Date: 04.12.24
Location: New York City
What are the chances of you and your partner planning to propose on the same day? Statistically, not very likely. But every so often – if by chance, fate, or the mysterious forces that pull two people toward one another – two perfectly considered plans align in a way that feels almost too poetic to be real. Such was the case for model Aleyna Fitzgerald and perfumer Zoë Takala.
“We were on the beach at sunset in Turkey early last year,” Fitzgerald recalled. The moment, bathed in golden light, held no particular weight at first. No premeditated grandeur, no set plan. Just the two of them, existing in the quiet reverie of each other’s company. “I had bought a ring for Zoë about six months earlier. It wasn’t about waiting for the perfect moment – they all felt pretty perfect to me. It was simply about remembering to ask.”
“I was wearing the ring and about to take it off to give to her when she turned around at the same time and said, ‘Hey, would you be my wife?’ She saw the ring in my hand and we both laughed. That’s how we got engaged.”
It wasn’t about creating a grand spectacle, nor orchestrating an over-the-top moment. It was unguarded and honest. The kind of love that doesn’t need an audience to feel profound.
The couple, who now call New York City home, met nearly six years ago. But their introduction was less a matter of chance than a slow convergence of paths that had already been interwoven for years. They both hailed from Australia, sharing countless mutual friends and yet, for the longest time, remaining just outside each other’s orbit. Like many of the best love stories, it wasn’t an immediate lightning bolt moment but rather a quiet, undeniable shift.
“We were close friends for years before we realised we wanted to be together,” they explain. “We don’t have an exact anniversary date, but it’s been about three years since we made it official.” A relationship that is as much about deep companionship as it is about romance – a bond that found its foundation long before they put a label on it.
When it came time to plan their wedding, the logistics of distance complicated things in the way they so often do for couples living abroad. Planning a wedding is an undertaking in itself, but even more so when family and friends are scattered across continents. Is it easier to plan a wedding in a city you no longer live in, or invite your loved ones to join you overseas?
“After (trying) to plan a wedding in Australia for the coming years, we decided it would be nice to make part of the process an intimate moment just for us. The day had no significance; it was just whatever last-minute booking we could get in,” Fitzgerald shared.
And so, on the morning of 4 December 2024, at exactly 9:30am, they found themselves in a downtown Manhattan courthouse.
The beauty of their wedding day lay in its lack of expectation. There was no meticulous planning, no elaborate structure – just the two of them choosing each other in a way that felt natural and instinctive.
“Aleyna, who is notoriously punctual, ran late and pulled the most beautiful bouquet together as we ran out the front door,” Takala laughs.
It was a scene that felt cinematic in its spontaneity. The Manhattan courthouse, steeped in its own kind of historical charm, provided the perfect backdrop for a day that was understated yet deeply meaningful. The grand U-shaped green couch that anchored the mid-century ceremony room became, in that moment, the only stage they needed.
With only Fitzgerald’s sister and their witness by their side, they exchanged vows in a ceremony that was exactly as it was meant to be – effortless, elegant, and entirely theirs.
“It was understated, relaxed, and beautiful.”
As the couple stepped out onto the city streets, their small circle of friends gathered to celebrate.
“A handful of friends joined us, all coincidentally wearing vintage fur and oversized sunglasses, which felt very NYC. We then stopped by The Odeon, an old-school institution, for brunch.”
The day unfolded in the kind of way that can’t be orchestrated, only lived. Fitzgerald and Takala themselves were the perfect vision of this old-world charm, embodying a balance of nostalgia and contemporary cool in their wedding-day looks.
Fitzgerald wore a knee-length, off-white vintage Prada dress with a signature drop waist – minimal, refined. She layered it with a black Valentino tuxedo jacket, the kind of structured yet nonchalantly draped piece that felt both ceremonial and effortless. Takala opted for a vintage Comme des Garçons suit paired with patent Saint Laurent derbies. The sub-zero temperature was hardly a deterrent.
“We both froze and powered through it for the photos.”
The details, as always, made the moment. The choice to incorporate elements that felt deeply personal – things that spoke to their shared lives rather than to tradition – made all the difference.
“We added a personal touch by combining two of our favourite things: flowers and fragrance. Aleyna, a florist, created a beautiful bouquet and pinned one stem to my pocket. We also wore Sala, a perfume my company, Hoax Parfum, created for Tsu Lange Yor. It smells of an ultra-green flower shop – very befitting.”
Looking back, Fitzgerald and Takala wouldn’t have had it any other way. Their wedding was not about grandeur or spectacle, nor was it about ticking off a checklist of traditions. It was about them. The love that had grown in the quiet moments, in the spaces between friendship and something more, in the deep knowing that no matter where life took them, they would choose each other – every day, in every city, in every season.
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