Sophia & Michael

Wanting a Tuscan summer vibe for their gorgeous February wedding, Sophia and Michael planned a celebration full of both love and beauty! With Italian touches throughout the day (like the limoncello bar for dessert – yum!), Emma Faith Photography captured every sun-drenched moment.

High school sweethearts, the bride and groom wanted to surround themselves with their nearest and dearest who had been there from the start. When Michael proposed, Sophia tells, ”He took me on a hike at Minyon Falls in Byron Bay and proposed as we were walking over the stepping stones to a waterfall. Byron Bay now holds a very special place in our hearts.”

Waverley Estate in Port Elliot ticked all the boxes for Sophia and Michael. A gorgeous event space with accommodation plus serious Tuscany vibes – they were smitten! They share, ”We always wanted a wedding where we could stay over the weekend, set up the venue how we wanted and have a choice over food and music. We also wanted an outdoor wedding by the beach, so this place was perfect for us!”

Wearing a clean-cut yet romantic gown, Sophie had her wedding dress custom made from Greta Kate Bridal. The bride remembers, ”I wanted something very simple yet elegant that fit and I felt comfortable in throughout the entire day. The experience with making my gown was amazing. Every visit to Greta was always so lovely and she is great at what she does. Michael wore a linen blazer, white shirt with black bow tie, black chinos and black RM Williams boots. He chose this to suit a summer style wedding but also wanted to be comfortable and not overly formal. All the bridesmaids wore a rust/orange colour to suit their shape and style. All the brands were different, as long as they were comfortable and felt themselves on the day.”

The ceremony was held outdoors, under the dappled shade of the garden trees. Sophia tells, ”We wanted it to be about us and the love we have for each other, surrounded by our closest family and friends who have been with us throughout our entire relationship. We had an amazing celebrant, Tenielle Nuske Marriage Celebrant, who personalised our ceremony so that it truly was about Michael and I and our relationship. We had my cousin Stephanie and family friend Anthony read two readings. One quite funny and witty and another about two are better than one, both readings representing the fun in our relationship but also how we are only better when we’re together.” The bride walked down the aisle to an acoustic version of ‘Crazy in Love’ by Beyonce, sung by Jess Gosti.

Rust and orange with white and gold set the colour palette for the Italian styling, with the flowers enhancing each dress chosen by the bridesmaids. Talking about florist Cheynne Willis, Sophia tells, ”I trusted her. I told her the vibe, colours and showed her my dress and the bridesmaids, she then handled the rest. I wanted touches of gold throughout.”

The summer vibe and Italian touches were all captured superbly by Emma Faith Photography. Remembering the day, Sophia says, ”She was so professional from before the wedding, during and after. On the day itself, she made us both feel so comfortable, she was like a fly on the wall and took some of the most amazing pictures, true moments captured in time. After our wedding she was efficient in getting our photos back to us, we couldn’t have asked for a better photographer.”

Nutella doughnuts from Port Elliot Bakery were piled high on the dessert table, served alongside a limoncello bar by the pool. Sophia remembers ”La Dolce Vita Catering, the food was in abundance and nothing short of amazing! Their service and professionalism leading up to the wedding and on the day itself is faultless. Would highly recommend to anyone. Plus Sash Events – we hired our furniture from them and not only did they deliver it to the venue, but set it up so perfect for us as well!”

Remembering the highlights of their wedding, Sophia and Michael tell, ”We planned the entire wedding day ourselves. From the concept, look, music and more, we spoke and worked closely with all vendors to ensure it was exactly what we wanted. We loved our friends The B-Sharps as the band, Sophia’s Nonno playing a traditional Italian dance song (the tarantella), dancing with all of our parents, sitting amongst our guests and not having a bridal table (literally being in the centre of the room and taking it all in!), plus our ‘crazy in love’ neon light across the pool to have photos under. We had our first dance to ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay. We both love Coldplay and would listen to this song growing up as high school sweethearts.”

Churros to snack on and the Nonno’s playing tambourine and accordion on the dancefloor were the finishing touches on an already blissful day! Sophia and Michael share, ”The entire day was truly all so special we couldn’t have imagined it going any better, it was perfect. From the morning getting ready, the ceremony, going to have photos with our friends, seeing our guests enjoy the food and music and then staying up all night until all our guests had left – we always wanted to be the last ones standing at our wedding. Once everyone had gone and our friends went to bed, we went back onto the tennis court where the party was held and just sat there and took it all in one last time.”

Thank you to our gorgeous bride and groom for sharing your stunning wedding day with us, and congratulations! Thank you also to Emma Faith Photography and Love & Other for your imagery.