Elspeth Hussey + Alastair Dillon

Seventeen years after sharing a quick kiss in a Melbourne pub, 7NEWS reporter and presenter Elspeth Hussey and husband Alastair Dillon said ‘I do’ in a stunning summer wedding. A little rain couldn’t stop this magical day from unfolding…

“We’ve known each other for close to 20 years and shared a fleeting kiss at a pub in 2007,” says Elspeth Hussey on meeting the love of her life, and now husband, Alastair Dillon. “We rekindled during COIVD when Al was stuck in lockdown in Sydney. I managed to convince him to move home to Adelaide and the rest is history…”

Married on January 6 in North Adelaide, the couple braced for wild weather as rain poured the morning of their wedding. “The weather was a real roller coaster in the week leading up to the wedding,” Elspeth recalls. “We had to order an emergency marquee 48 hours before. It poured all morning, but the second we left the church, it was sunny and hot!

“It was a dream day and went way too quickly. We wish we could do it one more time.”

Here, Elspeth welcomes us behind the scenes on her and Alastair’s special day.

Wedding Date: 6.01.2024

The Theme: We got engaged in Europe in May, so we wanted the wedding to feel like a Tuscan summer: generous, simple, shared food, Aperol spritzes and espresso martinis!

The Dress: I saw a picture of a dress in an Italian Vogue 15 years ago and I’ve never looked at another dress. Ann Christou from Rapsimo knew the design and the Mikado fabric so we created our version of it. It had a classic boat neck, v-back and single loop bow with three ‘petals’ that became the train.

Shoes: Christian Louboutin white pumps for the ceremony and Jimmy Choo jewelled platforms for the reception party.

Earrings: Pearl drops from Sophie Bille Brahe.

The Location: We were married at St Mary’s Catholic Church on Stanley Street, North Adelaide. The reception was on the Armoury Lawns at the SA Museum.

The Food: We enlisted Callum Hann of MasterChef fame. There aren’t enough words to describe how incredible the food was. Negroni oysters, crumbed chicken sandos, anchovy soldiers, crudo, pasta, lamb, fries and a rockmelon and mozzarella salad. He nailed the party food brief.

Cake: Lyons Den Cakes [created] an Italian Millefoglie with hundreds of raspberries, constructed onsite as guests were arriving, which was pretty spectacular.

The Highlight: The speeches. We cried and laughed a lot... particularly when Al’s best men refashioned the bar as a news desk and [they] gave their speech as newsreaders. They recruited Rosanna Mangiarelli as a roving reporter to interview guests. It was hilarious.

First dance: Etta James At Last and Bee Gees Stayin' Alive.

Photography: Gretl Watson-Blazewicz. She is a ray of sunshine and all of our guests loved her. We even got her back to take photos at our recovery party.

Wedding Car: We drove away in a Jaguar E-Type, just the two of us. We cracked a bottle of Champagne and had a quiet moment as we waited for the photographer to meet us at the Botanic Gardens. We then drove into our reception, beeping the horn, which was such a fun entrance.

Recovery Party: A very chilled afternoon playing croquet at the South Terrace Croquet Club with lots of kids and leftovers.