Australia’s Unique Wedding: Bride Carries Dutch Carrots Bouquet

Fashion designer Niamh Galea and her new husband Maximiliano Dal Masetto aren’t your average Sydney couple.

The Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp designer, 29, and fashion photographer, 35, wanted every little detail of their ‘Catholic mermaid’ wedding to be unique. 

Nimah, who first met Maxi on set of an RTSS shoot, was certain she would walk down the aisle of the Saint Francis Catholic church in Paddington – where she was baptised – in a portion of her grandmother’s 1959 Mark Foy wedding gown.

She was sure she would carry a vibrant bouquet of Dutch carrots sourced from an artisan florist as she tied the knot in front of 70 guests.

The designer was also certain she would drive to her Nielsen Park beach house reception in the couple’s lovingly hand decorated white Holden Ute.

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Fashion designer Niamh Galea and her new husband Maximiliano Dal Masetto aren’t your average Sydney couple 

The Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp designer and fashion photographer wanted every little detail of their wedding to be unique 

Bride Nimah crafted her wedding dress using the original trains and waistband from her grandmother’s gown, which was made for her by a colleague at Sydney department store Mark Foy’s in 1959

The rest was planned in a ‘haphazard’ fashion in 15 months, with the lovebirds determined to wed over the Easter long weekend.

 Lisa Cooper came onboard as the wedding florist.

‘She has a fine art background and is on the cusp of florist and artist,’ Niamh told Daily Mail Australia. ‘I love everything she does and asked if she would do something more experimental.’

Niamh’s favourite snack is a Dutch carrot, so when she saw a photograph of a carrot bouquet, she asked Lisa if that would work.

To her surprise, Lisa said, ‘Let’s go full carrot’.

‘There was a drama where the bridesmaids’ Ubers got delayed and I was carrying them for 45 minutes. They were really heavy so I didn’t throw the bouquet,’ she said.

The yellow ribbon was selected to match handmade broaches for the groomsmen, referencing the Sun of May in the centre of the Argentinian flag for Maxi’s heritage.

When Maxi proposed, Niamh said she wanted to get married right away and would have happily eloped.

Dr Lisa Cooper came onboard as the wedding florist. ‘She has a fine art background and is on the cusp of florist and artist,’ Niamh said

‘I love everything she does and asked if she would do something more experimental’

Niamh and Maxi wed at Saint Francis Catholic church in Paddington

The couple had 70 guests including their ‘big happy’ Irish and Argentinian families and beloved circle of artistic friends

Groom Maxi loved the idea of an Australian beach wedding so the couple incorporated their reception at Nielsen Park beach

‘But we both have big Irish and Argentinian families who are emotional and intense. That would not have gone down well. They would not talk to us again,’ she joked.

However she did admit that planning the wedding was ‘definitely stressful.’

‘I thought I was too cool to be stressed about a wedding, but I’m not apparently.’

However, Niamh didn’t want it to feel like a day at the office. 

‘A friend said to me, “You know Niamh, for a lot of people, this is the fashion show of their life. This is their moment to produce a big event. But it’s not a fashion show.”

‘It’s a party and being with people you love. That’s what it’s all about,’ Niamh said. 

‘The best piece of advice I would give engaged couples is: The DIY things and handcrafted elements that your family and friends are involved in making end up being the most special.’

With that ethos at the heart of the day, Niamh set about designing herself two wedding dresses.

Niamh asked her friends to contribute small sentimental objects for her to add onto the bottom of her wedding dress

These objects also included shells from the beaches where Maxi and Niamh went on their first date and where he proposed 

The wedding dress itself is a white Empire line gown which Niamh crafted to offset the ivory and baby pink elements from her grandmother’s wedding dress 

Niamh remembered seeing her grandmother’s 1959 dress as a child and was struck by how ‘exquisite’ the ivory silk taffeta gown was

‘When we were kids, my grandmother had shown me and my sister the trains and waistband of her wedding dress. They were fully beaded appliqué and just the most exquisite thing I had ever seen.

‘I remembered that so strongly so I immediately went to ask her if she would let me use them,’ she said.

‘My brand is very sentimental. Everything is imbued with meaning,’ she added before revealing her dresses would be the same.

‘My grandma’s waist is tiny and mine is not tiny at all. So I reinterpreted that into my veil,’ she explained.

Niamh got all her fashion designer friends to give her small sentimental objects, which she then beaded onto the dress alongside shells from the beaches where she had her first date with Maxi, the one where he proposed, and Irish luck charms.

Her 93-year-old grandmother helped with the finishing touches.

‘My mum got married in a 1920s-style Zambeesi dress, so I made a cotton Poplin 1920s style tea dress for the reception,’ she said.

The couple’s white Holden Rodeo Ute served as the ‘Just Married’ vehicle, which was fitted out with handmade decorations made by their friends.

The beautiful bow details, wrapped around the stems of cherry blossoms, were crafted into her wedding veil 

Niamh described the day as utterly ‘euphoric’ 

‘I’ve never felt so famous in my life. Every stranger was waving and beeping at us as we drove off. It was so fun,’ Niamh said

The handmade decorations attached to the back of their ‘Just Married’ ute attracted the attention of NSW Police

‘It’s the first car I’ve ever owned. We bought it together. It’s one of these things where every six months we’re sure it’s about to die,’ Niamh said.

She begged Maxi to hold onto the car until the wedding.

‘I’ve never felt so famous in my life. Every stranger was waving and beeping at us as we drove off. It was so fun.’

The morning after the wedding, the newlyweds were driving home when they got pulled over by New South Wales Police, who threatened to fine them over the decorations – but let them off with a warning.

Niamh first met Maxi when he reached out to her to see if she would be interested in doing a photoshoot with him for her Darlinghurst-based independent fashion label.

‘There was an instant vibe,’ she said.

The pair started casually seeing each other, and to Niamh’s surprise, when she first visited Maxi’s Potts Point apartment — she came face to face with a drawing of herself on his wall.

Maxi had unwittingly purchased the artwork from a friend of Niamh’s from fashion school, who had recreated her likeness from an old Instagram selfie and sold it to him in a fundraiser for the 2020 Australian bushfires.

‘Out of hundreds of drawings, he’d chosen the one of me,’ she laughed. ‘I realised because I was wearing one of my own designs.’

The couple put the drawing in a drawer for three years, lest it was bad luck, but it now has a pride of place in their martial home.