Cafe queen Therese Moussa and her husband Ramzey Choker have bought a $10.4 million mansion in one of Sydney’s most posh suburbs.
But it seems the entrepreneurs behind the hugely successful The Grounds of Alexandria have no plans to settle into their new home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Instead, Ms Moussa, creative director and lead stylist for The Grounds and two other properties in the group, plans to put her design skills to use at Roslyn in Coogee, which was built in 1886.
“I fell in love with this house. It’s a gem that will be a fun project to bring to life, preserving all that beautiful heritage,” she said Domain.
The seven-bedroom house was originally built for wealthy timber merchant Charles Saxton during a building boom fueled by Australia’s gold rush.
Local councillor Vincent McCauley later bought it and divided the house into flats, but Basil Burak converted it back into one home in 1955 after paying £5,759 for it.
Mr Burak’s sons sold it in 2015 for $4 million to cardiologist Aiden O’Loughlin and his partner Ashleigh Skillecorn, who restored and renovated it.
Although they have purchased an impressive house on the hillside of the beachside neighborhood, Mrs. Moussa and Mr. Choker will not be living there.
Sydney cafe queen Therese Moussa and her husband Ramzey Choker (pictured) tied the knot in a lavish ceremony on January 1 — and now they’ve bought a mansion worth an estimated $10.4 million
Ms Moussa, creative director and lead stylist for The Grounds and two other properties in the group, plans to apply her design skills to Roslyn (pictured) in Coogee, which was built in 1886
Instead, family members are given free rein to the Coogee mansion, while the owners prefer to stay 8km away in Elizabeth Bay, where they rent the glamorous Kincoppal building. Former residents include the late rocker David Bowie.
Ms Moussa and Mr Choker tied the knot at midnight as 2023 became 2024, in front of 180 guests in Sydney.
She wore three different dresses, including a red one, to the glittering event that began at Sydney’s State Theatre, where musicians and performers entertained guests as they strolled among hundreds of roses.
The attendees were then taken to a temporary circus tent that was further decorated with flowers, crystal chandeliers, candles and decadent tables of food. Fireworks were set off to end the evening.
The couple gratefully utilized their years of experience styling and planning events at The Grounds to create a dream wedding that the bride says was worth every sleepless night.
Ms Moussa told Daily Mail Australia she loved using her expertise to plan her perfect wedding, exactly the way and in the style she wanted.
‘Everything I would love to do in an event, I could do. You feel like you are on cloud nine, it is such a special, special day.
‘It was fun to organise, especially because it was our own. It was so sweet, all our family and friends were over the moon.
‘I still get messages every year asking, “Take me back!” and if I can throw a wedding.’
The wedding took place in the late afternoon of December 31 at the State Theatre, a historic building she had always been in love with.
“It has all the elements of a fairy tale you could imagine, with architecture that is out of this world,” she said.
“The first question I asked when I inquired was, ‘Can I change the lettering on the sign out front?’ Then it was a done deal for me.”
“The first question I asked when I inquired was, ‘Can I change the lettering on the sign (in the photo) on the front?’ Then it was a done deal for me.”
Ms Moussa (pictured) wore three different dresses, including a red gown, to the glitzy event which began at Sydney’s State Theatre
Flowers were strewn across the foyer steps, a harpist played dreamy melodies and ribbon dancers danced through the space as guests filed in and were treated to special ‘At the Stroke of Midnight’ popcorn boxes to munch on during the show.
Therese walked down the aisle in the first dress of the evening, designed by Serbian brand Vlora&Kaltrina. She said the dress was inspired by the art deco glamorous theatre style and a medieval goddess.
Because the couple wanted to officially marry at midnight, a “mock ceremony” was held on the theater stage, with an explosion of red roses. Therese and Ramzey’s two best friends were the bridesmaids, and a ringmaster entertained and directed the audience.
‘We needed that element because we wanted to shock the audience by telling them we weren’t getting married yet.
“The ringmaster did the best job of telling a fairy tale. It was quite magical and funny too,” she said.
At the end of the ‘ceremony’, the circus leader told the guests that they were boarding a bus to another mysterious location, while Therese would change into her first outfit of the evening.
She wore an “ultimate Jessica Rabbit dress,” custom designed by Nikita Sernack, a friend of hers.
The ruby red dress was decorated with sequins and feathers and had matching gloves.
The bride and groom then travelled in a red Mustang to the next destination, where the guests were already enjoying snacks. There the party started in a pop-up spiegeltent, which she had managed to arrange with all her might.
Ms Moussa (pictured with Mr Choker) told Daily Mail Australia she loved using her expertise to plan her perfect wedding in the way and style she wanted.
The wedding began in the late afternoon of December 31 at the State Theatre, a historic building that Mrs. Moussa (pictured) had always been in love with.
‘It’s an old German circus tent. It’s something Ramz and I have loved for years.
“We’ve seen so many amazing shows in the Spiegeltents and every time I’ve thought, ‘I’m obsessed with this space, I want to decorate it exactly the way my inner creative would want it to be,’” she said.
She spent months looking for a suitable location for the tent, as most parks in Sydney were fully booked for the New Year’s Day fireworks.
She put out a call to over 50 different locations before getting the green light to put it outside the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park.