If you were to search the notes app on Rupert Manfredi’s computer, somewhere down the line, you would stumble upon one titled The Week of Izzi. It begins as follows, “Well. What a week. Maybe one of the most significant in my life. This week, I fell madly in love with a girl called Isabella Manfredi.”

When Rupert, a musician, designer and programmer, met singer-songwriter and former lead vocalist of The Preatures, Isabella, the pair had both given up on finding ‘their person’. Backstage at a Methyl Ethel show at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, they crossed paths for the first time, in a quick encounter that Izzi would later forget, but Rupert held onto. Fresh out of a long-term relationship and nursing a broken heart, Izzi recalls “resigning to the idea that I was going to be on my own for a while. I’d even written myself a long letter about what I wanted in a relationship and made a promise that I wasn’t going to settle for anything less. Like how the sisters conjure the ‘perfect guy’ in Practical Magic.”

It wasn’t until the next weekend, when the pair bumped into each other again at a mutual friend’s birthday, that Izzi started to wonder whether her letter had come to fruition. “Over the course of the evening, we chatted a little bit here and there, but she was constantly being pulled away,” Rupert recalls. “And then just as I began heading towards the door, I felt a tug at my shoulder followed by a ‘Oh, you’re not leaving are you’?” Their first date was scheduled for the next week.

THE PROPOSAL... A WHITE LIMOUSINE, A RED CARPET AND THE RULE OF FIVES

“We got engaged on January 5, 2021. The date was important, as fives had always been a theme. I was born on August 5, Izzi on October 5, and we started dating on July 5. So, it seemed fitting to me that we should start this new, exciting phase of our lives on the fifth day of a new year,” shared Rupert.

“I don’t think the fact I was going to propose was a surprise. We had a baby on the way and, frankly, since we first met, we’d started talking about marriage. In fact, the first day Izzi met my parents she told them she would marry their son. So, not exactly out of the blue.”

“I was able to keep the how a surprise though. We’d been on a big family road trip to celebrate Izzi’s dad’s birthday and, following our big adventure, we were heading on a ‘secret holiday’ of our own. We were driving through a town called Milton and I pulled the car over at an abandoned public swimming pool and said to Iz ‘Alright, this is your stop’. In front of us, in the empty carpark, there was a white limousine with a red carpet and bollards, and a driver waiting attentively. Inside was a bouquet of flowers, and Izzi was taken on a drive around the coastline as a CD played with some significant songs in our life, as well as a bit of commentary from me.”

“Meanwhile, I was waiting on the beach by Bannisters by the Sea in Mollymook, where she later ran down the steps to join me. I proposed with a ring I’d designed with the jeweller who made my parents’ wedding rings, and to the backdrop of applauses and cheers from passing beachgoers.”

“I THINK WE BOTH TRUSTED IN THE RIGHT TIMING OF THINGS...”

After their original plans for a classic, big Sydney Harbour wedding fell through amid the pandemic, it took Isabella and Rupert some time to decide what their future celebration would look like. Always having felt a deep affinity and connection to the harbour, it was a factor that became important to Izzi when deciding where they would commit to each other.

“On our second date, Rups drove me to Cremorne Wharf on Sydney’s north side where he grew up. We sat on the grass and looked across at the night sky lights of the city, and he pulled out a thermos of tea he’d made for us to drink. It was such a simple moment, but it contained many clues about the person he is and what our relationship would be built on: a sense of richness and beauty in ordinary life. He allowed me to look at the city – my whole life – from a whole new perspective.”

The pair have always trusted in the power of timing, so when Rupert was offered a job opportunity in San Francisco that required them to plan a wedding in just five weeks, it felt natural for many of their decisions around the day to be driven by sentimentality.

“Our wedding day was a really special, personal event that pulled together the best talents of our friends and families and was filled with a great deal of serendipitous moments. We decided to do both the ceremony and reception at Mosman Rowers, where the family had the memorial for Rupert’s mum, and our celebrant was Rupert’s cousin Ellen, which was a really special detail,” continued Isabella.

“John Tarasin, who designed Rupert’s parents’ wedding rings, made our bands, among his last before retiring, and an old friend of my dad’s, Jessica Pedemont, created the cake. Our guests ordered fish and chips at the bar, which was the perfect accompaniment to the flawless winter Sunday weather we were treated to. The sky was that big blue that only seems to happen in Sydney...”

THE DRESS... A SINGLE STEM LILAC POPPY

“When I first spotted my dress, we didn’t even know at the time that we would be getting married, let alone when. But as soon as I saw it, I knew instantly ‘that’s my wedding dress’,” shared Isabella. “It was a classic, off-white silk dress by Australian designer Common Hours, but the lilac poppy detail with the striking black stem was such an unexpected twist. It felt elegant, artistic, timeless and also a bit punk.”

This single lilac poppy guided Izzi in much of the styling decisions around the wedding. The pair knew from the beginning that they wanted to create a warm, spirited ceremony with lots of passion and colour, and entrusted Susan Avery with the florals. “Susan used to create all the flowers for the Manfredi restaurants back in the 90s and 2000s, so it was really special to have this connection on the day,” she continued. “We had deep red roses, lilac roses, white, apricot and hot pink peonies. Joel at Jean Riley also created a custom pearl and heart-of-glass necklace in lilac, based off an heirloom piece from Rupert’s mum.”

THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT... GETTING READY TO WALK DOWN THE AISLE TOGETHER. I LOVED THAT WE WALKED IN TOGETHER – AFTER EVERYTHING WE’D BEEN THROUGH IT FELT LIKE SUCH A TRIUMPHANT MOMENT. NINA SIMONE’S MUSIC FOR LOVERS SUNG US IN.