Phoebe + Alex by It's Beautiful Here - Together Journal

From very early on, Phoebe felt so comfortable around Alex and could see him fitting into every aspect of her life.

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

We (Phoebe and Alex) have been together for six years and lived in London, England together until early 2022 when we moved to Phoebe’s hometown of Melbourne. Phoebe works in public policy for a global tech company, and Alex is head baker at a popular bakery. We can normally be found by the beach, hiking, out for wines with friends, eating croissants, or secretly watching trashy reality TV.

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

P: We met on Bumble in London in September 2017. I swiped right on Alex, hoping for someone to show me ‘round the mean streets of London after flying over there for a short, three-month job post finishing my masters. We met at a pub for beers and sauerkraut hotdogs. I thought Al was super tall and handsome and had an infectious passion for food and nature. Well, after that date, I ended up staying in London for six months (until border security kicked me out!). Al and I did long-distance for a year, and then I ‘officially’ moved to the UK in early 2019.

A: I thought Phoebs was so warm, engaging and positive, and we hit it off straight away. I felt so comfortable in her company. She had only recently arrived in London, and I immediately wanted a second date to show her some of my favourite places (or at least, that was my excuse).

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

P: When Alex revealed that he makes his own mince pies from scratch every Christmas. My favourite food on the planet – they are unbelievable! Just kidding (kind of). From very early on, I felt so comfortable around Alex and could see him fitting into every aspect of my life. Everything just felt so easy with him, which it never had before with anyone else.

A: It was so obvious to me after only knowing Phoebs for a few weeks that I had never met anyone like this before and wanted to be with her for the rest of my life.

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

A: I wanted to find a ring from a jewellery designer based close to where we lived in Peckham, South London. I knew that we would be unlikely to end up living there forever, but it was a place and a time that would always be close to our hearts. I managed to keep the proposal a total surprise from Phoebs and would pretend I was going for a run and then quickly rush down to the jeweller to work on the design! We love to go hiking and being outdoors, so I proposed while we were on a beautiful, private clifftop overlooking a bay in Wales.

P: Al also timed the proposal, so it was while we were on holiday with his family. It was awesome to have that intimate moment to ourselves and then to celebrate it with the gang– swimming, champagne and pizza on the beach! We also managed to FaceTime my parents soon after the proposal while we were still at the bay. My Dad passed away unexpectedly two months later, so I’m incredibly grateful that he was there in that moment with us.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…

P: Alex and I were originally super nervous about planning our wedding because, in truth, a lot of the common wedding traditions just felt a bit stuffy, outdated or unnatural to us. But once we decided to just relax, break the rules a little bit and make the wedding feel like a party that we’d actually want to go to, that’s when the magic happened! We wanted the day to feel bright, full of love, family-focused and laidback. I’m a maximalist – I love explosions of colour, glitter and fun, but also wanted the venues to feel appropriately elegant and sophisticated. Once we met Agi at Whole Lotta Love Creative, she totally understood our vision and took it from there.

A: We picked venues throughout the day that were local to us and our life in Melbourne so that we could keep returning to them for years to come. Our reception and ceremony venues are less than five kilometres from our house, and we even managed to squeeze in a coffee at our favourite café during our ‘first look’. We also incorporated lots of other little personal touches that felt like ‘us’, like having both our mums sign our marriage certificate and naming the dinner tables after our old neighbourhood train stations in South London.

Welcome sign by Hey Lola Design for Phoebe + Alex

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?

A: The flowers! They were such a stand-out feature throughout the wedding that continued the vibe and colour scheme from the ceremony to the reception. They’re in so many parts of the photos so it’s important to really think about what they’ll bring to the day. Virtually everybody has commented on how spectacular they were, and Ross from Bloom Boy was so much fun to work with.

P: They also lasted for almost a week afterwards, so we were able to decorate our recovery BBQ and then our house with them – we got our money’s worth!

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

A: We enlisted the help of our friend Cristiano, who is an ex-professional ballet dancer, to choreograph a surprise dance for us to perform when we entered the reception. Phoebs and I spent countless hours rehearsing this dance, going over it in our heads, getting the timing right.. there was even a lift! However, once we got to the reception, we realised the layout was completely different to what we had planned, and it totally threw us off – we both forgot the steps within the first two seconds, and it totally flopped! It was hilarious… We still haven’t performed it properly since I think our crowd is due an encore soon.

P: My brother also broke his ankle three weeks before the wedding, which massively stressed me out as I was super close to him, and he had many important roles throughout the day. But he was a champion and ended up totally ‘owning’ it … as the night went on and the champagne flowed, I have some hazy memories of him on the dancefloor using his crutches as a limbo stick!

Reception at Rupert on Rupert for Phoebe + Alex

Stationery by Hey Lola Design for Phoebe + Alex

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

P: My style is usually mega colourful, bold and quirky, so I always thought I’d pick a showstopper, statement dress… maybe in gold, with poufy sleeves, shoulder pads, or sequins. But as soon as I tried on my dress at Lola Varma, I just felt like the best version of myself. It was modern and sleek, with the dramatic open back for interest, and the silk was so comfortable – I honestly could have been in my pyjamas! The fact my dress was actually designed and sewn by a local Aussie designer less than ten minutes from our house made it all the more personal. I also picked a red manicure for the day as a nod to my Mum, who had them on her wedding day too.