They originally met in 1998 through a mutual friend while only 15 and 19 years old. Fast forward 10 years and they reconnected through social media, leading to their first date. Shortly after, they were relaxing at a beautiful resort in Mauritius, where her man randomly pointed out that it would be a gorgeous place to get married.

“Later, we went out for dinner and afterwards he suggested we walk on the beach to get back to our room. We got near the jetty and there stood two musicians waiting and as they saw us coming they started playing one of my favorite songs from ‘The Turtles.’ At the same time, he got down on one knee and asked if I would be willing to spend the rest of my life with him.”

They decided to get married the following year but postponed as they welcomed their daughter, Emily 10 months later. That’s when they decided to start planning their wedding.

Right from the beginning, she knew she wanted something very glamorous – a wedding brimming with lace and peonies; and classy with a color palette of blush, ivory, and gold. Unfortunately, peonies were not available in Mauritius, but thankfully, Lexia who did their wedding cake and decorated the reception venue made sure they had them there on the day. She personally ordered them from Holland!

“We had a ball planning our dream wedding and on the day itself, everything was just how we wanted it to be. We can look back and say that it was the perfect day.”

“I wanted my wedding dress to be the most beautiful dress I’ll ever wear. After several trips to bridal shops in Melbourne and still no luck in finding what I really wanted for my wedding, I started looking online for a bridal gown designer to create a custom dress. I came across Leah Da Gloria’s designs and decided to book an appointment with her. A few weeks later I was flying to Sydney to meet Leah! She showed me designs that she had made before and all of the delicate laces available. I remember leaving there and saying to myself, ‘She has to be the one creating my wedding gown.’ Her designs were so modern and magical. From there, I took regular trips to Sydney for fittings and every single time I was left amazed at what she had done since our last meeting. She was so easy to work. She truly created my perfect dress.”

Her advice for current or future brides: “Remember that it is your special day. Do the things that will make you happy and [it] will give you beautiful memories to cherish.”

The bride’s favorite moment of the day was their first dance to the tango version of “Sway” by Michael Bublé! They both took dancing lessons for three months and had someone choreograph their first dance.

Sadly, Jean-Marc’s dad passed away 6 weeks before the wedding, so they thought of cancelling the firework display that was initially planned. However, they decided to go on with it and it turned out to be the highlight + biggest surprise of the celebration for the guests!