Paradise Found

In the lush, sunlit wilds of the Whitsundays’ Villa Paradise Cove, Isabella Rich and Ben Barzach gathered their closest friends and family for a wedding that felt as glamorous as it was unfussy, as breathtakingly beautiful as it was utterly unpretentious.

The couple, who met six years ago and now live in Bondi, both tell me how much they value their privacy and cherish time spent with their nearest and dearest. Their engagement, fittingly, was intimate: just the two of them, in bed, “with nobody around.” “I couldn’t imagine anything else,” Isabella says, reflecting the couple’s instinct for sincerity over spectacle.

That sense of authenticity ran through every part of their day. Under the deft hand of planner Emma Micallaf, who Isabella calls “God’s gift,” the wedding took shape as a relaxed yet glamorous gathering — sixty of their closest friends and family gathered at Villa Paradise Cove, the air humming with Lisa Hunt’s live vocals and the energy of a night that felt genuinely alive.

Isabella wore a blush-pink Vera Wang gown, barefoot on the grass — the first dress she tried on, chosen with characteristic conviction. Later, she changed into a custom-made piece inspired by an archival 1999 Chanel look: elegant and floor-length but made for dancing in. Her hair was styled by Phil Gallo, makeup by Luana Coscia, and her bridesmaids — all in cream — danced joyfully down the aisle before Ben made his own unforgettable entrance on a quad bike. “Seeing Ben as I came in is something I’ll always remember,” Isabella says.

"The sense of a true partnership has always been what I cherish most."

The flowers by Muck Floral were abundant yet subtle; Ben Williamson of AnyDay catered a feast that felt more like a dinner among friends than a formal affair. The music — from Richy Penny and the inimitable Lisa Hunt — carried the night. “Music was one of the most important things for us,” Isabella says. “It really made the night.”

There was no first dance, no rigid agenda — just a sense of shared delight. “We wanted everyone to have as much fun as us,” Isabella explains. “And they did.”

Now, with a two-month-old son, Leo, the couple’s next chapter is unfolding with the same grounded joy that shaped their wedding day. “The sense of a true partnership,” Isabella tells me, “has always been what I cherish most.”