Marjolaine + Adrien by Patricia Hendrychova-Estanguet - Together Journal

The Coco Barn encapsulated everything we dreamed of – elegant, romantic, and magical.

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

I grew up in Paris, while Adrien, originally from the South of France, spent his childhood around the world. We’ve been living in Sydney (where we first met) for many years, and it is now the city we call home. I am a French Teacher, and Adrien works in the Fintech industry.

Fitness is my passion and lifestyle. Whether I’m lifting weights, stretching, or hitting the pavement for a run, I thrive on pushing my physical limits and achieving new milestones. Adrien loves cooking (lucky me because I can’t cook), basketball and board games.

We share a passion for travelling and the outdoors. Our last big trip was our honeymoon in Hawaii. It was a perfect blend of relaxation and adventure. One of the most exhilarating moments was our doors-off helicopter tour in Kauai. It gave us a bird’s-eye view of the island’s stunning natural beauty. Exploring the volcanoes on the Big Island was another highlight. And of course, the food! We were hooked on poke bowls.

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

We have friends in common working for this trendy restaurant in downtown Sydney, we caught up a sunny afternoon for a few drinks and our friends introduced us. I was immediately smitten by this beautiful, bright woman full of life, with quick wits and a pretty laugh; she was so gorgeous this first afternoon! I played it cool, of course, and floated that we should catch up sometime later when she felt like it. She was going away on vacation soon, a few weeks later I figured she must have flown back and I gave her a call; the rest is history.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

Her kindness was the first thing I picked up on, which was – together with her immediately apparent depth of character and resilience – a winning combination in terms of the characteristics I knew I wanted in a partner. Love is something you grow and nurture; as we discovered more about each other, I think we were happy to recognise that we had very similar values, that beyond the physical attraction we had for each other, we genuinely sought each other’s companionship, that we enriched each other’s experience and that we made each other more complete. After some time, it became natural to have a longer perspective on things and to start planning for the future, when this realisation came it made sense to start looking for a diamond at this point.

It wasn’t a single moment but a gradual realisation. Over time, I came to see that Adrien was someone who truly complemented and enriched my life in every way. As we spent more time together, I felt a deep connection growing, strengthened by our shared values. Through both joyful moments and challenges, he has always shown unwavering support.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

That’s a cool story, for me it started months prior to dropping to one knee. I have always had an interest in stones and gems dating back all the way to when I was a kid. My dad was an expat, and he took the family to live in a few countries; one of the things that he liked doing was collecting gems and semi-precious stones from all around; he would hold them in a treasure, and we would sometimes sift through them together. I loved these moments, and I grew to love and learn about stones as well. So naturally, when I started thinking about a concept for the engagement ring, it had to revolve around a cool stone. Australia mines gem-quality diamonds, and so because our story takes its roots in Australia, I wanted to source a local stone, a clin d’oeil that would tie us forever to this land. So I started window shopping, met a lot of people, and asked for a lot of quotes along the way. I became good friends with a jeweller who hosted an event with diamond sellers one day and guided me in identifying a particular stone. The gem was coloured, however, as all Australian diamonds are… It turns out, one day before pulling the plug, I casually asked Marjo about her preferences in diamonds, and she casually explained that she does not like coloured diamonds and that, for her, the real thing is white! Catastrophe, I go back to my mate and we start the search from scratch again, we end up picking up an incredible extra sparkly white stone and he helped design the rest of the ring. I also bought a couple of tiny Aussie-coloured diamonds that I insisted we hide in the inner side of our wedding bands. When that was done, I flew back to France alone a few months prior to the proposal and met with her mom and told her about my intentions. She was just out of a procedure and lying flat on her hospital bed, but she still managed to give me her blessings and a pat on the back for good luck.

The proposal itself was a simple affair, on ANZAC Day we attended the Dawn Service, we went for an early brekkie after that then we took the first ferry to Watsons Bay to beat the crowds. In my favourite place in the world, I proposed to my favourite person and she said yes, making me the happiest man on earth in the process.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

Choosing the perfect wedding venue is such a crucial part of planning your special day. It’s got to be love at first sight! The Coco Barn encapsulated everything we dreamed of – elegant, romantic, and magical. We knew it would set the perfect backdrop for our celebration and create lasting memories for us and our guests, so we splurged on the venue.

Another element important to us (since we planned our wedding from overseas) was the wedding planner. Marta’s expertise and attention to detail ensured that every aspect of our day was meticulously planned for and executed. She took away the stress and allowed us to enjoy the planning process and our wedding day to the fullest.

Lastly, we elected to work with the best photographer we could find and it was so worth it. Patricia was able to beautifully document all the emotions, moments, and capture the essence of our wedding day.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight?

During our wedding ceremony, when the moment came to exchange rings, Adrien hesitated briefly. There was a humorous mix-up about which finger the rings were supposed to go on, which caused a little confusion and laughter from our guests. Looking back, it’s a fond memory that we laugh about now – a sweet moment of spontaneity amidst the formality of the ceremony.

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

I knew exactly the style I envisioned for my wedding dress, but every dress I tried didn’t quite look right on me until a dear friend suggested I meet with Helen English. She was truly exceptional. We discussed options in styles, fabrics and cuts, and she built my dress design from scratch. Adrien got his three-piece suit done by the Bespoke Corner, a famous tailor in Sydney who offers a completely bespoke tailoring experience as well as accessory styling advice. The result was lovely.