All In The Details

"It was seven am sharp on a Saturday morning when Michael first knocked on my door," Angela laughs. "That timing alone should have told me everything." Despite having never met in person, Angela and Michael had promised a mutual friend that they would help him move, with the latter offering to drive the former to the day's activities. Punctual, meticulous and already carrying a pillow “just in case”, he embodied the traits that, years later, would still make her smile. Within half an hour of meeting, she watched Michael get splattered in the face by whipped cream in a spontaneous Hasbro Pie Face game (suggested by another friend) and she realised that he was unlike anyone she had ever met. “Our celebrant quipped, ‘She must have been impressed,’” Angela recalls. “And here we are, eight and a half years later.”

That serendipitous morning marked the beginning of a story that would stretch across continents, through years in London, countless adventures, and back to Auckland where the couple have now returned. Their early attraction was immediate, yet what endured was their shared ambition and their deep admiration for one another’s strengths.“His vision and drive have always been so clear and so strong," Angela tells me. She pauses, "he’s amazing.” Michael adds: “From day one I knew something special was going on. Ange lives life with so much love, and when you are in her orbit you can’t help but smile. Once our relationship developed, I realised that equal to her love is her drive, which has propelled her career and shaped our lives across the world.”

The proposal came in the Maldives, Angela’s dream destination. “It was the perfect holiday,” she says. “Blue ocean for miles, the perfect temperature, a water villa suspended above it all. Michael proposed with my dream Naveya & Sloane ring. It was everything I could have imagined.”

Their wedding, held at the Château de Fontarèches in June, was anchored in one guiding principle: guest experience. “We wanted every single guest to feel cherished,” Angela says. “Hopefully even a little awed.” Every decision was made with their family and friends in mind. Surprises were carefully concealed — such as the rave cave hidden behind the band’s stage. “On the night, the transition to that space was so much fun,” Angela tells me, “because no one had any idea it was coming.”

There were moments of entirely spontaneous magic, too, that no planning could have produced. Michael’s uncle Murray (of Mi-sex fame) leapt onto the keys mid-reception, pounding out Valerie while friends Molly, Sam and Andy picked up the mic, drums and guitar. “Our band was incredible, but so generous with the space for that to happen,” Angela recalls. Earlier that day, the château chef had produced a deceptively simple brownie for lunch that became one of the most talked-about dishes. And then there were the flowers. “Elena of Tepee Sauvage was unbelievable,” Angela says. “We gave her a palette of nectarines and plums and she created something extraordinary. It was beyond what we could have ever imagined.”

The atmosphere was heightened by scent and sound, two details the couple tell me they placed a lot of emphasis on. Angela wore a blend of Lucy Folk and Pedrisat’s collaborative scent (Lucy Folk also designed the pair’s wedding bands) with Le Labo’s Santal 33, while Michael chose Aedes de Venustas’ Copal Azur. Over fifteen playlists, tested on long road trips, soundtracked the weekend. “Music was everything to us,” Michael says. “We wanted to create a different mood for every moment.” Angela walked down the aisle to I Choose You by Willie Hutch, “a nod to our love of Outkast”, she says. While their first dance (a surprise immediately after cocktail hour) was to Everyday People by Sly & The Family Stone.

Fashion, too, told a story. Angela wore a Vivienne Westwood gown from the Paris bridal atelier, paired with Loeffler Randall heels and a veil by The Own Studio. She later changed into a Clio Peppiatt dress for the after-party, while her welcome drinks look — a floral appliqué dress by Paris Georgia — was paired with Mach & Mach heels. Michael’s Rubinacci suit and shoes, selected in Milan after an initial fitting in London, reflected his penchant for precision. His shirt was by Emma Willis of Jermyn Street, and his welcome drinks suit was made by his Melbourne tailor, Godwin Charli. “Clothes were important,” Angela admits, “but more than anything we wanted to feel like ourselves.”

What struck their guests most, however, was the balance between grandeur and intimacy. The chateau glowed with flowers and light, yet laughter and music grounded the celebration in warmth. “It was pure magic,” Angela says. “There were so many standout moments, from the jam session to the flowers to the food, but also just the feeling of everyone we love in one place.”

For Michael and Angela, their love story has been shaped as much by small rituals as grand gestures. Camping in Northland, travelling through Iceland, long days in London that turned into long nights; or celebrating milestones with their friends across Sicily, California, Paris and beyond. “The small things are just as important as the big things,” they both reflect.

Now, the pair tells me that their future holds what Michael calls “big Excel spreadsheet energy”. Family weddings in Italy and Argentina, more travel, and eventually (they hope) a family of their own. “But the truth is,” Angela says, “whatever the plans look like, it’s the little moments we’ll remember.”

Their wedding reiterated that love is rarely about perfection. It's about presence. In the grandeur of a French château and the intimacy of shared playlists, in couture gowns and surprise moments, in music that carried the night and the vibrant flowers — Michael and Angela’s celebration captured balanced scale and soul. It was less about orchestrated details and more about the joy of being together, the laughter that stitched every moment, and the memory of how it all began: a knock at the door at seven am, a pillow, a pie, and the start of a life they continue to build side by side.