If fate had a favourite hobby, it would surely be matchmaking across continents! Lena and Toon’s love story began in the sun-drenched streets of Cape Town, blossomed through long-distance phone calls and lockdowns, and finally found its forever home in Tasmania’s wild beauty. With a double proposal leading them to this weekend-long celebration surrounded by 35 of their favourite people, their intimate Tasmanian wedding was heartwarming! Every detail, from the thrifted suit to the hand-embroidered napkins, spoke of love and intention. Captured with soul by the talented Brett Scapin, every frame tells their story with the intimacy it deserves.

These lovebirds met in Cape Town while living in the same student accommodation for two months. Their friendship slowly bloomed into something deeper, and when they had to part ways (Lena back to Germany and Toon heading off to Singapore), they realised just how much they missed each other’s company. They spent the next two years in a long-distance relationship; unfortunately, at the same time, COVID lockdowns were shutting countries down. “Toon then moved to me in Germany (from Australia, where he was working), and after a year, we decided to have our home in Tasmania together,” Lena shared.

Their proposal was a race to the finish – and Lena was faster! “She worked with Emma Bugg, a Hobart-based contemporary jeweller, to create a unique engagement ring for me with a Tasmanian sapphire that we had both fossicked in the Weld River of North-east Tasmania a few months before. Lena organised a weekend on a campsite at Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest freshwater lake, where she got on one knee whilst on the same stand-up paddleboard,” Toon explained.

“While Lena was planning all this, I had also met with Emma (Lena was unclear how I ended up with the same one as she thought she was hiding her meetings well), and I made an engagement ring with two uncut Tasmanian sapphires and one cut topaz that we have also fossicked together. I then proposed several months after Lena’s proposal on my birthday in Adelaide, where I organised a lovely day at the beach and we also went back to a cave at a beach where we both camped the first time Lena had visited me in Australia a few years back. I got down one knee in the cave. This was celebrated in a winery afterwards and in the evening with friends at the fringe festival in Adelaide. It was such a beautiful day.”

Even though she’d already custom-made an outfit for the day, a few weeks before the wedding, Lena couldn’t stop picturing herself in a classic white dress and veil. She found this gorgeous silk dress by Kamperett that she paired with a short veil. “The white dress was perfect for the day with short sleeves and less fabric than the other one as the weather was warm,” she explained.

When deciding on her hair and makeup for this intimate wedding, Lena knew she didn’t want to look completely different, so she opted for some light lipstick and mascara to complete her look. She braided her hair the night before so her hair would have a nice wavy look. Lena was honoured to wear her wedding gift from her parents-in-law to finish everything. “A necklace with an opal, a bracelet, loop earrings and a ring with aquamarines and diamonds.”

Since it was an intimate wedding, they didn’t have a huge guest list. Their 35 guests were flying in from around the world, so Toon and Lena didn’t want to pressure anyone to wear specific attire. “There wasn’t a strict dress code for our wedding, and on the wedding invite, all we had mentioned for the dress code was ‘We trust your good taste’. We had a range of outfits, including beach long dresses, formal suits, casual blazers, and chinos. What mattered to us was that everyone felt comfortable and felt themselves.”

Something Toon loves with all his heart is thrift shopping, so it came as no surprise when every piece (except his RM Williams boots) he wore was second-hand! It took months of hard work but he finally found all the pieces to create this incredible look. “In Adelaide, at Aggie’s Opp shop, he had found a dark blue wool suit from MJ Bale in his exact measurements. His shirt was from a second-hand shop called Bruce in Hobart, and his cream-coloured bowtie was from a vintage shop in Copenhagen,” Lena shared.

“His boutonniere was also spontaneously made on the day itself by Katherine, one of Toon’s close friends – out of thistles and a couple of billy buttons we had sourced.”

As many of their guests were travelling to Tasmania for their intimate wedding, Lena and Toon were looking for a venue that could accommodate everyone. And with luck on their side, they stumbled across Hawley House! “We visited the venue a year before and knew this was the place, so we did not need to look further. It was the only place we considered,” they shared.

“We loved the rustic vibes and the small chapel, which has its walls leaning to one side, which makes it even more adorable! It was only a couple of minutes’ walk to the beach with clear blue waters. The venue also had a wedding package which included all accommodations along with the ceremony and the dinner reception.”

Lena walked down the aisle to “What A Wonderful World” by Kina Grannis and Imaginary Future. Catha, Lena’s maid of honour, began the walk down the aisle, followed by Lena and Toon’s mothers arm in arm, and finished with Lena and her father.

Their ceremony took place in this gorgeous little white chapel on the property and was led by their celebrant, Sarah Fry. “She was amazing, guiding us through the whole process many months before and, on that day, summarising our story in a heartfelt and beautiful manner, even making an effort to learn some sentences in German. It was sentimental, emotional, and involved many tears… of joy!”

Flowers weren’t something Toon and Lena were particularly stressed over, given how picturesque the venue was. “We picked up a mixed bunch of garden summer flowers from a store nearby on the way to Hawley Beach. Lena had a small bouquet of daisies that she walked down the aisle with,” Toon explained. “Coincidentally, the venue recently had a wedding the week before, and beautiful flowers were still left on site! Rather than it going to waste, we made full use of them.”

Both Lena and Toon can agree that their favourite photos were taken after their vows! “Lena’s favourite ones are in the chapel after reading our personal vows with the light shining in. And mine are when we are walking hand in hand out of the chapel after the ceremony when confetti was thrown.”

After searching for a photographer in Tasmania who matched their style and came up short, Lena extended her search to other Australian photographers. This is where she came across Brett Scapin! “We both loved his photos. He was visiting once to Hobart for another shoot, and we could meet him for a coffee and a chat; thankfully, he agreed to travel to Tassie for our wedding! It was a pleasure having him there; Brett managed to capture every special moment while staying seamless with the background.”

Among many DIY items, Lena and Toon designed their own invitations, including a sketch done by Lena in under a minute! “We also hand-embroidered every single guest’s name onto linen napkins by ourselves, which was a gift to our guests! (This project took us many evenings after work, but of course, it was worthwhile,” they shared.

“Catha, the maid of honour, had also made the guestbook by herself, which included polaroid photos of each guest and writing a personal message in a linen book.”

Their wedding took place over a whole weekend, ensuring they had enough time to spend with each other and all of their guests. “Friday evening, the majority of guests arrived at Hawley House; we had ordered pizza, which we had on the lawn on-site. We had also prepared a game for our wedding guests to get to know each other, called “find the guest bingo”.

Saturday morning, we met for breakfast at Hawley House, which was also included in the wedding package. We spent the morning together in privacy walking along the beach, followed by sneaking into the kitchen to snack on some cold leftover pizzas an hour before the ceremony and then getting ready separately.”

The reception space was set up with one large U-shaped table to fit everyone together. Creating the perfect space for speeches and enjoying dinner together.

Originally, Lena had dreamed of wearing a nude-toned tulle gown from Khaite, but by the time she was looking again, it was sold out. Instead, she took matters into her own hands, and with the help of a local Hobart tailor, she put together her dream outfit. Pairing together a tulle blouse and a custom skirt to create this masterpiece for her reception look!

The top five things that made this intimate Tasmanian wedding so special were:

“1. Our vows were so touching

2. Having our family and friends there with us on site the whole weekend

3. Blue sky and sunshine

4. The band

5. Having beautiful Hawley House for us and our guests for the whole weekend, privately, no other guests on site.”

Their first dance was to “Fraulein” by Colter Wall and Tyler Childers in a West Coast Swing style. “West Coast Swing is a dance that we have both fallen in love with, and our first dance was based on this. It was mainly improvised in the moment, with a variation of different moves we have done before. Definitely a challenge though, dancing with Lena’s dress.”

After dinner, they had Jade and Dane from Havana Affair take over the music – and what an honour to include their favourite cover band on their wedding day! “They were playing banging classics, which got everyone up and pumping outside under the stars on the terrace/lawns after dinner.

During their intermission, we had our favourite: banana cheesecake – as our very simple wedding cake – Made by Czeg’s, which one of our guests had brought up on the way from Hobart.”

A huge congratulations to Lena and Toon on this incredible, intimate Tasmanian wedding! And thanks to Brett Scapin for capturing and sharing such an amazing celebration.