To celebrate finding each other, Samantha and Moe threw an Art Deco-inspired wedding – which was really just an excuse to dance the Charleston and drink Champagne! Their gilded wedding took place at golden hour, as the sun set across Brisbane. With the help of Peppermint Photography and Everlast Studios, they captured the bright and unique atmosphere of the night.

Samantha and Moe met after they matched on the dating site RSVP. Once they had exchanged a few messages, they decided to meet up for brunch. Moe turned up in a smoky-filled jacket from a birthday bonfire celebration the night before, and Samantha arrived on a bicycle. “We enjoyed each other company and then decided to spend another 5 hours at Lifeline Bookfest together, where we amused each other with book titles and vintage cocktail music cassette tapes. We discovered we were reading the same book, “The Equal Heart and Mind,” a collection of love letters between poet Judith Wright and philosopher Jack McKinney. “The Equal Heart and Mind” pretty much sums us up.”

It was clear they were a match made in artistic heaven, so it’s no surprise that Moe proposed poetically. “Moe insisted I had to see the moon rise over the Shorncliffe pier. So under the moonlight, he proposed with limoncello and asked whether I would like to live by the sea – we now have a coastal cottage.”

Moe wanted to get married in Brisbane’s winter – where it’s comfortable enough to wear a three-piece suit. He paired his dapper suit with a straw hat he had gotten at the Art Deco Festival in Napier, New Zealand.

Samantha had always admired Gwendolynne’s beautiful creations, so she commissioned her to create an exquisite sequin bolero. “I adored the mystic design, which could easily be worn again on every special occasion. We communicated remotely between Brisbane and Melbourne. Her atelier crafted this piece during Melbourne lockdowns; we used conference calls via Zoom. *Note: we had to postpone our elopement due to a COVID lockdown and reschedule it for the next year, 2022, so we could keep the same vendors.”

Her bouquet was filled with exotic bat flowers, orchids, blue hyacinths, peacock feathers from Wallflower Floral Design and an embroidered mauve butterfly that Samantha’s sister Rachel had created.

Before the ceremony, Moe and Samatha had a first look and got some sneaky portraits done with their photographer, Amanda from Peppermint Photography. “We are both introverts. Our photographer Amanda imparts grace, which means the images are incredibly intimate and beautiful.”

Together, Moe and Samantha established the Roaring Twenties Vintage Car Hire in Brisbane in 2015. Sharing their love for craftmanship, good design and traditional crafts with the city. “We are passionate about restoring vintage cars from the 1920s and 1930s. We share our three vintage cars with Brisbane families and give Art Deco Tours around Brisbane.”

Along with her gilded bolero, Samantha also wore her grandmother’s silver mesh purse straight from the 1920s. She’s also a big fan of the “something” tradition rhyme, so she had an artisan friend create small ceramic tags that said: “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.”

The ceremony took place at 501 Ann Street so they could have their midnight blue Dodge convertible on the footpath. “Our vintage automobile was sold in 1937 from Dodge Lane alongside this location in Fortitude Valley,” says Samantha. “Our ceremony on the footpath felt like a happening – everyone felt liberated to cheer and we got lots of well wishes from the public.”

Their wedding party included Andrew, Moe’s best man and best friend since high school, who wore a similar three-piece suit to Moe but darker. Andrew’s wife Riitta, who presented their vows, wore a vivid pink French silk brocade gown she had created. And finally, their nieces Feliz and Irem, who held roses, are part of the rose exchange for the ceremony.

With the help of their celebrant Ketrina, they were guided through their ceremony with ease. “We had initially conceived our ceremony as an elopement; it was intimate in scale but heartfelt, keeping all the most significant components. We enjoyed writing our vows, which were unorthodox and light-hearted, making our friends and family roar with laughter. One of our readings focused on embracing our imperfections,” Samantha explained. “We had hoped to exchange our vows within the circular entrance of 501 Ann, but due to a comedy of errors, we decided to simply walk together down the stairs of the building so the family could shower us in rose petals instead.”

One of Samatha’s favourite photos from the night was an unexpected shot taken by their photographer of the two of them driving through the diamond-studded city after the ceremony. This was also Moe’s favourite part of the night, saying, “I loved marrying the love of my life and driving through the city between ceremony and reception.”

The reception was held at the Incholm Hotel in Spring Hill, known for its 1920s architecture and stunning cuisine. “We wanted maximum impact for the tables. We chose black tablecloths with large gold foil confetti, beeswax tealights, and fairy lights, which friends assembled. We acknowledged the spirit of our mothers with their portraits and bouquets of their favourite flowers.”

For the first part of the reception, Moe and Samantha organised a Charleston dance lesson with Dance the Blue Studio for their guests. “To see everyone smiling and ripping up the dance floor was priceless!” And to reflect Moe’s Turkish Heritage, the couple chose Baklava and Apple tea for their reception instead of a wedding cake.

Their first dance was to the jazz classic “It Had To Be You”. With the help of their friend’s dance studio, Wedding Dance Diva, they choreographed an achievable but really special dance. “Moe was grateful that our first dance sequence disguised his two left feet – lots of practice made him feel like Fred Astaire for five glorious minutes. Magic!”

A huge thanks to Peppermint Photography for capturing this gilded wedding. And congratulations to Samantha and Moe for creating this Art-Deco dream of a wedding!