Date: 17/04/2025
Location: Sydney
What began with a borrowed hoodie at Sheffield University would eventually become an 11-year love story spanning continents, career changes, long-distance stretches and countless dance floors.
When Crimson Dunstan arrived in England from Brisbane in 2014 for a study abroad semester, she had ambitions of encountering The Arctic Monkeys and immersing herself in university life. Instead, she met Jack Alexander.
More than a decade later, surrounded by family, friends and Sydney Harbour, the pair married at The Nielsen at Shark Beach in a celebration designed not around perfection, but around connection. Every detail, from handwritten notes to family heirlooms and carefully curated music, reflected a relationship built over years of choosing one another.
“By the time we got married, there was never really a question – only a very deep knowing that this was always it.”
Crimson: Cast your mind back to 2014. We’re at Sheffield University where I had landed fresh-faced from Brisbane for a study abroad program, hoping to bump into The Arctic Monkeys, though perhaps not entirely prepared for the realities of a British winter or the social anthropology of a UK student share house.
Through mutual friends, Jack and I crossed paths on a night out. One of those evenings that begins fairly innocuously on a dance floor and ends, hours later, in a conversation that makes you forget to check the time.
A Facebook message to return a loaned hoodie instigated our first date – complete with my first Sambuca shot (Jack insisted I wasn’t truly honouring the British experience unless I tried one) and a round of music trivia.
What followed unfolded quickly and without much doubt, which feels fairly out of the ordinary for two 20-year-olds in a pre-dating app era.
Time was spent grabbing beers around university schedules, shared friendships formed naturally and slowly came the realisation that this wasn’t a fleeting connection, but perhaps something worth investing in.
Like many relationships that begin young, our early years were shaped by periods of distance and change, moves between cities, evolving ambitions, farm work, career pivots and big decisions about what came next, but at every corner, we continued to choose each other.
We met young enough to grow up alongside one another and, in doing so, were afforded the rare opportunity to evolve individually without ever growing apart.
Over the years we’ve moved countries, built careers, navigated uncertainty, celebrated milestones, supported one another through challenges, acquired our Groodle Lenny and ultimately built a life that feels completely ours.
By the time we got married, there was never really a question – only a very deep knowing that this was always it.
“Meanwhile, I was basking in the autumn sunshine and entirely oblivious to what was unfolding.”
Crimson: I was completely none the wiser. After 11 years together, you start to roll with the punches and hope he’s been paying attention to the unsolicited ring references sent via Instagram DMs over the years.
Jack: Very much planned… and a highly anxiety-inducing experience.
Crimson: In early 2025, Jack enlisted the help of a friend who worked in jewellery before setting about designing a ring with Laura Miers.
After a few setbacks involving timing and weather, he decided to propose somewhere close to both our hearts and home – Ben Buckler Reserve in Bondi.
Orange wine was poured, a spread assembled and Jack began reflecting on how good we were together, the trips we’d taken, the things we’d seen and the life we’d built over the years.
Meanwhile, I was basking in the autumn sunshine and entirely oblivious to what was unfolding.
Then suddenly all the pieces clicked into place and I realised I was most likely in the middle of my own engagement proposal.
In one smooth swivel, Jack was on one knee, ring in hand, asking me to spend the rest of my life with him.
Of course, I said yes.
“We wanted the wedding to feel warm, immersive and just really us.”
Crimson: We had originally planned to get married in my hometown of Noosa, Queensland, but after our dream venue lacked urgency in response to my repeated follow-ups, we took it as a warning sign.
Not long after, I was introduced to The Nielsen at Shark Beach during an event site visit for work and within a couple of weeks, we’d locked it in. It was the first venue we officially looked at, which honestly took a lot of the heat out of finding the perfect place. It already felt perfect to us.
Deciding to get married in Sydney also took a huge amount of pressure off. I work in PR and events, and Jack works in hospitality, so many of the vendors we collaborated with were already friends or long-time creatives we had worked with over the years. In one fell swoop, a handful of text messages confirmed hair and makeup, photographers, invite design, cake and the band.
The months that followed were filled with conversations about music, our guest experience and the energy of each moment. More than anything, we wanted the wedding to feel warm, immersive and just really us. Less like the productions you see so often and more like an unforgettable dinner party that was so great the hosts decided to get married there and then.
Jack: We planned about 95 per cent of the wedding ourselves, which in hindsight feels slightly manic, but we loved the process and found we weren’t stressed or overwhelmed. We’re both detail-oriented people who work in events and cared a lot about how the day looked, felt and flowed from beginning to end. That said, we enlisted the help of the incredibly talented Emma Micallef to bring the final five per cent together and, without a doubt, she became one of the most important parts of the entire experience.
“We wanted to create the kind of atmosphere where love seeps into the bloodstream of everyone in the room.”
Crimson: Travel is an enormous part of our lives and relationship. Over 11 years together, we’ve collected memories across different cities, long lunches, tiny wine bars, dance floors, coastlines and celebrations shared with people we love around the world and all of those experiences inevitably shaped the feeling of the day.
More than any one reference point, our wedding was inspired by a feeling: the coming together of two families, friendships formed across different chapters and countries, and everyone we love gathering in one place to witness something really special and magical.
We didn’t just want a party – otherwise we wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of having a wedding. We wanted to create that very rare kind of atmosphere where love seeps into the bloodstream of everyone in the room.
The kind of night where people feel completely present, open to love and possibility and deeply connected to the moment. That was always the goal. More than anything, it felt full of love. The kind of love that exists not just between two people, but between families, old friends, new friends and all the different chapters of our lives colliding in one room.
“Our vows were a complete surprise to each other.”
Crimson: Our vows were a complete surprise to each other, which made the whole moment even more spine-tingling. Our celebrant Victoria Pearson can do no wrong. At seven months pregnant, she absolutely blew the house down with her speech and somehow had the entire crowd laughing and crying simultaneously.
I think the ceremony is often overlooked when people reminisce about a wedding day, but for us, it was the most important part. It’s the catalyst for everything to come – setting the tone and scene for the day, and for our lives together ahead.
“I always wanted to lean into the more feminine, bohemian side of myself.”
Crimson: I wore a strapless silk gown and asymmetric shawl by Lola Varma.
My dress was the second one I tried on and, after briefly fighting my instinct in favour of the fantasy of finding the elusive vintage gown, I knew it was the one. I always wanted to lean into the more feminine, bohemian side of myself on the day – references like Sharon Tate and Kate Moss at her 2011 wedding were always floating around in my mind.
Jack: I wore a custom black double-breasted suit by REMY Atelier, stylistically inspired by 90s Tom Ford tailoring.
We sourced a vintage brass tulip pin in place of a traditional buttonhole. Crimson is half Dutch, so as soon as we saw the tulip pin, we knew it was meant to be. I paired it with a vintage paisley tie that arrived in the mail three days before the wedding after a couple of weeks spent DMing vintage sellers around the country trying to track down what I had in mind.
“There were some very special details woven throughout the day.”
Crimson: The pearl bracelet we attached to my wrist bouquet belonged to my mum, which she wore on her own wedding day. My nana also gifted me the most precious handmade lace handkerchief, which took over 400 hours to create.
I kept it tucked inside my bag throughout the day and used it to blot away tears during speeches. I’m planning to frame it now that the wedding is over.
“Music is very much its own language.”
Crimson: My sister Ava surprised us with a beautiful rendition of You’re Still The One by Shania Twain while we signed our marriage certificate, before guests rolled into aperitivo hour accompanied by a jazz-funk trio led by Calvin Welch.
Later in the evening, our DJ Charlie Chux absolutely blew the roof off the reception.
We spent an almost unreasonable amount of time deliberating over the music because we knew how much it would shape the energy of the day.
Jack: Dancing was one of the non-negotiables for both Crimson and I – the dance floor had to be rocking all night.
There’s just something you can’t put into words about looking around and seeing every person you love moving, laughing and lost in the moment together.
“Guests shared family-style dishes, orange wine from the day of their engagement flowed freely and Espresso Martinis arrived just as the dance floor found its rhythm.”
Jack: The energy on the balcony at golden hour. You could barely move, spritzes were being passed over people’s heads to friends and jazz was drifting through every conversation.
You couldn’t have written it.
“The final song of the night. Without question.”
Crimson: If I could relive one five-minute moment of the day, it would be the final song.
Jack and I were being held up on our friends’ shoulders in the middle of the dance floor while Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis played, surrounded by a heaving mass of everyone we love. It felt completely euphoric.
By that stage of the night, things were admittedly a little blurry for everyone, but there was something so pure and joyful about it all.
It’s one of those moments that, looking back, we know we’ll both think about for the rest of our lives.
It perfectly captured our day – in its imperfectly perfect glory.
