European Chic in Byron Bay

Photography by Courtney Illfield for Emily & Will

Inspired by European architecture and Italian landscapes, Emily and William’s wedding was an ode to adventures abroad, the extension of a life spent travelling the globe.

Set in the courtyard of Byron Bay’s Deux Belettes, the day was evocative of Tuscan summers and Mediterranean gatherings. Guests wove between stone walls and overgrown gardens, with foraged blooms falling from harvest tables laden with antipasto and fresh pasta.

As the sun began to set on the Chateau, bridesmaids wandered barefoot as Emily switched her slip dress for Ellery pants, minimalist silhouettes elevated with jewels of molten gold and iridescent pearls.

This was a wedding that created a symbiosis of near and far, that brought European sensibilities to Australian beaches, with Emily and Will creating allusions of summers abroad without leaving the people and the town they love the most…

Our Story

Names / Emily & William

Wedding Date / September 1, 2018

Guest Numbers / 128

How we met…

We met through mutual friends years ago in Perth, however Will was too busy galavanting around south America sleeping in surfboard bags and chasing waves to pay much attention to girls.

On what is now a fated night out, Will lost his passport and had to fly home to Australia. On his way back to Central America he stopped in Bali where I was holidaying with some girlfriends. My best friend (and bridesmaid) Olive plied me with multiple margaritas, and I pretty much took him down like a lion with a gazelle. We have been together ever since!

Our Engagement Story…

Will proposed to me on a yacht off our favourite Greek Island, Milos, surrounded by some of our closest friends.

Marriage to us means…

That your best friend is legally tied to you for life *yay*

The Details

Wedding Location

I wanted to get married in Italy and Will wanted to get married in Australia close to all our friends and family. So we compromised and got married at Deux Belettes – with an Italian style wedding held at a French chateau in the Byron Bay hinterlands (our home).

The ceremony was held under the ivy covered archway, and the reception in the open limestone courtyard of the Château.

Style

We spend a few months of each year in Italy and it holds a special place in our lives. We were inspired by long nights spent drinking wine under the fading Tuscan sun. The simple earth tones of the country side and simple, rustic food shared.

Photography

Considering a huge part of our job is photography, this was always going to be an important element for us. Luckily for us – Will has been friends with Courtney Illfield for years. Not only is she an incredible photographer, but she completely gets our style and what we love about light and details.

She’s so good at being discrete and efficient, you barely even see her there and the next thing you know, you have incredible photographs! We also had our friend Jamie Green shoot some happy snaps on film for us.

Fashion Notes

Bride’s Dress

My beautiful friend Kate Willa brought my dream dress to life. I wanted simple and chic, but with a bit of sizzle. My second ( party ) outfit was white Ellery flares with a lace Hansen and Gretel crop.

Bride’s Shoes

My first pair of shoes worn with my bridal gown were white Zimmermann wedges with shell embroidery. My party shoes were black velvet Gucci.

Bridesmaids’ Dresses

My beautiful girlfriends wore sweet calf length cream and lemon yellow Reformation dresses – perfect for dancing in!

Bridesmaids’ Shoes

A nude simple two strap slide kitten heal custom made by Leah at The Bali Tailor.

Wedding Rings

I wore a raw diamond rose gold wedding band which stacked into my two piece raw diamond engagement ring. Will wore a rough cut gold band. Both rings were made created by by Angeline

Jewelry & Accessories

I currently have an unhealthy fetish for pearls, so naturally nearly all my pieces featured them. I also have a penchant for statement pieces – my motto is go big or go home! I wore a hand-beaded pearl veil by Twigs & Honey, gold and pearl earrings by A.B. Ellie, and statement gold cuffs by Ariana Boussard-Reifel. I later put on shell earrings by Zimmerman and a chunky Keshi pearl necklace by Reliquia.

Groomsmen’s Attire

Simple classic white button up shirts and black suit pants by M.J. Bale.

Hair

My hair was in a loose pulled back tousled pony. I’m forever fiddling with my hair so I wanted the majority of it out of my reach. My talent friend Marie Cain, owner of Head Studio in Perth flew over to create magic – I’m absolutely convinced no one can trifle with hair better than Mim! Marie had Kyra Arnez assist.

Makeup

Barely there. I’ve never felt particularly comfortable in makeup – I prefer to invest in excellent skincare as opposed to foundations. I basically had a touch of tinted moisturiser, with Glossier cream blush and a soft kohl wing on my eyes. That about sums it up! Luciana Rose knows exactly what I love and is the actual queen of glowy, fresh from the beach makeup!

Style Notes

Stationery & Invitations

Will is obsessed with saving the trees and environmental impact so we sent out e-vites.

Flowers & Bouquets

I have the most incredible florist who has been doing my floral arrangements since they opened. No one does unique, neutral and chic like they do! I wanted a really soft palette – almost no colour at all – only shades of white, grey, beige and olive green. They had a lot of the dried elements imported from Spain and spent weeks getting the orchids the perfect shade of earl grey!

Videography

We spend everyday with Akers equipment, so we wanted as little people with lenses around as possible. We just wanted to relax and enjoy ourselves.

Photographers

Find our handpicked edit of Photographers from around the world on the Directory.

Discover more

Preparation

Myself and the bridesmaids stayed at the Chateau the night before and had wood-fired pizza and wines under the stars, followed by face masks and a late-night screening of ‘Bridesmaids’. Will got ready at our house in Byron Bay with his groomsmen.

Wedding Planner & Stylist

My wedding planner Hayley Cravigan was a dream to work with. I had such a specific idea of what I wanted and Hayley honestly worked tirelessly to make it happen for me. I wanted a neutral, raw Italian style vibe. Lots of soft muslin and dried elements, rough ceramics and aged woods to compliment the architecture of the location. I was very specific about colour and quality (poor Hayley ! Haha). Whatever request I made, she made it happen.

Reception Notes

Ceremony & Reception Décor

The entire idea of the wedding was a low key, relaxed long Italian lunch under the spring time sunshine. I was very specific in wanting a completely neutral palate, no colours and lots of varied texture. I wanted to accent the incredible architecture of the Chateau while still representing my personal style. It was so much fun using all of my favourite locally sourced styling pieces, like Emma Gale ceramics and Haveli styling plates for the antipasto table. I wanted a seamless flow from one area of the property to the next, and different areas so the party flowed.

Cake

We are not big on tradition, so went for mini creme brûlée’s instead (our favourite dessert!).

Wedding Song

I walked down the aisle to to ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ sung acoustically by the gorgeous Deena.

Entertainment

Deena came down from Brisbane and sung acoustic mixes of absolutely everything throughout the day, and at night she transformed herself in the best 90’s DJ this side of the NSW border!

Food & Beverages

Simon from EatDrink Catering put together the most heavenly Italian-inspired menu for us. After the wedding almost every single person said they wished they could go back in time and eat the food all over again!

Straight after the ceremony the team put together an antipasto grazing table under the roofless arches. After this we had canapés of porcini and wild mushroom arancini, rosemary glazed lamb racks, caramelised pork belly and baby bruschetta.

Dinner was served family style, placed in the middle of the large tables for everyone to share. Big bowls of homemade pasta, 8-hour slow-roast lamb shoulder, steamed spring greens, baked sage gnocchi and big Italian style salads.

Special Details

Honeymoon

We are just about to head all through Italy (Capri, Amalfi, Lake Como, Venice and Puglia) then off to Zanzibar for some post Italian Island vibes.

Gift Registry

We didn’t specify any kind of gifts, our guests presence was our present However we received some incredibly thoughtful presents! Money in all different currencies, flight vouchers, nights in beautiful accomodation (our friends know us too well! We are almost never at home!).

Celebrant

We chose Susie Figgis as our celebrant. She is incredibly relaxed and informal. Will and I wanted the ceremony to be fun, funny and personal. Honestly Susie is a rockstar, she had the whole crowd in stitches, I think she might have been the most popular guest at the wedding.

Readings

We wrote each other personal vows

Other special details…

Every single thing was special to us, and put together by the people we see everyday at home (our florists, our food, our styling!

Sources of inspiration

I was really just inspired by our travels. We spend the majority of the year travelling and are lucky to stay in some breathtaking places. I love the colour palette and simplicity of the European architecture and styling – I spent a lot of time going through old photos of ours and Pinterest.

A memorable moment…

I organised for a gorgeous friend of ours Catta to come to the venue the morning of our wedding and stick and poke (tattoo) our wedding date on both me and will.