In the afternoon, we decided to pop a bottle of champagne, and he dropped his knee in the back garden to propose!
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are both originally from Melbourne and moved up to the Gold Coast nearly 10 years ago for work.
Hayley is an Illustrator and Graphic Designer who, after working for many years in the fashion industry, is now working for herself, working with various brands. She is about to launch a small label called ‘Sea Street’ that is centred around her love of travel and vintage-inspired destination products of yesteryear.
Daniaal has spent the last 10 years working for Californian art & lifestyle brand RVCA, most recently as the GM for Asia Pacific – but is now taking a break and enjoying a long Summer Sabbatical!
We both love travelling the world and our own backyard of Australia, great food & wine, appreciate all things in considered and thoughtful design and enjoy time with our great network of friends.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We had first met many moons ago at the workplace in Melbourne. Hayley first remembers seeing Daniaal and thinking that he was well-dressed, gorgeous and very easy to talk to. Daniaal remembers being taken aback by Hayley’s incredible green eyes, and even though she was quite quiet and reserved, she had a sense of fun and adventure.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

There sure was! Daniaal had organised a surprise getaway for a couple of nights down at Rae’s On Wategoes in Byron Bay. We had such an amazing relaxing day from the moment we got to Rae’s. In the afternoon, we decided to pop a bottle of champagne, and he dropped his knee in the back garden to propose! We had perfect weather, and the location was amazing for our time there—so it was a really wonderful love bubble for our weekend at Raes.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.
Neither of us had wanted the ‘big’ traditional wedding, and had been witnesses for our close friends recently who on a whim decided to elope in Hawaii and we just loved how laid back, relaxed and beautiful that afternoon was celebrating two of our closest friends tie the knot with their baby there too. We decided that for when we did get married, we would follow on in this ‘elopement’ style of wedding.
We had come across this stunning property, Ground House 107R, in a feature from The Local Project and instantly loved the property and the stunning design elements throughout the house and the property. Hannah from Ground House was so accommodating, allowing us to have a small elopement with two of our best friends present as witnesses.
Our vision was that it should be classic, timeless, and clean—to be in a unique location that reflected us and what we love in terms of design aesthetics.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Shoes! We decided that we both would have shoes as our ‘splurge’ item each, with Hayley selecting a pair of Jimmy Choo heels and Daniaal going with the classic Gucci Jordaan Loafer. Part of having a smaller wedding was knowing that we would want to have an amazing honeymoon – and we are due to head off soon to have 5 weeks exploring Italy & Greece from May this year.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
It was such a relaxed day! Even though Hayley was nervous that the rain would come pelting rain and it had felt like it 1000% humidity (nothing like the Northern Rivers in December for some hot & sweaty heat!) – it was honestly such a fun and amazing day. One thing we both reflect on and love is how great the people there where!
We had our best friends Greta & Dave there. Beck, our wedding photographer, was such an amazing personality and person to have captured everything and kept the laughs coming, and then Heidi, our celebrant, was also just cut from the same cloth as everyone there and having a great time and really enjoying our special time.
Having a great playlist, popping bottles of bubbles and laughing with a great group of people – it was a wonderful day!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Given that it was so hot in December in Northern NSW, we wanted to make sure we were as comfortable as could be – yet wanted to make sure both our outfits where both clean, classic and timeless.
For Hayley, she really wanted a dress that was classic and also was inspired by the engagement ring. The ring was a bespoke design from Line Of The Sun and featured a Trilliant cut Diamond. Inspired by the shapes of the diamond, the dress, shoes and handbag all had diagonal lines to tie in with this theme subtly.
Daniaal decided to keep his outfit slightly relaxed, but also understated and classic with a Calibre black suit tied back with the evening shirt that had black contrast buttons.
VENUE Ground House 107R in Tintenbar, NSW, Australia, @groundhouse107r PHOTOGRAPHER Beck Rocchi, @beckrocchiphotography CELEBRANT Heidi Robertson, @byronbaymarriagecelebrant RINGS Alice at The Line Of The Sun, @thelineofsun NECKLACE Passed down from Hayley’s Mother; WEDDING BAND From Daniel’s Grandmother BRIDAL DRESS Prea James – Julliette Slip Dress, @preajames_bridal BRIDE’S SHOE Jimmy Choo, @jimmychoo BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Bag – Mlouye MAKEUP & HAIR Ashlea Penfold, @ashleapenfold SUIT & SHIRT Calibre, @calibreaustralia GROOM’S SHOE Gucci – Jordaan Loafers, @gucci
