Madison + David

 

How did you meet?

My Dad is a builder and Davi was my Dad’s apprentice. I was only twelve when he started working with Dad and Davi was only fifteen. There were faint flickers of a crush every now and again from the start, but I mostly avoided him whenever he came to our house because he was very easy on the eyes and I was young and awkward and embarrassed. While I was on a school exchange in New Zealand, I remember a new friend asking me about the cute Aussie boys back home, and the only photo I showed them was a picture of Davi on Facebook. His mum always joked with mine, saying that she wanted to put me on Lay-By for him one day so that she could have “little chocolate Madison’s” for grandchildren. 
It wasn’t until Davi had finished his apprenticeship, traveled to Europe and Canada, and returned home again that we crossed paths again as teens/young adults. We passed each-other driving one day and it was like a meet-cute in an old movie. We took a roundabout at the same time – heading in opposite directions – and locked eyes. This little drive-by sparked a text chain and an afternoon surf in the rain together. The rest is history. 

When did you know they were the one?

I think we both knew almost instantly, perhaps even before we officially got together. We’d been acquaintances for a long time, but our friendship blossomed instantly after our first hangout and there was always a deep sense of promise and excitement mingled with complete comfort and familiarity between us. It all just felt right. Davi always says he had a feeling we would end up together and I can’t disagree. He says he’d just been waiting to run into me again.

What are your three favourite attributes of your partner?

His loyalty, his energy, and his infectious smile.

Who proposed and how? 

Davi proposed. He spent weeks custom designing the most beautiful engagement ring and planned to re-create our first date together with takeaway pizza and sunset up at the lighthouse the weekend before we were booked to fly to Hawaii for two weeks. However, the jeweler had the ring ready a few days earlier than Davi expected and it totally threw him. He said it burnt a hole in his pocket all afternoon after he picked it up and so when I walked in the door that night after a late lecture at Uni, he sprung off the lounge, launching himself onto one knee with a huge leap and proposed to me right then and there – announcing “I got you a surprise today!” before blurting out his proposal through tears and laughter. It was hilarious and perfect and totally Davi.

What was the best moment for you at the wedding?

Watching Davi cuss lightly under his breath as he saw me at the top of the aisle for the first time. It’s the last thing he would have wanted to do but I knew it was because he just hadn’t been prepared for how big that moment was going to be for both of us. The way he whispered it shakily, sounded the way I felt at seeing him there waiting for me – it was a huge ‘wow’ moment, and I couldn’t believe I was lucky enough to be there walking towards my best friend.

Where did you fall in love with your dress and why?

When I booked my appointment in St Ives, I hadn’t put the Carla gown on my list of ‘try-on’ dresses because I had never pictured myself in a ‘figure-hugging’ gown. When I arrived at the boutique though, Carla in ‘bone’ was front and center on one of the dress rails and I caught myself peeking over at it the entire appointment. This wasn’t missed by the MWL girl helping me and she eventually made me try it on and I fell head over heels with how the dress made me feel. I felt so overwhelmingly feminine and the details in the lace were incredible and it was the first and only dress that made me cry. The 3-D lace and subtle sparkling sequins were just beautiful.

What surprised you most at or about your wedding?

Our ceremony was very emotional. Everyone had spent such an incredible week abroad getting to know each other and having adventures together while we waited in anticipation for the big day. Once it finally arrived, we were all so overwhelmed with the collective excitement and there were tears of happiness, disbelieving grins and cheeky cuddles everywhere all day. It was so heart-felt and emotional in the best sense possible. 

What advice would you tell other brides? 

Your wedding should be a reflection of who you are and what you and your partner love, so trust your instincts and plan a celebration that feels right for you. Davi and I had always envisioned a destination wedding but when the time came we felt so guilty about any unintended pressure we might put on our loved ones to attend so we initially booked a venue closer to home. When we got the confirmation it just didn’t feel right for us, so we trusted our guts and decided to cancel, forfeiting our pre-paid deposits so that we could travel and get married in New Zealand instead.  In an uncanny turn of events, the venue we had originally booked ended up burning down the week before our wedding date in a freak accident and everything in New Zealand fell into place even more spectacularly than we could have ever hoped for or planned, with sunshine, double rainbows and a weeklong celebration abroad with 60 of the best people in the world. 

What was one thing you did differently for your wedding?

Instead of walking back down the aisle as husband & wife, we handed out shots of Vanilla Galliano, got everyone into a big circle and spun straight into our first dance in the sunshine as our good friends performed ‘Partner in Crime’ by Ocean Alley.

After a two-year engagement (so that we could save up!), we also planned an extended 3-month honeymoon around the world and took our wedding attire with us. We met up with a few incredible photographers along the way to help us document our honeymoon adventure and capture some unique memories in some of the incredible places we were visiting for the first time. We arrived home a fortnight before COVID-19 started gracing news channels – we were incredibly lucky with our timing!

MWL DESIGN:

Carla

VENUE:

Lake Hawea View– South Island, New Zealand 

FLORIST:

The Green Room Flower Co. 

MUSIC (DJ/band):

Jae Peklar and Jessica Flanagan (friends)

MAKEUP ARTIST:

Marnie Smith

RINGS/JEWELRY:

Jons Family Jewlers, Ruby & Sage, Morgan & Taylor 

SHOES:

The Bali Tailor 

SUITS:

Suit Supply & ASOS 

BRIDESMAIDS:

Sheike 

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Wedding: Acorn Photography & Cinema (New Zealand)
Honeymoon: Agapè Stories (The Netherlands), OK Photo (Paris) & Natalia Swiader Photography (Scotland) 

YOUR MWL STOCKIST:

Sydney MWL Boutique