Some weddings just feel like sunshine – and Emma and Teby’s celebration at Coogee Common is one of them. Nestled among lush veggie gardens in Fremantle, this Aussie–Argentinian love story unfolded in a haze of golden light. With every thoughtful detail perfectly in place, their day was intimate, soulful, and steeped in romance. Captured by Love On Film in dreamy medium format, the photos hum with nostalgia.

Teby often rollerbladed to Uni, but one day forgot his long socks and wouldn’t be able to skate home without injuring himself – luckily for him, his friend was catching a ride with Emma and asked if she’d be able to take him home too. “This was the first time we’d met each other. After we all went to South Beach and hung out, I tried to add Teby on Facebook, but he didn’t accept because he didn’t use Facebook. We didn’t talk for around a month until we met each other again on Bumble, and the rest is history!” She explained.

On a trip to Argentina, Teby and Emma took an excursion to the Glaciar Perito Moreno. Four hours into their plans and Teby asked for the pair of them to get a photo together… something that should’ve rung alarm bells to Emma as he’s the photographer – he takes the photos and doesn’t jump in them. “We both stood with an incredible background, and I asked Emma to pose facing away at the mountain. I then knelt down, and when Emma turned around, I proposed!” Teby shared.

Since their day was relaxed and low-key, Emma didn’t overthink what she was going to wear. She knew it was going to be casual and two weeks before their big day she was still without a dress. “I went to Grace Loves Lace with my mum to try on some alternatives. I tried my dress on and fell in love at that moment. It was my perfect size; I didn’t need any alterations. The attire of the dress was very much my style. Casual but elegant, a strapless long-train dress. I found my veil a few days before the wedding – again, a lucky love-at-first-sight find, and it was the last in stock at Grace Loves Lace. It was a beautiful, lacy veil. I also went with long dangly earrings (I have always loved wearing statement earrings).”

To match the casual, relaxed vibes of the day Teby picked out a beige linen suit from MJ Bale with a deep forest green tie to go with the garden-party atmosphere. “Greens are our favourite colours and suited the venue and style of our wedding.”

Sticking to their casual, relaxed vibe Teby and Emma didn’t have a formal wedding party. Instead, their best friends got ready together the morning of their wedding, wearing whatever they wanted.

To kick off the ceremony, Teby walked down the aisle with his Baba, as “La Complicidad” by Perita Chingo played. Emma walked soon after with her mum and dad on either arm as “Potra” by NAFTA played.

The ceremony was relaxed and incredibly interactive for guests. Tania Bovell from Hello It’s Your Day was the celebrant, keeping things light and bubbly. “There were fun moments and deep and emotional moments and connections. There were quite a few readings. Tonia followed her script, which we worked on together for some weeks before. I guess this was a typical kind of wedding script with all the usual topics but with our own story embedded into it. We both read personal vows and exchanged rings,” Emma explained.

Coogee Common was the beautiful backdrop for their sun-drenched wedding, with its incredible food and expansive outdoor spaces. “Coogee is one of our favourite beaches and has important memories for me, as I spent so much time there with grandparents fishing and having picnics. It was an easy and straightforward decision to go to Coogee Common.”

As far as DIY elements go, they only had a couple sprinkled throughout the day. The first guests encountered were the fabric welcome signs that Emma had embroidered, and then all of the invitations and name cards that they had designed themselves. “Baba also made Croatian biscuits / sweets for everyone.”

The best part of this sun-drenched wedding was the incredible vendor dream team Teby and Emma pulled together! “We loved all of our vendors. Mariah Neu, Natalie, Donna (florist!!), Tonia (celebrant), and the wedding venue (Coogee Common) and the staff were amazing!”

Since some of their guests couldn’t make it to Australia for the wedding, the couple organised for everything to be streamed. They also included a Polaroid camera for guests to use for the guestbook, capturing the joy and happy vibes throughout the day.

When it came to their flowers, there was no one else but Donna from The Freo Florist who wanted to create their pieces. “We usually go to the Freo markets on Sundays and would always see the Freo Florist (Donna’s) flowers. Donna’s daughter, Cherry, also used to work with Emma, so we have known Donna for some time. Her flowers are beautiful. They remind us of the native flowers we see when we go camping, which is one of our favourite things to do together. All of our flowers were designed by her. All beautiful natives. My bridal bunch had a Banksia in the middle.”

With so many beautiful moments throughout the day, it wasn’t easy for Emma to pick her absolute favourite… but after some thought, she had this to say: “The whole day felt special from beginning to end, with lots of special moments. Maybe one for me was when I put on my dress at home and my mum was helping me (this was very special) and then walking down the hallway and seeing my baba cry and giving her a hug.”

Instead of just having one photographer for their sun-drenched celebration, Teby and Emma hired three! “Our amazing photographers!! Mariah was our super8 videographer and film photographer <3. Neu/Maria was our digital photographer and Natalie Auburn Hour Films was our digital videographer,” she explained. “They were all so amazing! They cheered on us for the photos which made us feel so comfy but also gave great suggestions and guidance.”

The five things that made this garden wedding so special were:

“1. Intimate – only close friends and family (including Teby’s family overseas).

2. Relaxedness – although weddings are stressful no matter what, we liked how it was more relaxed and less pressure on us.

3. Unique – we wanted to follow what we felt was right for us rather than appeasing traditions and mandates.

4. Cosy – it was a BEAUTIFUL day (like sunny, not too hot, so good), in an inviting place with gardens and plants and greenery, with great food and wine. It felt like a little bubble in the city. Also, being close to the ocean was special.

5. Although there were some unexpected things, like Emma’s Nana having a seizure (mild, she is ok now!!), our nurse friends helped her, Teby’s friends made her comfy, and the staff were so helpful. Even though it was not a nice or ideal thing to have happened, Nana felt comfortable and we felt ok knowing she was ok.”

The advice Emma and Teby wanted to leave for future couples planning their own dream weddings was this: “Just do what you want. Try not to fall into the trap of what is expected or what others/society expects of you (even though we know this is hard). No matter what, it goes so fast, so try to enjoy the moment as much as possible. Have a glass of water nearby during the ceremony (Emma was thirsty AF – all those nerves!!). Also, we felt like we didn’t plan for a long time (maybe around 3 – 4 months), and we liked this because it put a lot less pressure on the day to be “perfect”.”

Congratulations, Emma and Teby, on this beautiful sun-drenched celebration! And thanks to Love on Film for capturing and sharing these moments with us.