The Real Thing

It began, as many modern love stories do, with a swipe. Anneliese Lambert and Thomas Mangan first crossed paths on a dating app, but when they finally met in person — after-work drinks in Sydney that stretched on until closing time — it felt less like an introduction and more like recognition.

"Tom immediately felt so familiar to me,” Anneliese remembers. “He made me laugh so much that night.” Tom was equally taken. “Her big, bright, cheeky smile hooked me straight away. She had this cool-girl energy, cracking jokes in a bomber jacket, with just enough vulnerability that I couldn’t look away.”

From that first evening, everything fell into place for the pair, who quickly realised it was more than just a fleeting connection. Seven years later, the couple are on the cusp of moving into their new home in Queenscliff on Sydney’s Northern Beaches — a continuation of a life they’ve built with ease, humour and a shared vision. “We’re kind of yin and yang,” Anneliese reflects. “Always balancing one another. But we’ve always been aligned in what we want, and that’s everything.”

“We’re kind of yin and yang, always balancing one another. But we’ve always been aligned in what we want, and that’s everything.”

When it came time to take the relationship to the next level, Anneliese was convinced Tom would propose during a trip they had planned to Europe. She even bought a dress for the occasion, imagining he might drop to one knee somewhere romantic in Puglia. A suspiciously glamorous hotel booking seemed promising too. But the holiday came and went without a ring. “By the time we boarded the flight home, I’ll admit I was pretty salty,” she laughs.

So when Tom suggested watching the sunrise at Avalon Beach a few days later, she resisted. “I was grumpy about the early start, not in the mood at all.” But as the horizon softened into light across an empty beach, Tom turned towards her, dropped to one knee and asked the question. “I was totally shocked,” Anneliese says. “I blurted out, ‘What are you doing!’ before, of course, saying yes.” The ring was an elongated cushion cut — simple, timeless and uncannily close to the references she had been secretly sending her sister.

The wedding, held at Mona Farm, unfolded with clarity of purpose. “We just wanted it to feel like us,” Anneliese explains. That meant laughter, good food, music that moved people and their closest friends and family gathered for a weekend that felt both celebratory and unforced. With the seamless support of the venue and their dear friend Scarlett Arthur (celebrant, stylist, and quiet architect of the day), the event took shape effortlessly and resulted in a celebration that married memorable moments with some good old-fashioned fun.

The styling drew on the natural beauty of Mona Farm, with antique silverware, white roses and lush greenery setting a tone that was classic and elevated. “I’m not about over-styling,” Anneliese notes. “I wanted it to feel romantic and timeless but not fussy.” Music played an equally central role. Anneliese walked down the aisle to Labrinth’s No Ordinary, its cinematic drop making the moment feel powerful and unexpected. Their first dance, to Betty Who’s I Love You Always Forever, set the tone for a night defined by joy.

The day itself was bathed in warmth — both from the weather and from the company that surrounded them. One of their favourite moments arrived spontaneously: dancing outside in the afternoon sun to Take Me To The Clouds Above, surrounded by laughing friends. Later, they stole away together, just for a moment, to look back at the marquee lit up in the dusk. “The sunset was pink, everyone was inside eating and laughing. We both turned to each other and said, ‘This is even better than we imagined.’”

Anneliese wore the Grand Camille gown by Vivienne Westwood, a sculptural silhouette paired with Jimmy Choo heels and her mother’s pearls, gifted long ago by her father. “I knew the moment I tried it all on," she tells me, "I felt like the best version of myself: confident, classic, but modern.” Make-up was by Joanna Luhrs, hair by Mel Riccio, while Tom stood effortlessly sharp in a tailored P. Johnson suit.

If there’s one thing they would change, it would be to stretch out time itself. “Cocktail hour flew by — we barely caught it because of photos,” Anneliese says. “It’s our favourite part of any wedding, and I wish we’d had more of it.” Still, the day exists now among their most treasured memories, alongside smaller rituals that anchor their life: walks with their dog Dennis, pizza on the sofa, quiet weekends punctuated by time with friends. Travel, too, holds a special place: long sun-drenched days spent discovering new places together, like the time they rode a scooter along winding roads in Milos to find Medusa’s, a seaside taverna where they drank cheap wine and ate octopus for hours in the salty air.

Of course, no relationship is without challenges. The lead-up to the wedding brought its own pressures, and the couple admit there have been moments when one or the other has struggled. But through it all, their foundation has held. “We respect each other, we compromise and we’re always working towards the same future,” says Tom. Asked what she loves most about her husband, Anneliese smiles: “His humour, his intelligence, his focus on our future, how everything he does has us in mind,” she pauses, “oh, and he’s obviously handsome!” Tom’s answer is immediate. “She’s the most beautiful thing in the world to me. She has this cheeky sense of humour, and her little giggle — it warms my heart every day.”

For these two, the next chapter is clear. One final carefree European holiday awaits before they turn their attention to what they are most looking forward to: building a family together. “Hopefully soon,” says Anneliese. Tom grins. “I’m ready.”