Mike Dinnen and Pia Nowland, 29 November 2019, Lapito House

Fleurieu weddings

Mike Dinnen and Pia Nowland married on 29 November 2019 at Lapito House. Photographs by Brión Photography

Above: Pia’s custom-designed and handmade dress by She Sews included a French-lace bodice and skirt in voluminous silky tulle, complemented by a silk veil hand-embroidered in edelweiss and native gum leaves by Pia’s mother, Yvonne, to symbolise Pia’s Swiss and Australian heritage.

Mike and Pia first met at the Mitcham shopping centre in 2002. Mike worked at Offshore Surf and Pia at Bakers Delight. Pia was absolutely smitten with the surfer from next door but he was unaware.

Fast forward seven years and Pia now lives in Darwin, working as a journalist for the local radio station when she gets a text message from her good friend Emily, who also happens to be Mike’s sister. Emily had a question about the stonework at Pia’s family property, Lapito House. She also mentioned that one of her brothers recently moved up to Darwin. ‘All that was going through my mind was ... ‘I hope it’s Mike!’ He’ll definitely need a tour guide for the Northern Territory!’ says Pia. Skip ahead another nine years from that serendipitous text, and the couple become engaged in Switzerland, in Lüscherz where Pia’s mum grew up. It was their last day in Switzerland and after a day of sightseeing, the couple went on a short walk to the nearby pine forest, which held special memories of Pia’s Grandma Alice. ‘Mike suddenly stopped at the apple tree and as a man of very few words he simply said ‘thank you for putting up with me, will you marry me?’’ Pia recalls.

‘What I love about this story is that if Emily hadn’t contacted me about the stonework at Lapito House, I would never have caught up with Mike in Darwin, and this love story would never have happened,’ says Pia. ‘It has simply done a full circle and I love that we celebrated our marriage at the very place that brought us together.’

Top left: Mike and Pia. Top right: Proud parents and partners. Middle: Glamping tents supplied by Tent Events ensured guests could enjoy the evening with accommodation a quick stroll away. Bottom: With the help of local carpenters, a shed was converted into a barn with a timber feature wall. Pia collected mismatched timber chairs, while her dad, John, was kept busy sanding and restoring them in time for their guests.

Both Pia and Mike’s families came together to help the couple create their perfect wedding day. Pia’s mum spent months hand-stitching and beading native gum leaves and edelweiss onto her veil to represent her Swiss and Australian heritage. Her dad designed the invitations and the couple’s own monogram which was used across all their signage on the day. Even the couple’s dog Doug, who played ring bearer, had his own Swiss red-and-white ring pouch hand-stitched with the monogram by Mike’s mum. She also travelled to every Spotlight across SA to buy enough cheesecloth to sew 126 napkins.

With the help of local carpenters Leigh and Gabriel, a shed at the Myponga property was converted into a barn with a timber feature wall created with the leftover sheets from the Lapito House ceiling. The day before the wedding, Pia’s brother Toby collected fallen branches from the property which he and Pia’s dad built into an arbor, while sister Lara, a freelance florist, spent the entire week styling the day. She used a mixture of natives from the property, white peonies, Queen Anne’s lace and lisianthus – all in addition to her role as one of Pia’s bridesmaids.

Mike’s brother Rob was his best man, and also organised all of the catering through his Adelaide-based pintxos and tapas bar, Udaberri. Friends Duggie and Bec at The Stoke Wines provided the couple’s favourite Pétillant Naturel and family friend Marina officiated the ceremony.

The weather was absolutely perfect, albeit with a few too many uninvited flies. Mike and Pia are so grateful to both of their families for making their day so special and memorable.