A rooftop elopement with Nicole & Zak

Sometimes the idea of a huge wedding with a ton of guests doesn’t appeal to people. In fact, some people like the idea of inviting their very favourite people to stand beside them on a rooftop to witness their union: those people are Nicole & Zak.

From the moment Nicole first contacted me to talk about her plans I developed a wee bit of crush - these two are just absolute sweethearts and I admire their dedication not only to each other, but to their elopement plans. So, that’s how I found my myself standing on a rooftop one moody April afternoon with these two lovers, three guests and the always amazing Janneke Storm with camera in hand.

It’s hard to sum up the feeling of sharing in something so intimate - to sit with the bride in her hotel room while she chooses her earrings, to have each guest hug you and to share in a toast to the couple you have just married: it’s like every moment in magnified, the emotion just that much greater.

It all started at Family – the Nightclub – yep – only a few hundred metres from where we stood at The Calile is where their story begins. Zak walked in one evening and distinctly remembers spotting Nicole (which is saying something considering he’d been drinking since midday at this point). He thought she was absolutely stunning and so decided to talk to her; and while Nicole was okay with him saying hi, she wasted no time in letting him know that if he was only interested in a one night thing then he should just quit while he was ahead. Luckily Zak wasn’t, and so he didn’t leave her side for the rest of the night – and as they both told me – they did in fact end up spending the night together – but it was sleeping in Nicole’s sisters bed (it’s okay, her sister wasn’t there - you creeps); where he awoke to find said sister and her friends staring at him wondering what he was doing there. Nicole remembers how much they both laughed about it after; and how it felt like they had already known each other a lifetime.

From that moment their fate was sealed and eight years on they were married on a rooftop!

Huge shoutout to the amazing Yukari Botanicals who provided the most stunning floral ceremony space.

Also to the incredible Janneke Storm for capturing every amazing moment and for reflecting my stupid grin with her own as we kept clocking how lucky we were to be there.