If there was ever a couple who earned their wedding day, it’s Natalie and Daniel! Between cancelled plans, rebuilding their vendor team from the ground up, and Qantas misplacing nearly everything they needed just days before the celebration, getting married at Hobart’s Dark Mofo festival became quite the journey. But after years of waiting, the relief of finally walking arm in arm through St David’s Park made every setback worth it!

Inspired by the dark, theatrical atmosphere of the winter festival they first fell in love with back in 2017. Captured beautifully by photographer Jonathan Wherrett, this Hobart celebration proves that sometimes the longest road leads to the best stories.

Back in 2008, while on a first date with someone else, Natalie spotted an unusually tall, handsome stranger on the way to a fire-twirling jam. His name was Daniel, and although he made it clear he was interested, she politely shut down any chance of romance. As it turned out, this wouldn’t be the last time they crossed paths!

“We reconnected five years later when we ended up at the same party through mutual friends. To this day, Daniel still teases me for not recognising him as my future husband at our first meeting.”

2017 was the first time Natalie and Daniel experienced Hobart’s winter fest: Dark Mofo! “We were both immediately overwhelmed by how strange and magical the experience was. On the last day of our trip, whilst standing under a tower of lasers and woodsmoke, I grabbed Daniel’s hand and whispered, “We should get married here,” Natalie explained.

“On our second trip in 2018, I was already reaching out to Hobart-based wedding vendors, even though we weren’t officially engaged by this point. Then, on a beautiful sunny morning in February 2019, Daniel proposed to me in our local park. I don’t think he had even finished asking the question before I screamed “YES” and threw myself at him.”

To actually get to their moody wedding, Natalie and Daniel had to jump so many hurdles. Those hurdles, however, made the day all the more special because here they were, finally, getting to have that celebration, together. After their 2019 engagement, Natalie and Daniel had planned to get married at the next Dark Mofo. Unfortunately, as that fell in mid-2020, they sadly had to cancel everything only three months out. The aftershocks of 2020 led many of their original vendors to either close or change their businesses entirely, so for their second attempt they had to start from scratch. “Then, right when we thought we were on the home stretch, Qantas lost our luggage on our flight from Sydney to Hobart two days before the wedding. After so much stress and anguish organising, cancelling, and reorganising our wedding, losing Daniel’s wedding suit, my hoop bouquet, and so many other things we had worked so hard on was the last thing we needed,” Natalie shared.

“We were about to buy Daniel a brand new suit from Myer before we got the call that our luggage had been miraculously found and would be flown over to Hobart that night. I received those suitcases like they were my long-lost children. So the day of the wedding was one of overwhelming relief: relief that we were there at last, relief that we had each other and all our loved ones there to celebrate us, relief that we were having the wedding of our dreams at long (bloody) last. The weather was absolutely perfect, and there were rainbows in every direction!”

Daniel wore a classic tailored fully black Hugo Boss suit, with a silver patterned tie. “I played stylist and picked out his accessories, including the plum stole that originally was going to be part of my wedding outfit, and a silver tie I immediately knew would be perfect. I even designed his hairstyle and passed on a sketch to the stylist to replicate,” Natalie explained.

For her own look, Natalie wore a custom black gown made by Ali Dibley, in her signature colour – black! “There was never any question about me wearing black, and Ali incorporated beautiful beaded flowers into the design.”

Instead of having a traditional wedding party, Natalie and Daniel invited their mothers to join them in getting ready. They also had their makeup artist, Tamsin Nolan, do their makeup as well as Natalie’s. “They both looked and felt beautiful, and it was a wonderful bonding moment. And I never wanted anyone but Daniel by my side whilst I got ready – he’s been my rock every day we’ve been together, it felt only right that we did this together as well.”

The couple walked arm in arm from their hotel room at The Tasman across to St David’s Park where their loved ones were waiting. Sisters of Mercy’s “First And Last And Always” played as they walked into the rotunda. “It felt like a moment of absolute triumph and homecoming. Everyone in the rotunda was cheering and clapping for us, except for my mother-in-law and aunt-in-law, who were already sobbing (and nearly got me crying as well),” Natalie shared.

With the help of their wonderful celebrant Janelle Wilson of Marry Me Tasmania, Natalie and Daniel’s ceremony was crafted to meaningful perfection. “With passages of personal significance; for me, Nick Cave’s thoughts on love, for Daniel, lyrics from Evanescence. Daniel tearing up whilst reading his vows to me is one of the only times I’ve ever seen him cry, and it was one of the most special moments from the day for me,” Natalie explained.

“Our celebrant Janelle told Daniel to hold the rings whilst she found the words for our ring exchange. When she looked up, she gasped, “Daniel! You weren’t meant to put the ring on Natalie yet; you haven’t said the words!” Without missing a beat, Daniel replied, “We’re sick of waiting!” It brought the house down.”

Towards the end of their wedding planning journey, Natalie and Daniel finally found their angel: Jonathan Wherrett! “We found Jonathan when our original photographer fell through. He was amazing – such a calming influence on the morning of our wedding. Not only did he take stunning photos (and knew exactly which opportunities to take in terms of light and background), he gave us pointers like how to properly affix a boutonniere or button up a wedding dress. He even helped Daniel perfectly tie his tie.”

For Daniel, the moment that stands out the most is when the wedding party was walking towards their reception venue at Alceme. “It was great to be able to move the whole wedding as one big group instead of breaking off into various cars or buses. I chose a route that enabled us to chat and take in the sights as we wandered past some of the oldest sandstone buildings in Hobart as the sun was setting on the winter afternoon. The whole experience was surreal,” he shared.

Natalie and Daniel loved all of their vendor dream team, but two vendors went above and beyond: Janelle and Gabbi! “Everyone we worked with was delightful and really cared about helping us bring our vision to life. Janelle Wilson was a warm and lovely celebrant, and a shout-out to Gabbi of Event Avenue for perfectly creating the moody wedding of our dreams!”

DIY was a huge part of Natalie and Daniel’s moody winter wedding – everything Natalie could DIY she did! “I DIY’d anything I could do myself, and commissioned friends for the things I couldn’t. I made my hoop bouquet, my hair piece and Daniel’s boutonniere from silk flowers. Daniel set up our wed-site. My friend Susannah made my wedding ring. An old school friend, Pippa, painted our wedding illustration (a wreath of dark flowers and a thylacine skull) that featured on our invitations and guest book. My friend Leigh designed our calligraphy logo (mine and Daniel’s names in contrasting fonts) and hand-lettered all the name cards,” she shared.

The best piece of advice Natalie and Daniel want to share is two things:

“1. Go for a second photoshoot with your photographer – it means you can get a wider variety of photos without neglecting your guests, and a second chance to rock the wedding dress!

2. Also, don’t bother with a cake: by the time dessert is served, everyone just wants to get up and dance. I have seen this time and time again. (We tried to get around this by serving tiny bite-sized desserts after dinner, and they were still barely touched. Daniel and I were eating leftover desserts for weeks afterwards).”

Their first dance was to “Naive Melody (This Must Be The Place)” by Talking Heads. “It’s a song about finding the person who feels like home, which perfectly describes how Daniel makes me feel. Then it flowed into “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” by the Blues Brothers, which was such a fun way to get all our loved ones on the dance floor with us.”

The final thing Natalie and Daniel did for their moody winter wedding was take advantage of Hobart’s winter fest: Dark Mofo for a second shoot with their photographer Jonathan! “We chose to have a second photoshoot a week after our wedding so we could get more shots incorporating the Dark Mofo scenery; these are some of my favourite photos because we had time to be creative and adventurous (and Daniel and I are clearly more relaxed!)”

Congratulations, Natalie and Daniel for finally getting your happily ever after. And a huge thanks to Jonathan Wherrett for capturing the joy of this day!