Wedding | Lily & Elliott

Tell us a little about yourselves!

We are both from Fremantle, Western Australia and have been together for nearly 9 years. We own 2 businesses together - a clothing brand called Saint Paradiso and a creative marketing agency and content studio called Henri Studios. I’m (Lily) also the Designer at Rixx Eyewear and Elliott is the Head Of Marketing at Rixx Eyewear. We make a great team in business and in life, so we planned our wedding together too.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

After spending nearly 3 weeks travelling France together in 2023, we felt so calm and inspired that when we got engaged in 2024 Elliott said we had to go back and celebrate in France. We also wanted to spend an entire weekend with our wedding guests, not just one day, so we decided to book out a classic French Chäteau an hour out of Bordeaux, where we were able to sleep all our guests on the property and surrounding Bed and Breakfasts.

How many guests did you have?

60 guests including us.

What was your budget? 

Our budget was $40k for the entire wedding weekend.

Tell us about your outfits.

It was important to me that we stayed true to how we like to shop and dress in our day to day. Shopping from Australian brands and supporting local businesses was a priority. My dress is vintage Jenny Bannister from Cara Mia Vintage, which I purchased in 2023 because when you find vintage you buy it! Cara has an amazing eye for curating special archival collections and when this dress popped up on her Instagram, I just knew I would wear it to my wedding one day.

My veil and gloves were custom from Row Bridal- a new and local bridal accessory business that my friend Isabel Kader launched last year. We designed a 5 meter long Juliette cap veil that was very ethereal and dramatic, made from a really soft tulle so it would drape over my arm for the cocktail hour and reception. Last minute I decided I needed some fingerless gloves - and the angel that she is -brought over a few options and finished sewing them on the train from Paris to Angoulême!

Shoes were so hard to choose, but when I found a pair of unworn Magda Butrym's silk heels with rose embroidery details that matched my veil on Vestiaire for $400, it was a sign! And I wore my own earrings and a family ring along with my engagement ring and new wedding band. My after party outfit was a silk dress from Rowie The Label that I had altered to fit shorter and more tailored, and I wore a Cape from Carla Zampatti, which I had already worn to my Civil Ceremony in Perth a month before our Château wedding.

Elliott’s suit was from Terrace Men, which is a Perth business that has been creating amazing suits for over 30 years. We had a group fitting with both our dads, Elliotts Brother and my sister's partner where they all got to try on a huge selection of suits and figured out what they loved. It was a really special pre- wedding bonding session for our families, and the staff at Terrace Men were so accommodating and created five amazing suits for the men to wear on the wedding day and can keep forever and continue to wear. We used some leftover lace from my veil and gloves and made a matching pocket square for Elliott, which was secured by a gold pearl pin that is a family heirloom.

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

When we were planning our wedding it was really important that we spent as much time with our guests as possible. Our wedding weekend wasn’t just for us, but it was for the most important people in our lives - our closest friends and family. And for a lot of our friends it was their first time to Europe, so we wanted to make sure it was unforgettable and a special experience. This carried through with every decision we made.

We spent 3 days in Paris before the wedding weekend with our families and closest friends and had a 30 person picnic in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont the night before we all boarded our trains to the South. The accommodation, ceremony location, reception and party and recovery pool day was all on the same property and guests that were staying in nearby Bed and Breakfasts were welcome to spend time at the Chateau and pool on the days before and after the wedding. We had breakfast with everyone the morning of the wedding and got ready with our friends. We both walked down the aisle with both parents, and had our best friend Byron marry us (we had already legally married in Perth the month before with just family). We included our guests in the ceremony by hiding our wedding bands under two seats in the chapel. And after the ceremony we went straight into 2 hours of cocktails and appetisers, so we could talk and celebrate with everyone.

Our photographer Melle (TILL DEATH) shot portraits before our ceremony, which meant we were able to spend our entire cocktail hours with our guests, which was so important and then we only had to sneak away once or twice more to shoot family portraits. And due to how amazing Euro summer is the sun didn’t set till around 9.30pm so we had ample time to shoot dreamy golden hour portraits after the dinner.

Our recovery pool party and dinner the next day was so relaxing. Our parents and family friends organised and cooked everything that day which was so generous.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

We both walked the aisle and did personal vows which I was so happy we did. Everyone was crying - you could really feel the love in the air. Our ceremony is something I’ll never forget! Our aisle song was also Going To California - Mandolin / Guitar Mix by Led Zeppelin which I thought was very cool because it’s not a stereotypical wedding song but it’s a song that Elliot and I love so much, and now it is even more special.

Any tips for couples getting married?

Team work! There is no way we could have done this without each other and I’m so thankful for having a partner who was equally, if not more hands on with the whole process of planning a wedding. We also were very clear on how we wanted our wedding to not only look but feel before we started planning anything, which lead us throughout the entire planning process.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Sarah from Château La Gauterie  was our guiding light. Living in Western Australia we booked our wedding location sight unseen but we felt no nerves at all because of how amazing Sarah was. There wasn’t a question unanswered and when we finally got to meet in person and see our wedding location the day before the big day it was stress free and perfect. We planned our wedding ourselves opting for no planner, but with Sarah’s guidance in the months leading up to our wedding day and day of coordination everything went smoothly. It was honestly the best weekend ever and that was thanks to Sarah.

Photographer: TILL DEATH @_tilldeath_ | Planning: by the couple | Styling: by Lily | Flora: La Vie En Fleur @vieenfleur | Ceremony & Reception Location: Château La Gauterie in Saint-Paul Lizonne, France  @chateaulagauterie | Celebrant: Byron Lowe (couples best friend) | Hair & Makeup: Lily did her own | Beverages: La Cav’Epicerie @lacavepicerie| Catering: Karen Lacaud from Nomadz | Stationery: by Lily | Ceremony Dress: Vintage Jenny Bannister from Cara Mia Vintage @caramiavintage | Suit: Custom Terrace Men @terrace_men | Veil & Gloves: Custom Row Bridal @row.bridal | After Party Dress: Rowie The Label @rowiethelabel | Afterparty Cape: Carla Zampatti @carlazampatti | Engagement Ring: Laura Miers @lauramiersjewellery @lauramiersair | Wedding Rings: Local Jeweller in Perth, Western Australia | Heels: Magda Butrym @magdabutrym | Loafers: Sebago | Lace Pocket Square: Row Bridal @row.bridal | Pin: Family Heirloom |  Sound Equipment: BC Sound Systems