Inside the romantic farm wedding of Highrack Studios designer, Tessa McGregor

“The theme was ’80s Vegas wedding/cowboys and gals… messy and romantic.”

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After eloping in February of 2022, Melbourne couple Tessa and Magnus waited over a year before throwing their ’80s Vegas-inspired wedding celebration. As the owner, designer and director of the label Highrack Studios, Tessa’s unconventional bridal look made perfect sense – an OTT vintage gown, hemmed as short as possible. Guests wore cowboy boots, indulged in all-white wedding cake and danced the night away. Below, Tessa gives us an intimate glimpse into the day.

How did you meet your partner, and how did the proposal happen?

Magnus and I met when we were in our early twenties. We were good friends and had a fling and then lost touch for a few years… we ended up catching up through old friends again and making out at a bar around 2017, and now we’re here!

Magnus came home from work one day in early 2020 and texted me to ask me to meet him out the front. He had quit his job [which] he hated that day, was barefoot and filthy… he got down on one knee on the nature strip with a huge bouquet of sunflowers and red roses and asked me. He melted down his father’s ring that he wore every day to make two, it was a total surprise and very relaxed… very us!

What venue did you choose for your wedding, and why?

We actually eloped in 2022 on the second of February. We just had our sister and brother witness and left straight from the city to go on a road trip to South Australia. It was perfect. We then decided to have a big party at my mum’s farm a year later to celebrate with friends and fam – we chose the location because it’s so beautiful, so special to us, our friends could all camp and we could do whatever we wanted!

How many guests did you have?

About 60 of our friends and family came.

Where was your outfit from, and what was the process of sourcing it like?

I wanted to treat the event like a bit of a costume party, the theme was ’80s Vegas wedding/cowboys and gals… messy and romantic. I didn’t feel too much like a bride but I wanted to dress up as one, if that makes sense?

I ended up scouring the internet for a vintage dress (I didn’t want anything new) and finding a Victorian/’80s monster of a dress on Etsy. It was just the right amount of over-the-top, costumey and fun. I then of course hemmed it as short as I possibly could.

My shoes are Alaia, I didn’t look for those… they found me. I had a plain white vintage pair of pumps already by YSL that I bought from The RealReal, but as soon as I saw the Alaias, I knew they were it! I bought them on the spot.

What about your husband’s outfit?

Magnus and I were doing shots and watching ’80s film clips on Channel V [when] Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’ came on… I saw the bleached hair and much to my surprise, managed to convince him to dye his! He ended up loving it… Madison did it, duh! I found Magnus’ pants at the op shop and his shirt at a vintage store, he somehow ended up being decked out in vintage Target, lol.

In terms of beauty, tell us about the look you went for on the day, and what your inspiration for it was. Did you do your own hair/makeup or hire someone?

My inspo was ’90s Pam Anderson. I wore very minimal makeup that I did myself, and I did the hair too with a little help from my girlfriends – none of us knew what we were doing but it turned out okay!

What did you do to celebrate after the wedding?

We didn’t have a traditional ceremony, just a party! Although we did cut the cake, thanks to my dad and his machete. That was probably the only wedding-y thing. We had our friends DJ and some lighting/lasers professionally set up… [we] had a rave in my mum’s shed and danced the night away.