Isi & Tom
Isi (Chilean, living in Oz) and Tom (Australian) met in Nepal, hiking to Everest Base Camp.
Though they don't quite agree on the details of how it happened. Isi says it was when Tom said the two most romantic words an Aussie can offer a girl: "g'day." Tom insists he'd already clocked her at the airport before they'd even left for the mountain.
At base camp, you end up walking with the same faces every day (and smelling like all of them too). So Isi and Tom started walking together, then talking, then falling into that easy kind of conversation neither of them expected. By the time they got back to a shower and "the real world," Tom asked her out properly.
From there: a stint in Chile, a crash course in Australian living with five of Tom's mates in Marrickville (Isi came out the other side fluent in "fuck bra"), and eventually, a home together in Queenscliff they've never left, despite Tom's wishes to live anywhere but the Northern Beaches. Their life together settled into something easy: Messina on Sundays, sharing memes, trying new restaurants around the city. And somewhere in the ordinary of it all, Tom still makes Isi laugh until she cries, and Isi, without even trying, cracks Tom up completely.
What we created together
We walked through the full range of what a ceremony could look like, from traditional to fully personal, and landed on something built entirely around them. No traditional vows. Instead, I met with Isi and Tom separately to talk about who they were as a couple, and wove their own words into a ring exchange that became the emotional core of the ceremony. Isi and Tom heard the things they'd told me separately about how they see each other, without either of them knowing exactly what the other had said. It was personal, a little unexpected, and far more them than anything traditional could have been.
I also helped shape the parts of the ceremony that involved the people closest to them, working with the bridesmaids and groomsmen on how and when they'd speak, and coordinating everything ahead of time so the day ran smoothly. One of my favourite touches was a surprise moment: words from Isi's best friend, who couldn't be there in person, brought into the ceremony so her voice was still part of the day.
With half their guests speaking English as a second language, I made sure the ceremony was easy for everyone to follow, and more than a few guests mentioned afterwards how much they appreciated being able to understand every word.
But if there's one thing that summed up the day, it's the laughter. That's Isi and Tom in one frame: easy, warm, and having the time of their lives, exactly the way it started on that mountain in Nepal.
DETAILS
February 2025
Forster, NSW