With the help of the popular dating app Tinder, Elsa and Dan began their adventure to find their perfect date in Surry Hills, England. Elsa said, “I had just moved from England, and I was living in Surry Hills, where Dan had just started working, so the timing of us coming together was perfect. We decided to go for a casual drink where I beat him at pool, haha! The date went so well we extended it to dinner and, from then, more dates and adventures followed.”

It didn’t take long for the couple to form a connection. “We quickly realised that we were both very compatible. We shared the same values on things that we both felt were important. Also, Dan thought I was hilarious (naturally), and I thought Dan was super cute, smart and interesting,” shares bride Elsa.

When Elsa and Dan moved to Australia, Dan surprised her with a proposal during a short weekend away at a music festival. “We stayed at a beautiful resort in the rainforest, located between Queensland and New South Wales, to unwind. Dan decided that getting down on one knee completely naked in the bathtub whilst I was overheating would be the perfect time to pop the question! I laughed, he got nervous, I cried, he got more nervous, and then I said yes!” shares Elsa.

The couple decided on an elopement in Tasmania. To make things easier on themselves, they engaged Lisa from Artaud & Co, a Tasmanian based wedding planner, to assist with wedding planning. The location of the ceremony, Thalia Haven, inspired the couple’s dreamy boho themed elopement. Thalia Haven, located in the Great Oyster Bay region, on the East Coast of Tasmania, is a private 130 acre, off-the-grid, stone-built luxury homestead. “The stone Mediterranean style home and dramatic sea landscape were perfect for us. The ceremony was under some olive trees with a breathtaking arch, provided by Nina from Style My Day, which was decorated by Carolyn, from Found In Earth, who did all of our flowers,” said Elsa.

Byron Bay based Spell Bride designed Elsa’s perfect wedding dress. It was the first dress she tried on! “Dress shopping was not for me. I wanted something easy and fuss-free. I’m a big fan of the Spell bridal range. I ordered the dress, it looked nice, and it suited our laid back boho-ish elopement, so I went for it. First dress, and it was a winner!” said Elsa. Keeping within the neutral boho themed colour palette, Dan, dressed by Institchu, wore a linen suit. “We decided on linen and a colour that would suit the surroundings and flowers. We wanted something fairly neutral and not dark”.

As the couple reflected on their special day, several memorable moments particularly stood out. One of the most memorable moments was finally meeting the team. “They helped me feel at ease. Since we had no family or friends there, having someone there with us was nice. Even though they were almost strangers, it didn’t feel as if they were because they were all so lovely,” said Elsa. “Next memorable moment would have to be seeing my bouquet. I have no idea why but this was the moment it hit me that I was getting married, and the bouquet was just so stunning, I had to hold back tears. The moment that topped it was the ceremony with Rachel, our celebrant, saying beautiful words that felt so tailored to us and then saying our vows. I didn’t think this moment would be as special as it was (fun fact, I never thought I would bother getting married), but I cried and cried and let me tell you, the recording isn’t pretty! It was just so lovely to have a moment of just us saying how we feel about each other wholeheartedly. I felt like no one was there other than Dan, myself, the olive trees and the sea breeze. Lastly, that evening we ate and sat by the fire and talked about the day and how f*cking cool it all was,” shares bride Elsa.

Groom Dan found it very difficult to pick just one favourite moment, but his most memorable ones include seeing Elsa in her dress for the first time. “He immediately went to tears, and he also loved the few moments we stood side by side just before walking to the arbour together. Dan felt so excited as if he were about to ride a roller coaster. Dan loved the intimate moment when we shared our vows, written purely for us. He also loved the moments where we put our quirks on the ceremony, like having a tequila shot (we made all the vendors join in, too) after our kiss. Both of us agree that it is our favorite day so far. There was just so much fun!”