Thomas: We were travelling across Europe visiting family when I proposed. We were in Paris and, to Danielle’s dismay, I asked her to pose yet again for another #FollowMeTo photograph in front of the Eiffel Tower.
I took the shot while holding the engagement ring and then showed her the photograph. Everything went to plan, as Danielle had no idea what I was up to and we now have an incredible photograph of our proposal that we can cherish for years to come.
After swiping right on Tinder, our relationship blossomed quickly. We share so many interests, from photography to the appreciation of red wine. We come from very different backgrounds (I’m Vietnamese-Australian and she’s AustralianItalian) and have loved learning new things about each other’s cultures along the way.
Danielle: I felt strongly about not getting married until same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia. I also was never one of those girls that grew up dreaming of getting married or about their wedding day. But meeting Thomas, I knew he was the one. Then same-sex marriage was legalised and I started considering marriage. To us, marriage represents foundation, strength, support and most importantly, unity. That’s why we’ve decided to take each other’s surnames.
Thomas: We had considered holding our reception at an art gallery space in Alexandria, but when the pandemic swept the world, we had to come up with a backup plan. On the last weekend before lockdown, we stopped by Handpicked Cellar Door for cheese and wine and learned that the Births, Deaths and Marriages Office in Chippendale completed registry marriages there. A week later, we booked in for October, as we wanted our wedding date to coincide with our four-year anniversary. The pandemic worsened around this time and there were restrictions on the number of guests we could have, so we held our ceremony at the registry office with a small reception at Handpicked.
The best thing about getting married to your best friend is that you can always be there for one another. This came in particularly handy when we were getting ready together on our wedding day, as we could help calm each other’s nerves! When it came to the styling of our ceremony, we were inspired by Australian native plants and flowers so our colour palette largely consisted of maroons and golds. We wanted the overall vibe to be comfortable and relaxed. Danielle loved that she could leave her wedding bouquet to Nastia from The Flowerhead, who created a beautiful bouquet that ended up being Danielle’s favourite detail from the wedding. We found our amazing photographer on Instagram. Being a photographer, I’ve always known what kind of style I wanted. We searched online and all of the photographs that we liked were by Damien Milan. Our favourite moment was when we returned to The Lobo, the cocktail bar where we had our first date, this time in our wedding attire. It was great to debrief and just reflect on how everything had come full circle.
photographer Damien Milan / ceremony location NSW Births, Deaths and Marriages, Chippendale / bride’s jumpsuit ASOS / groom’s suit ASOS / groom’s shirt Calibre / getting ready location The Old Clare Hotel, Chippendale / bride’s shoes Gorman / bride’s hair & makeup Monique Jones / bride’s fragrance ‘Sage Spell’ and ‘Dancing Roses’ from Viktor & Rolf’s Magic collection / flora The Flowerhead / groom’s hairdresser Chantal Haberland / robes/getting ready t-shirts Dang Cool Goods / clutch Saint Laurent / bracelet Alix Yang / ring Cendré / ring/s Kavalri / Ted Baker / celebrant Greg Clarke (NSW Births, Deaths & Marriages) / reception location Handpicked Cellar Door Sydney / cake Koi Dessert Bar
