Bethany, born in Melbourne, works in marketing and loves fashion and travel. She and Olivier, her now husband, moved from Australia to Paris in 2019. Their destination wedding in Italy was planned 14 months in advance, with the venue helping connect them to reliable suppliers. Despite not initially planning a big wedding, they decided to bring their Australian and Belgian families together, adding events to maximise time with everyone. The most unexpected part was Bethany's last-minute dress change to a stunning Vivienne Westwood gown. Looking back, she feels grateful for the shared moments with family and friends. Her Homebodii moment involved her mum, sister, and best friends flying in from Australia for a special day at Six Senses in Rome, wearing our luxurious robes that complemented the stunning setting.
Homebodii Bride of the Month: Bethany Cartan
A little about me...
My name is Bethany, I was born in Melbourne .I work in Marketing at global beauty company & love of fashion, traveling & above all my family & friends. I met my partner Olivier in 2016 in Australia & we moved to Paris together in 2019 to pursue work opportunities. It’s been an eventful 4 years; traveling, working & building our lives together.
Our approach to planning the wedding was…
As it was a destination wedding in Italy & most of our guests would be travelling, we had to send the save date 14months in advance. Once we had locked in the venue, they helped to connect us with reliable suppliers that made the rest of the planning a pretty smooth process. I prepared mood boards of ideas & then discussed with Olivier and the suppliers to make the final decisions. We tried to stay pretty organised & just enjoy the whole process as much as possible.
Looking back on the day we are so glad that we…
Initially we never thought we would have a big wedding, but upon realizing it would be the only time our friends & family were in the same place (I’m Australian & Olivier Belgian) we decided to go for it. We added a family dinner when everyone landed, a welcome drink the day before & pool party the day after to make the most of our time with everyone. Looking back now it was the best decision!
The most unexpected part of the day was...
The biggest surprise was that I had originally planned to wear a different wedding dress. There was a last minute problem with the alterations & I was left scrambling for an alternative. When I found the stunning Vivienne Westwood gown I ended up wearing, I couldn’t believe my luck. It truly felt like me & fit like a glove without any alterations. I felt so lucky.
When I look back on the day now I feel…
Looking back the photos it feels so surreal! We have so many amazing memories & are just so happy that we were able to share it with so many of our closest family & friends.
A word of advice to new brides would be…
We really prioritized involving people in our wedding – a close friend officiated, we had speeches during the ceremony & dinner and we wrote a short note to each guest as their place card. There were so many laughs & we felt like it we were really able to share our love with everyone and that they could also connect to one another. It’s also very true what they say, make the most of every second of the day! Each moment is so precious & passes by so quickly.
My Homebodii moment was special because and I wore...
My mum, sister & two best friends flew in from Australia for the wedding. We started the day with a beautiful breakfast & then spent all day getting ready. It was really special. The beautiful Six Senses in Rome had the most stunning marble staircase, it felt so surreal to be there & the robes complemented perfectly! I wore the Kiralee Satin Slip Dress with the Helena Long Lace Robe & the girls wore the Olivia Luxury Satin Robes.
