Sofia and Michelle: Girl Meets Girl. Girl Falls in Love With Girl
When Sofia got a job in Melbourne, she nearly didn’t take it. But fate had other plans. At the same organisation, she met Michelle, and their connection was instant. From endless text messages to nights by the beach with arancini and red wine, their love story unfolded effortlessly. Through long-distance, European adventures, and a beautifully planned wedding, their journey has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Photographer Lei Lei Clavey | Wedding Planner Alexander Ross | Location Melbourne Australia
“…I moved across to head office, and that’s where our paths collided. Classic case of girl meets girl. Girl falls in love with girl.”
How and when did you meet?
Sofia: I got a job in Melbourne, and I nearly didn’t take it. But the stars aligned, the universe set out its intention, and as cliché as it sounds, the rest is history. Michelle worked for the same organisation. What followed were endless text messages, phone calls, lunch breaks, coffee runs, sushi deliveries, and nights by the beach, eating arancini and drinking red wine.
Tell us a little about that first time you met?
Sofia: I moved across to head office, and that’s where our paths collided. Classic case of girl meets girl. Girl falls in love with girl.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Michelle: Sofia's confidence, her British accent and- her tattoos <3
Sofia: Michelle’s confidence and her attractive energy that was deeper than looks. Michelle’s enigmatic persona kept me up at night. I would think about when I'd see her next and what I'd say to her to persuade her to go on a date with me…
Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship…
Michelle: There are so many! We did the whole long-distance thing. Lots of facetime calls through the timezones, love notes and flower deliveries. Sofia: In 2018, I missed Michelle so much that I booked a flight to Melbourne for two weeks leaving on 11 November 2018. During those two weeks, Michelle found out she was granted a visa to live in the UK for two years. Michelle flew to London on boxing day to spend New Years with me in a pub in Camden with Dexy’s Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen playing and we enjoyed a falafel wrap on the night bus on the way home. Michelle: We found our first rental in Croydon, London, we became aunties and we got matching tattoos. We travelled all around Europe and spent NYE in the Parisian Le Metropolitan hotel.
Sofia: My Valentine's Day surprise trip to Paris having champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower!
Michelle: We made the decision to permanently relocate back to Melbourne. COVID happened and we spent 15 nights in hotel quarantine in the lovely five-star Sofitel hotel with no windows with what felt like Uber Eats deliveries delivered to our door three times a day. We bought our first car and house together, we travelled some more, Sofia proposed, we ran a full marathon together and we got married and had the most incredible wedding.
What does marriage mean to you?
Marriage is a choice and a commitment to love each other no matter what. It’s loving the version of that person yesterday, today and tomorrow in all of their many versions. It is a bond that will last forever. We are truly best friends.
Who proposed, and how?
Michelle: Sofia proposed at Jackalope, in the Mornington Peninsula. Two nights full of wine tasting, good food, art, open fires, champagne, white roses and bliss. Sofia hand-lit candles from the hotel room doorway to the bed where she was down on one knee.
Sofia: Michelle said yes before she even saw the ring.
When did you get married?
The 11th of November 2024. It was a cool morning then the sunlight came out to charm us and our wedding guests - we even got a flush of good luck rain.
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Us, our travels, our love for art and culture.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Sofia: To be in the moment and to enjoy the day. I underestimated how overwhelming the pure love would feel on the day. Not only the love for each other, but how everyone is there to witness the best day of your life. Alex (our wedding planner) carved out an hour for us (which we initially thought we would not need!) after our NGV portraits. We sat in our Hotel Windsor suite where we could enjoy the feeling of being newlyweds. We were grateful for that time to breathe. I think I managed to also find time for an almond croissant and a glass of champagne - which was a plus. En route to our reception, we stopped at Pelligrini’s for an espresso. Strangers were congratulating us as we walked the Melbourne streets. And, we took in all of the oxytocin and endorphins.
Did you incorporate any family sentiments or traditions?
Michelle: Something old, something borrowed, something blue, something new. My Mum gifted me my grandma's beautiful ring, my sister-in law lent me a ring as something borrowed and I wore something blue along with a pair of my new earrings. We also created napkins made from a note from our Nonna which read; 'I will think of you both on your day x x'.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
Our style, taste and favourite memories influenced our wedding style. We had quite a unique colour scheme, utilising the colours chrome, baby pink and red. We had personalised napkins made from our Nonna’s note in her handwriting. Our food menus had a chrome piercing through it along with the words, ‘everything is romantic’ by Charli XCX with stamped kisses, scribbles and cursive text. Bloom Boy created a red rose arbour with red draping through it for our ceremony. The roses in the arbour were then deconstructed into single-stemmed roses for the reception. We’ve always loved the idea of single stemmed roses - in ode to a romantic date that we had at Le Georges, Centre Pompidou in Paris and I mean, red roses are the most romantic... We asked our DJ to only use neon red lighting which was inspired by Boiler Room as we love our house music. We both stayed true to ourselves throughout the whole process. The styling on our wedding day strongly reflected both of our personalities.
How did you choose your suppliers?
We thought it would be helpful to have a wedding planner to plan the logistics of our wedding day as we are busy people. We came across the lovely Alex at Alexander Ross Weddings and we knew that we wanted him to plan our wedding as he was responsive from the initial point of contact and he has a list of LGBTIQ+ friendly vendors to choose from which is important to us. Alex suggested a few suppliers from his vendor list that he thought we would like based on our initial meeting with him. We also had our eye on a few other vendors that matched our style; looking at you By V. We chose Siglo as our wedding venue as we appreciate the Melbournian city rooftop x Italian vibe with a touch of industrial architecture.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Acknowledging that not everyone would be able to make it to our wedding due to having family and friends living abroad.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Seminyak and Ubud in Indonesia. Indonesia was our first overseas holiday destination together in 2018. We thought it would be cute to relive that holiday as a married couple. We stayed at the Potato Head Beach Club Hotel as we love the ethos of the hotel. The hotel won numerous design awards and is renowned for its sustainability practices. We also stayed at Bisma 8 in Ubud. They have a few plant-based restaurants based on site and a gorgeous rooftop pool. We wanted to stay somewhere hot where we could unwind with nothing to do but to drink cocktails by the pool.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Enjoy the wedding planning journey and have fun during the process! Don't get caught up in the minor details that may be irrelevant down the line. Invite who you want to invite, and always remain authentic and true to character.
Sofia and Michelle’s Team
Photographer @leileiclavey
Wedding Planner @alexanderrossweddings
Venue @siglobar / @springstreetevents
Videographer @_tilldeath_
Content Creator @modernday.romance
Flowers and Arbour @bloom.boy / @tybb.studio
Celebrant, Cake and MC @zeescott__
Stationery @byv____
DJ and Sax @marriedtothegroovedj and @jazzybsax
Violinist @heyjack_co
Michelle Wears @kyhastudios
Sofia Wears @enolanmelbourne
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