Real Wedding – Madeleine & David, Howden TAS
For David and Madeleine, their wedding vibe was Tuscan villa with a timeless feel. Underpinning the stunning elegance of the soft, classic styling was a fresh modern sensibility, realised through artful typography detailing, fashion-forward yet enduring outfit choices, and minimalist but impactful florals.
Guest experience was also at the forefront of Madeleine and David’s planning, with the intention being that their closest friends and family would feel they’d escaped to Italy for the weekend. And wow, did they nail the brief. From the incredible aesthetics of the venue to the ocean-backed vista of the ceremony, this is a one-of-a-kind moment, captured with artful perfection by the talent of Kinship by Kristy.
David’s old-world sleek tux with crisp white jacket and Madeleine’s three incredible gowns simply add to the sense of epic occasion. Read on to see them all and get caught up in the effervescent emotion and dreamy romance of this gorgeous day.
The meeting.
David and I met the old fashioned way through mutual friends at a house party in 2021. The most modern thing about our meeting was perhaps the fact that we met in between lockdowns, however we still managed to make it to the Swan in Richmond where I wowed David with my cricket knowledge. David’s best friend who was also there says David knew the moment I walked in the door of the house party, whereas I would say the deal was sealed on the dance floor at the Swan where we shared our first kiss and David asked for my number. We continued to talk on text for the next several days until David didn’t reply to one of my messages. Little did I know David had sent a text whilst doing his weekly grocery shop at Southland where phone reception is notoriously bad and he believed it was I who hadn’t replied to his message. Out-of-character, David (who had almost the worst Instagram presence) posted an Instagram story to catch my attention. Luckily I replied because we have been talking non stop since.
The one.
For David it was from the first moment he saw Madeleine (corny I know, but the truth). David says he’s never been a believer in love at first sight before, but when Madeleine first walked into that room he knew.
Madeleine: it’s really hard to pinpoint a specific moment in our relationship, similarly I think it was very early on though. In fact, my girlfriends will tell you, within the first couple of months of meeting David and telling them about him for the first time, apparently I said “he’s the one”, while they told me not to get too ahead of myself because it was very early on.
The proposal.
As a Christmas gift from the year before, David’s grandma had organised a mystery picnic for us. Originally this was supposed to take place around South Yarra and the Botanical Gardens, however, a week or two before, we decided to change the location to the Macedon Ranges, near where Madeleine grew up. Unbeknownst to Madeleine, David had actually upgraded the package to a proposal package.
The day involved a bit of a scavenger hunt style quiz, which took us to a selection of the region’s finest food and wine spots, leading us to a final picnic in the gardens of Hanging Rock. After the most nervous picnic of David’s life, David suggested we go for a walk up to the top of Hanging Rock to take in the view. Again, unknown to Madeleine, David had also arranged a photographer to follow them up on their walk.
Struggling to keep up with Madeleine’s lightning fast walking pace, the photographer approached us with a fabricated story about being a uni student and needing some quick portrait snaps for an assignment. Of course, Madeleine obliged. Then all it took was a few quick snaps for David to get down on his knee, ring in hand!
We’re so happy we have that whole moment captured now, so we can always look back and remember it, especially for David, who says the whole thing was a complete blur!
Planning process.
As many girls do as teenagers, Madeleine had already spent a lot of time on Pinterest planning her future wedding. There was a fairly clear vision from the get-go. David luckily had similar tastes (meant to be or what) so all we had to do was find a venue and suppliers that could help us achieve that.
A lot of time was spent on Ivory Tribe, strolling through pages upon pages of real weddings to get inspiration for styling, venues and suppliers. Quite a few images were also saved from wedding photographers on Instagram.
Style inspiration.
The ‘vibe’ was Tuscan Villa with a timeless feel. Simple flowers and crisp white with a hint of green, all inspired by the venue itself. We wanted our guests to feel like they could be in Italy, and we wanted to be able to look back on our photos and not cringe at any outdated trends in the years to come.
The ceremony.
Our ceremony was very simple. With only our closest family and friends by our side, we wanted to make sure nothing dragged on, and that the focus remained on the personalised vows we’d written for each other.
Being able to stand up, look into each other’s eyes and share that moment of reading our vows to each other was a magical feeling, almost like we were in our own little bubble, just the two of us.
The outfits.
David: Unsurprisingly, white rental tuxedo jackets aren’t easy to come by. So, David wanted to buy a quality tux but knowing that it probably wouldn’t be worn again any time soon, didn’t want to break the bank. Through many hours of Instagram scrolling, David stumbled across Hockerty, an online tailor where you can fully customise all the details of your suit and everything all made to measure online. We were a bit hesitant at first, but their reviews were good so thought we’d give them a go.
The suit came in good time, and fit pretty well, although I was pretty conservative in taking my measurements so it wasn’t 100%. We ended up taking the suit to My Alterations in Albert Park where the ladies made sure it was absolutely perfect. Hockerty covers the costs of any minor alterations that you might need for the finishing touches as part of their service, which I’d highly recommend taking advantage of.
Madeleine: I always knew I wanted multiple dresses. I’m indecisive by nature so having multiple dresses allowed me to have my favourite dresses without having to try and pick one. I also was in love with the idea of having all Australian designers!
The Aje mini was the first dress I found within a number of weeks of getting engaged. It was sold out in my size in Australia but I was lucky because Matches saved the day and I was able to have it shipped from the UK! The second dress (Anna Quan) was a last minute find when I was shopping with my girlfriend Laura. Always go to the outlets in South Yarra when they’re hosting events.
The first dress was a process to say the least. I’ve always wanted a long sleeve, off the shoulder wedding dress and trying to find that in Melbourne was hard. Eventually the girls at Raffaele Ciuca Bridal got in contact with one of their designers and they made me my dream dress. Unfortunately though, no one mentioned that this style would mean I wouldn’t be able to move my arms, but the girls at Raffaele alterations were able to detach the sleeves and give me the ability to to move.
Favourite moments.
Staying at the Villa with some of our closest and best friends was truly something special! As part of their package, you have to basically hire out the whole venue, which means for the two nights we had room to house our whole bridal party and more, which made the entire weekend incredibly special. It’s an incredible experience getting to have all of your most important people together in the same space – an opportunity that you don’t have very often. David and I also spent the night before our wedding together, and saw each other throughout the day which really helped ease the nerves.
Meaning of marriage.
After a wedding you’d be shocked at the amount of people who ask you ‘how’s married life treating you?’. We have lived together for the past few years so getting married was really about celebrating our love with our family and friends. Beyond this though, marriage to us is really a symbol of the partnership we’ve created. A symbol of us and the way we work together as a team, tackling each day together and sharing the highs and lows. Without regurgitating our entire vows, our marriage is something special that the two of us get to share every day now for the rest of our lives, and something that is unique to us in a way that only two people that share that same bond can relate to.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Bloom by The Paper Kites, Turning Page by Sleeping at Last
First dance/reception entry: XO by John Mayer
Mother of the groom/father of the bride dance: God Only Knows by Beach Boys
Launchpad: Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA
Funny stories (or near disasters).
Quite a few things happened in the lead up to the wedding that were neither funny nor disastrous but very stressful!
We had a Victorian wedding venue that fell through when we were in the final stages of booking it, about a year out from the wedding. However, the silver lining was that it was through the original venue that we found our photographer Kristy (Kinship by Kristy) who is truly amazing, so at least something good came of a highly distressing situation.
Oh, and one of our groomsmen passed out during our ceremony – but that’s another story! (He was fine, don’t worry).
Planning surprises.
Madeleine: How much I actually hated planning a wedding! I thought growing up as a teenager dreaming of my wedding day and curating countless Pinterest boards of inspiration would mean I’d be ready to tackle the process and all the challenges that planning a wedding brings, but when push came to shove I just didn’t enjoy the planning process at all!
David: Everyone always says that your wedding day goes so fast, but what took me by surprise is how easy I found it to really be in the moment and absorb the whole day from start to finish. It’s a crazy rollercoaster of emotions throughout the day, but I can still relive every single part of it in my mind.
Words of wisdom.
It’s your day, so forget about everyone else’s opinions. I don’t think it’s an isolated experience to hear guests express their opinion about how much your wedding is costing them, and what would be more convenient for them. It’s okay for your wedding to be all about you, if people are really struggling, let them have that chat with you directly, but try to ignore the second hand stories that people are giving you from what they’ve heard.
Listen to your gut feeling, if there’s red flags do not pursue those vendors – there are really genuine vendors out there, you just have to find the right ones.
Also, I would not recommend planning a wedding whilst doing a law degree and working full time!
Considering Tasmania as your dream day destination? You can browse our real weddings by state, to ensure you find the styles and vendors that are attainable and inspirational. Start here, for impeccable Apple Isle inspiration!
MADELEINE & DAVID’S VENDORS
Ceremony & reception venue: Villa Howden
Celebrant: Maxine Lowry. Organised through Pop Up Weddings Tasmania. Maxine was great! Nailed the short and sweet ceremony!
Photography: Kristy, Kinship by Kristy. We SERIOUSLY cannot recommend Kristy enough. She goes above and beyond and her stunning work only shows a glimpse of this. In the lead-up and on the day of the wedding, we had the utmost faith and trust in Kristy – she really made sure we knew we were in good hands.
Videography: Jared and Jacob – Humdrum Films. What can we say, these boys are great, we cannot wait to see our finished film in a few weeks. The boys have been in the industry for years and Madeleine has had her heart set on using the boys since she was in high school.
Styling & decor: Kat – Pop Up Weddings Tasmania
Planner: Tracey, Pop up Weddings Tasmania.
Florist: Hall of Flowers – organised through Pop Up Weddings Tasmania
Hair: Bride’s – Hair Artist Steph (Steph Conning). Bridesmaids – Emily Harris & Hair Artist Steph (Steph Conning)
Make-up: Scarlett Quarmby – the absolute QUEEN. If Scarlett lived in Melbourne I’d be visiting her every other week to get my makeup done. Scarlett is seriously good at her art!
Tan: J.R. Glow Albert Park
The dresses: Getting ready dress – Maison Essentielle. First dress – Raffaele Ciuca Bridal. Second dress – Anna Quan. Third dress – Aje.
Veil: Raffaele Ciuca Bridal
Shoes: Madeleine’s white shoes – Charles & Keith. Madeleine’s green – Alias Mae. David’s – Aquila.
Rings: Franco Jewellers
Earrings: Girl with a Pearl.
Bridesmaid’s dresses: We let the girls purchase their own dresses, as we wanted them to be able to pick something they felt most confident and comfortable in – and could wear again. Sass & Bide, Model Chic, Meshki, Rumer the Label.
Flower girls: Dresses from Temu, Sashes made by David’s grandma Peg.
David’s suit: Hockerty. Alterations – My Alteration, Albert Park
Groomsmen suits: Suitor
Bow ties / ties: The Brothers at OTAA
Catering & bar: Storm Bay Events and Catering (through Pop Up Weddings Tasmania). Katie absolutely nailed the menu for all our dietaries!
Cake / Cake topper: Batter and Bloom organised through Pop Up Weddings Tasmania (Best GF cake ever)
Stationary: Designed by David, printed at Paperpoint.
Linen sign: Cloth and Confetti
Entertainment: One Plus One – Yas and Fraser are old music friends of David and are seasoned professionals, couldn’t recommend enough!
Hire: PA Hire – DK Audio Tasmania. Festoon lighting – Salters Hire.
Honeymoon: Peppers Palm Cove, Europe in 2025
