s how effortless and fun it was.
Josh– Originally we planned to go back to Finland, where we lived for a few years, for our wedding but Covid had other plans, so we decided to have it here. I wasn’t sold on the elopement idea to begin with, but Anni made me see the light. We wanted something very chilled and personal to us — hence the coastal location, followed up with a picnic on the cliffs watching the whales, then on to a pizzeria, as Anni loves pizza and it was over a pizza that I first told her I loved her, then gelato at our favourite gelato bar.
Anni– We really wanted to have our beautiful day now instead of waiting. We had only three close friends as guests. For the styling, I knew I wanted to draw inspiration from the colours of the national park. I wanted all our guests to be comfortable and happy, so I let them choose what colours to wear and they absolutely nailed it. I had no clear vision for my bouquet. I just went to the flower markets with a few ideas on colours and a couple of certain flowers and was thrilled with the varieties I found. All our flowers were locally grown, all the props for the picnic too were either second-hand, borrowed or re-used.
I also plan to wear my dress again once we get to celebrate on a larger scale in the future. We did a lot of things ourselves because we enjoy planning and making things and wanted to be eco-friendly. The one thing I was always ready to invest in however was photography. Amber Wynn-Jones was absolutely amazing. She immortalised the relaxed and happy style of our day perfectly.
Josh– There was a moment when I was reading out my vows to Anni and I noticed she wasn’t looking
at me, almost not paying attention. Then, mid-speech, she stops me and says there’s a whale
behind me, playing and slapping the water with its tail, almost like it was waving. Amber snapped
a photo of Anni stopping me mid-speech and us all having a laugh about it.
Photographer: Amber Wynn-Jones | Bride’s gown: Pronovias | Groom’s suit: Woolcott Street | Ceremony: Wattamolla Beach Track, Royal National Park | Celebrant: Jessica Mutch | Styling & flora: Anni Serjent (bride) | Rings: Natalie Marie Jewellery | Bride’s shoes: Aldo | Groom’s boots: RM Williams | Bridesmaids’ dresses: Bec and Bridge | Reception location: Bella Brutta | Gelato venue: Cow and the Moon
