Daniella + Joseph by Alannah Liddell

The natural greenery and lush foliage at our venue.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We’ve been together for 12 years, and we are very much best friends. We’ve grown up together and had the pleasure of moving through lots of life milestones with one another. We are the opposite of opposites attract – we are two peas in a pod and cherish the time we get together.

We love coffee dates, small bars, margaritas, tacos, bowls of pasta and proper Italian woodfire pizza – we’ve just brought home a gorgeous Pomeranian puppy (Miso) and are very excited to bring him along with us everywhere we go; it’s his first time living life too.

We also love spending time at home. We recently bought our first home with a big garden and trees/foliage all around – we love to have our morning coffees out there and chat about our plans for life.

We love going to the cinemas – Joe worked at a cinema for years when we were first dating, and we honestly used to go twice a week, so there is a massive wave of nostalgia every time we go back.

Like most, we love seeing new places. In 2023, we packed up shop and went travelling around the world for 15 months, waking up to nothing but coffee shops, European and Asian cities and Google-translating public transport in different languages – our own form of bliss for a while.

Joe works in project management, Daniella works in social design and has a small business (Pressed) preserving and framing wedding flowers. With goals to work together in the future.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We knew of each other from the age of 12. We lived in similar areas, went to schools nearby and had mutual friends. We started chatting during primary school on MSN in Year 7 and were very much too scared to meet up in person. Years later, while at different high schools, we met in the back of a taxi with all our close friends. We were 16 on a Saturday night, and we were moving from one friend’s house to another. We sat next to each other and were inseparable for the rest of the night (and forever after).

Daniella was immediately interested – my first impression was that he was one of the most present and unfazed people I’d ever met. Even at 16, he was just doing his own thing, and I was instantly intrigued – that hasn’t changed for the last 12 years.

Joe was infatuated with the alt-cool girl in stripes listening to Vampire Weekend, Foals, and The Vaccines. He had to play it cool because a girl like this did not come around very often. Texting non-stop, late-night car rides and meeting the 8-year-old Pomeranian sealed the deal for him – the journey became the film.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

The natural greenery and lush foliage at our venue. This really held the feel/vision for our wedding. Anything additional was a nice-to-have. We kept styling minimal to let the venue shine, mostly relying on draping and trailing fabric. The sheath of linen fabric we tied in a knot behind us at the ceremony was one of my favourite elements. I also sourced second-hand fabric for our signing table and draped it along the floor. We used things from around the venue too – for example, some limestone rocks to secure our table signage.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

We adored picking songs for different moments throughout the day. 12 years together means there are lots of songs we love and remind us of different times in our relationship. We picked intentionally, and getting there was fun – lots of drives listening to our old favourites. I also loved visualising and creating. We did a lot on our own. We designed our invitations, our signage, did all our styling, our florals, and I did my own make-up. I loved spending time with Joe, thinking about these things.

Tip: Have a bottom line and work up from there. We were both very aligned on caring more about how the day felt than what it looked like. Of course, we have ideas for how we wanted things to look, but for us this wasn’t the point. We knew which things mattered to us, and anything extra was a bonus. Also, planning is planning, and that’s exactly how it feels. You see a lot online about romanticising the process, and while there absolutely are exciting parts, I think normalising that it can feel a lot like an endless to-do list takes the pressure off. Even if you keep things simple, it’s a lot to coordinate.

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

All of our vendors were incredible and made our day and night seamless – we are so grateful. A special thank you to my hairdresser JaimmeLee, whom I’ve been seeing for the longest time. We didn’t do a trial; I basically showed her a picture that I decided on the morning of, and she nailed it. Alannah and Harry (photographers) and Alix (videographer) were beyond incredible. They captured the day and night flawlessly. They showed up with such beautiful energy and seemed to just know what we’d want- priceless. Our DJ, Love Tango, is a dear friend, and he kept the dance floor alive from 8pm-12am. So much so that we forgot to give our thank-you speech. Our food and drink vendors were also incredible -had many guests drooling over the catering and commenting on the cocktails weeks after.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story? 

Daniella – I wore two bespoke looks, both designed and handcrafted by the incredibly talented (and endlessly kind) Hannah. For the ceremony, I wore a four-piece ensemble — a structured corset, a sharply tailored pencil skirt, soft hip draping and a veil. For the reception, I changed into a low-back silk slip with a sheer neckline, something lighter and more fluid for the evening. With the wedding in January 2026, I only decided on my dress in June 2025 — a point at which most would hesitate to even attempt custom. I was so lucky to find Hannah, who indulged me and brought a calm generosity to the entire process. We worked closely on the design; I knew I wanted silk wool and silk dupion, so these became the foundation. From there, Hannah sourced the fabrics and meticulously brought each element to life. Only partway through, I decided to add a second look — again, thank you, Hannah! She finished each piece using couture techniques and extensive hand sewing; she’s a very talented lady.

Joe wore a custom tuxedo from Oscar Hunt. Getting this made was such a fun experience for us – we went to the fittings and appointments together, and it was near one of our favourite spots in the city, so we always used it as an excuse to have a little date.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Joe designed the engagement ring himself. And it’s my favourite thing ever. It’s an oval diamond set horizontally across the band, rather than the traditional vertical orientation. The stone is held in a minimal, tension-style setting, so it appears to float. The band is simple yellow gold and slightly tapered and is made from gold from a piece of my grandmother’s we inherited–my sister’s engagement ring was made with the same gold, so it’s very sentimental.

When we got engaged, we had been travelling for 12 months and decided at the last minute to go to South Africa for my grandma’s 90th. My mum met us there – she had flown the ring over with her from Australia.

We designed my wedding band together, it is a knife-edge yellow gold band with small diamonds embedded. It has a small recess for the diamond of the engagement band to sit in, and they fit together perfectly.

Joe is currently ring-less – he hates the feeling of wearing rings, so we didn’t get a band for him. Our jeweller very kindly let him borrow one for the day. Hilariously, he couldn’t make the appointment to pick it up, so I went, and the ring was a couple of sizes too big. We were so careful on the day not to lose it.

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

Photography and the venue were both important to us. We wanted to keep things fairly simple, so we decided early on that we wanted the venue to do the heavy lifting. We chose Losari because of the incredible trees. We live in a very dry part of the world, so finding a venue with so much greenery caught us by surprise. We didn’t do much in the way of styling because the grounds were enough. Photography was another thing that was important. We wanted to remember how the day felt, so that drove our choice. Alannah’s work captures moments so beautifully. I’d actually been following and admiring Alannah’s work for years prior – the fact she was available for our date was very special.

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

So many. The moment immediately after the ceremony – we hadn’t seen each other all day, and it was so nice to finally be together. We were ecstatic – we had crisp margaritas waiting for us. Joe grabbed an umbrella, the two drinks, and we walked across to our venue. Having this moment immediately after all to ourselves felt very special.

During the ceremony, we had worked with My Celebrant Buddy to allow for Joe’s sister to be our celebrant (she isn’t a legal celebrant). Having someone so dear to us marry us was pretty surreal.

I (Daniella) loved the first dance. I had just changed into my second dress and we danced to an absolute favourite (Baby – Donnie & Joe Emerson), I looked over to see all our favourite people standing right there and it felt so special.

We both also loved the speeches. They were beyond thoughtful and reminded us that our relationship isn’t just ours – we share it with so many special people. Daniella’s sisters performed a rendition of a Shania Twain song – there were many happy tears.

What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?

Always having someone you want to share with. Coming home, no matter the day, to a sense of love and calm. Laughing with someone in bed and playing NYT word games.