Date: 09/09/2025
Location: Lake Como
On a day that began with a film press interview and ended with a ring slipped onto her finger, author and contemporary historian Ainslie Harvey folded two milestones into one. By nightfall, she would be replaying footage from her conversation with Paul Mescal from behind half-covered hands while lying in bed next to her fiancé – the edges of a private dinner still clinging to the evening.
The couple would later trade ceremony for escape, choosing a four-week European elopement that led them to Passalacqua on Lake Como – where vows were written between swims, Hugo Spritzes and open windows humming with Italian pop.
“I interviewed Paul Mescal in the morning, had the best vanilla slice of my life for lunch and ended the night engaged.”
I was a nervous wreck the whole day for a few very good reasons. I was packing for a three-day trip – just long enough you need more than pyjamas but not long enough to need a big suitcase – and I was certain I was getting engaged.
Jayden had taken a day off work and surprised me with a long weekend at Osbourne House in Bowral. I was 99.95 per cent sure he was going to propose, and 100 per cent sure he wouldn’t have the patience to wait until the end of the weekend.
Then there was the other small detail – I was doing my first celebrity interview. With Paul Mescal. I was desperate and thrilled to be involved in the press for Gladiator II… until I saw the date. Friday. The same day we were leaving town.
Jayden calmed me down, drove me to the interview and promised we could head off straight afterwards. I was so nervous that mid-interview I blurted out that I thought I was getting engaged. We ended up gossiping about it, before I realised the footage would be recorded – meaning I couldn’t show Jayden until after he proposed.
Luckily, he asked me that night. The first thing I said after ‘yes’ was, ‘I’ve been lying to you – I have the interview footage, but I told Paul I couldn’t show you.’
We ran back to our room after an incredible private dinner and watched it with our fingers half-covering our eyes, unsure if it would be any good. We ended in hysterics knowing that day would always be about me, him… and Paul Mescal.
“We wanted to elope – and had booked a four-week, European honeymoon months before we even got engaged.”
Neither of us had the capacity to plan a big wedding and valued a long holiday instead. It sounded like bliss. Paris, Rome and Vienna felt too formal. Passalacqua felt loved, cared for and familial – somewhere history is made personal, and somewhere we wanted to add our own. Celebrating here, we felt like we were a part of something bigger.
“We exchanged vows under the oak tree, wandered the grounds for photos, stopped for cake and cocktails, zipped around the lake at golden hour and even cruised past George Clooney’s place to see if he was home for aperitivos – he wasn’t.”
It was the best day of our lives, precisely because we did exactly what we wanted.
We woke mid-morning, went for coffee and the most divine buffet breakfast known to man, played tennis as the moody sky cleared to bright blue, went for a swim and poolside coffee, then headed back to our lakeside villa to get ready.
We ordered Hugo Spritz’s to the room, wrote our vows and laughed to Italian classics playing in the background. I wanted something simple and fresh, so I did my own hair and makeup – a slicked-back bun and my everyday Charlotte Tilbury look. To stay focused, I had a documentary about the Tudors playing in the background.
Jayden headed to our lakeside oak tree with our officiant Donatella, who emailed us a photo insisting she was 70 – even though she looked about 60. She was right.
I made a three-minute FaceTime call to my best friend in Sydney – it was 3am, but she picked up – then walked out to Birdy’s Quietly Yours on the most beautiful afternoon. Sunny, with a soft lakeside breeze.
“I wanted something simple, comfortable and durable – a dress I could wear again.”
I wore a Róhe gown I discovered on TikTok, found at a small boutique called Lesser Store. I told Jayden, ‘You’ll know when you see it – it’s very me.’
It was the first thing he said under the oak tree: ‘You’re right. It’s absolutely you.’
I even wore the same shoes as Charli XCX – which felt hot.
“My best friend surprised us with the most thoughtful gift. She had our family and friends write letters, bound them into a book with photos, and told us to open it on our wedding morning.”
We caved the day before – thank God – and cried for hours. Definitely not the vibe for wedding-day eyes.
I also wanted to incorporate a piece of my own history – so I wore my Mum’s vintage earrings.
“We had to ask a black-tie restaurant for French fries.”
I had the best lobster pasta of my life, followed by espresso martinis with coconut cake at the bar.
As avid fries lovers, it wouldn’t be our perfect day without them – so we asked the fine-dining restaurant to make some. They delivered them incognito in a copper pot.
Experience the Sublime issue in its entirety this March, available on newsstands from Monday 9 March 2026, and through our online shop. Find a stockist near you.
Stay inspired, follow us.
