Brittany Higgins was spotted wearing pink silk pajamas with a couture dress worth up to $30,000 draped over her arm on the morning of her wedding.
The former Liberal staffer will marry her long-term boyfriend David Sharaz later today in a lavish ceremony at The Valley Estate in the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Valley.
Saturday morning saw her say goodbye to her husband-to-be at their $260-a-night hotel before preparing for the ceremony with members of her bridal party, including her maid of honor Emma Webster.
The former Liberal staffer smiled as she left with a garment bag with the name of South Australian label Paolo Sebastian printed on the front.
The brand has designed outfits for Katy Perry and Kris Jenner, among others.
Daily Mail Australia understands the couple’s wedding invitation referred to ‘The Sharazs’, but it is unclear whether Ms Higgins will formally change her surname.
The groom did not respond to questions Friday.
Brittany Higgins (pictured) marries David Sharaz on Saturday afternoon at an estate in the Gold Coast hinterland
Brittany Higgins is pictured with David Sharaz after he popped the question in December 2022
“Join us in making unforgettable memories,” the invitation read. ‘Come for the love, stay for the party.’
Mrs. Higgins and her fiancé do has worked with Labor senators, former prime ministers and TV personalities since being thrust into the spotlight in 2021, but it is unclear whether the wedding will be a star-studded affair.
Lisa Wilkinson didn’t make the guest list and rumors are swirling that Grace Tame didn’t receive an invite either.
On Wednesday, Wilkinson seemed undeterred as she walked through Mosman on Sydney’s lower north shore to get a coffee and do some shopping in a $9,000 casual outfit – including $1,400 Dior sandals.
The TV presenter and Ms Higgins have been close friends since the former employee revealed her rape allegations in an interview with Wilkinson on Network Ten program The Project in February 2021.
After Ms Higgins gave evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case in December, Wilkinson approached her in the courtroom and gave her a big hug.
Brittany Higgins left for her wedding on Saturday morning with a Paolo Sebastian dress draped over her arm. In the photo: actor Poppy Delevingne, wearing a Paolo Sebastian dress
Lisa Wilkinson and Brittany Higgins (pictured together) have been close since 2021, but the TV presenter has not scored a wedding invite
Saturday morning around 6:30 am Mr Sharaz said – uput off by the gray skies and threatening rain circling the Currumbin Valley, he took to Instagram to reveal his first ever text interaction with his future wife in 2020.
Commenting on a photo of Ms Higgins near the famous ‘budget tree’ in the courtyard of Parliament House in Canberra, where she worked as a Liberal staffer, he wrote: ‘I love this photo. But especially the tree.’
Ms Higgins replied with an emoji on her face: ‘Rude but totally justified hahah.’
He wrote: ‘To be honest. I went to show a friend what you looked like and accidentally sent it to you. Good night.’
She said, ‘Hahahahah, that’s great.’
In the caption of the post, Mr Sharaz wrote: ‘Accidentally sent a girl I had a crush on… a photo of herself.’
‘A few years later and we’re getting married! Rom-coms exist.’
The wedding venue is set in nine hectares of landscaped gardens and is the ‘epitome of luxury’ according to The Valley Estate website.
The couple will exchange vows at The Valley Estate in Currumbin Valley (pictured)
The location is an old dairy factory located in the hinterland of the Gold Coast (photo)
“A bespoke, one-off space designed to inspire celebration and reflection with loved ones,” the site says.
It follows a tumultuous few years for the couple, after they were thrust into the spotlight when Ms Higgins went public with her rape allegations.
She said Lehrmann raped her at Parliament House in 2019 when they were both junior political staffers.
He had denied it, but in April a Federal Court judge ruled, on a balance of probabilities, that Ms Higgins had been raped.
On Friday, a day before Ms. Higgins ties the knot with Mr. Sharaz, Lehrmann filed an appeal to overturn the verdict.
In December last year, the couple bought a castle in the south of France with the $2.4 million she received from the Commonwealth in compensation for the way her rape allegations were handled.
It is believed they moved permanently to escape their celebrity status in Australia.
After the ruling in April, Ms Higgins released a statement on Instagram saying she felt vindicated: “I was raped. No amount of judgment could ever change this truth.”
“I lived with the shame, humiliation and fear of what telling my story would mean for my life and career, like so many other victims.”