{"id":211969,"date":"2024-04-17T14:30:34","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T04:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/?p=211969"},"modified":"2024-04-17T14:28:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T04:28:44","slug":"isabella-and-rupert-manfredi-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/isabella-and-rupert-manfredi-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Isabella & Rupert: An intimate winter wedding at Mosman Rowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were to search the notes app on Rupert Manfredi\u2019s computer, somewhere down the line, you would stumble upon one titled The Week of Izzi. It begins as follows, \u201cWell. 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<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u2018their person\u2019. 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 \u201cresigning to the idea that I was going to be on my own for a while. I\u2019d even written myself a long letter about what I wanted in a relationship and made a promise that I wasn\u2019t going to settle for anything less. Like how the sisters conjure the \u2018perfect guy\u2019 in Practical Magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until the next weekend, when the pair bumped into each other again at a mutual friend\u2019s birthday, that Izzi started to wonder whether her letter had come to fruition. \u201cOver the course of the evening, we chatted a little bit here and there, but she was constantly being pulled away,\u201d Rupert recalls. \u201cAnd then just as I began heading towards the door, I felt a tug at my shoulder followed by a \u2018Oh, you\u2019re not leaving are you\u2019?\u201d Their first date was scheduled for the next week.<\/p>\n

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THE PROPOSAL… A WHITE LIMOUSINE, A RED CARPET AND THE RULE OF FIVES<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d shared Rupert.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t 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\u2019d 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to keep the how a surprise though. We\u2019d been on a big family road trip to celebrate Izzi\u2019s dad\u2019s birthday and, following our big adventure, we were heading on a \u2018secret holiday\u2019 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 \u2018Alright, this is your stop\u2019. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeanwhile, 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\u2019d designed with the jeweller who made my parents\u2019 wedding rings, and to the backdrop of applauses and cheers from passing beachgoers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI THINK WE BOTH TRUSTED IN THE RIGHT TIMING OF THINGS…\u201d<\/h3>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn our second date, Rups drove me to Cremorne Wharf on Sydney\u2019s 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\u2019d 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 \u2013 my whole life \u2013 from a whole new perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur 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\u2019s mum, and our celebrant was Rupert\u2019s cousin Ellen, which was a really special detail,\u201d continued Isabella.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn Tarasin, who designed Rupert\u2019s parents\u2019 wedding rings, made our bands, among his last before retiring, and an old friend of my dad\u2019s, 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…\u201d<\/p>\n

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THE DRESS… A SINGLE STEM LILAC POPPY<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen I first spotted my dress, we didn\u2019t even know at the time that we would be getting married, let alone when. But as soon as I saw it, I knew instantly \u2018that\u2019s my wedding dress\u2019,\u201d shared Isabella. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. \u201cSusan 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,\u201d she continued. \u201cWe 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\u2019s mum.\u201d<\/p>\n

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THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT… GETTING READY TO WALK DOWN THE AISLE TOGETHER. I LOVED THAT WE WALKED IN TOGETHER \u2013 AFTER EVERYTHING WE\u2019D BEEN THROUGH IT FELT LIKE SUCH A TRIUMPHANT MOMENT. NINA SIMONE\u2019S MUSIC FOR LOVERS SUNG US IN.<\/h3>\n

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