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. 92
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.’
