Wedding | Teneile & Dave

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Dave is from country Victoria — raised on an apple orchard — and Teneile grew up on the southeast coastline. We met 11 years ago on the rooftop at the Carlton Club in Melbourne: city lights, an instant connection that felt like home, with a side of yummy cocktails and a delicious boogie.

During those 11 years, we lived mostly in Melbourne, with a pause back in Teneile’s coastal hometown while the kids were babies, before moving to the Gold Coast where we now live. We’re proud parents to two gorgeous boys, Jess (7) and Ziggy (5), and our very loved dog, Gracie.

Dave is an electrician and Teneile is a hairdresser — you could say a couple of “good ol’ Aussie tradies” who fill their home with music, excellent food and vibrant company.

Before kids we travelled the world chasing total solar eclipses, music and authentic food. We love and live for hosting long dinners, hunting for records, living by the beach, and watching our most wonderful creations Jess and Ziggy grow.

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

Melbourne is where our love story began — two country kids who found a city that felt like home. We spent most of our life together here and wanted to get married in the place that means the most to us, and to be where our families and friends first met.

We chose Rocco’s Bologna and NORTH Gallery because they let us combine the things we care about most: an intimate ceremony and the most delicious dinner for immediate family on night 1, followed by an effervescent, music‑filled “ultimate love party” where everyone could really hit the dance floor.

We had our intimate moments & ceremony captured by Chandla (Socially Wed) on day 1 and projected onto the gallery wall for all of our guests to feel like they were there with us, NORTH was absolutely perfect for this.

Fun little story; One afternoon, exhausted from exploring some more traditional venues, we decided to pop into Rocco’s for a much needed glass of wine and their iconic meatball sub. At that moment, we looked at each other and said, “This is it — this is what we want!” Its quirky interior and warm energy ticked every box and instantly felt like home.

Guests travelled from across Australia and from Europe and Korea, so it felt right to host in the city where we built our love’s early days, became parents to Jess and Ziggy, and made so many memories.

While living in Melbourne we spent weekends hunting for records, perusing galleries and exhibitions, finding the next gig, and discovering the city’s best restaurants and bars — those rhythms shaped how we wanted to celebrate. Melbourne and these venues felt easy for everyone to meet, with colourful corners to explore, and let us share the food, wine and cocktails we love in places that are special to us.

How many guests did you have?

Day 1 Ceremony: 30. We invited 30 of our closest friends up to joining us for the ‘Cake cutting” and cocktails.

Day 2: The ultimate love party; 130 guests including friends and family from our ceremony.

What was your budget?

We had a budget in mind, but feel like as it got closer we spent more than planned, as what tends to happen at most weddings! 

Tell us about your outfits.

Being such a lover of fashion & design and wanted something unmistakably mine that truly reflected my personality, so I chose custom. Lillian Khallouf’s corsetry and way with shape immediately drew me in — after seeing her work, I flew to Sydney for a design session. From the moment we met, we instantly connected and I knew I was in the right hands.

Her energy felt effortless and collaborative; she listened to how I move and the individual I am and what being a “bride” would feel like for me. I have to say, I loved handing over creative control to Lillian.

For Day 1 Lillian made a corset that felt classic with a sharp edge, finished with a delicate veil. She designed a cape for the cake cutting part of the evening, I was so obsessed with this!

For Day 2 I wore my corset again but for this look, I asked her to design a party skirt to wear with my incredible “Mrs Silverstein” Bottega Veneta silver‑chrome woven boots. I wanted to keep it as a surprise until the final fitting — the reveal was one of my most exciting moments, like a little gift to myself and something I didn’t have to think about. Lillian crafted a tulle neck scarf for this look and truly thought of every little detail.

Dave’s two looks were expertly tailored by Belance Tailors in Sydney. He wanted something classic and comfortable with a subtle point of difference: his suit jacket features distinctive curved lapels, such a clever design. Day 2 he wore Belance suit pants and a relaxed black shirt to feel comfortable and light. Plus he looks great in all black!

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

We both wanted to make sure whatever we decided to do we wouldn’t get swept up in the wedding culture and lose our spark, creativity and individuality. We are lovers of details, but wanted to keep the details clean and personalised to ourselves and our guests. We wanted to organically attract the vendors that would see us and wow, we were the luckiest EVER. Everyone brought the vibes and we couldn’t have been happier with how it all came together!

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

The most important element for us was definitely being with family, especially our boys feeling all the love. We always imagined ourselves sharing dinner, conversation and wine, followed by a whole lot of fun and dancing of course.

Any tips for couples getting married?

The feeling of having our most loved and wonderful people all in one place at one time was indescribable. It’s a moment in your life and a feeling that you will never forget.

In those moments, hold onto one another, look into each other’s eyes, take a deep breath and savour it all. (As my wonderful mother in Law would say).

Keep that gorgeous husband of yours close, because you’ll blink and be wishing you can do it all again in slow motion.

We hand wrote our vows in little hand made vow books to keep forever and read back on our anniversary.

Get the videographer, photographer and creator, these moments will be captured for a lifetime. Worth every cent!

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

All of our vendors were exceptional.

I have no words for how comfortable and seen both Dave and I felt working with our one of a kind, visionary and creative photographer Madison Rose Photography. We are beyond grateful for the raw emotion and the moments she captured. She worked so well with our entire family, and our boys and made us absolutely glow!

Our content creator Chandla from Socially Wed was unbelievable, capturing our ceremony and moments from the intimate first day to then turn around, edit a video and project it onto the gallery walls the next day was a huge highlight for us and our guests.

Our wonderful celebrant Bridget from Love is Love was so patient with us getting ourselves and our words together. She told a story that was so special and felt so sacred to us. Thankyou for making us feel so calm and centred in our moment.

Photographer: Madison Rose Photography @madisonrose_photography | Videographer: Shiny Happy People (Craate Creative) @shinyhappypeopleweddings | Content Creator: Socially Wed @sociallywed.

au | Ceremony Location: Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca @roccos.bologna | Reception Location: NORTH Gallery @_northgallery | Celebrant: Bridget – Love is Love Celebrants  @loveislovecelebrants | Rentals: Table Art Event Hire @tableartevenhire; The Small Things @thesmallthingsco | Makeup Artist: Makeup by Immogen @makeupby_immogen | Hair Stylist: Aerial Studio @aerialstudio_; &( Day 2) O.live the Space @o.livethespace | Cake: Mali Bakes @mali_bakes | Band: Cookin’ on 3 Burners @3burners | DJ: Mike Gurrieri @mikegurrieri | Dresses: Lillian Khallouf @lilliankhallouf | Suit: Belance Tailors  @belance

world | Veil/Cape: Lillian Khallouf @lilliankhallouf | Engagement Ring Black Finch Jewellery @blackfinch_

jewellery | Wedding Rings: Lost Amigo @lostamigolewellery | Shoes: Prada; Bottega Veneta (boots); RM Williams (Groom); Dr Martens | Handbag: Clio Peppiatt @cliopeppiatt | Earrings: Millie Savage  @milliesavage_ & Day 2 Simone Rocha @simonerocha_