Coffee queen Therese Moussa and her husband Ramzey Choker have purchased a $10.4 million mansion in one of Sydney’s most luxurious suburbs.
But it seems the business masterminds behind the hugely successful The Grounds of Alexandria have no intention of living in their new premises in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Instead, Ms Moussa, creative director and head stylist at The Grounds and two other properties in the group, plans to bring her design skills to 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 while maintaining all that beautiful legacy,” she said. Domain.
The seven-bedroom house was originally built for wealthy timber merchant Charles Saxton during a gold rush-fueled building boom in Australia.
Local councillor Vincent McCauley later bought it and subdivided the house into apartments, but Basil Burak converted it back into a single residence after paying £5,759 for it in 1955.
Burak’s children sold it in 2015 for $4 million to cardiologist Aiden O’Loughlin and his partner Ashleigh Skillecorn, who restored and renovated it.
Despite having purchased an imposing hillside home in a beach suburb, Ms. Moussa and Mr. Choker will not be living there.
Sydney coffee queen Therese Moussa and husband Ramzey Choker (pictured) tied the knot in a lavish ceremony on January 1 and have now purchased a mansion worth an estimated $10.4 million.
Ms Moussa, creative director and head stylist at The Grounds and two other properties in the group, plans to bring her design skills to Roslyn (pictured) in Coogee, which was built in 1886.
Instead, family members will be in control of the Coogee mansion, as the owners prefer to live 8km away in Elizabeth Bay, where they rent the glamorous Kincoppal building, whose former residents include the late rocker David Bowie.
Ms Moussa and Mr Choker said “I do” at midnight as 2023 turned to 2024 in front of 180 guests in Sydney.
She wore three different dresses, including a red gown, to the glitzy event which began at Sydney’s State Theatre, where musicians and performers kept guests entertained as they strolled among hundreds of roses.
Guests were then led into a pop-up circus tent that was decorated with even more flowers, crystal chandeliers, candles and decadent food tables, before being treated to a fireworks show to top off the night.
The couple drew on their years of experience designing 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.
“I was able to do everything I would love to do at an event. You feel like you’re on cloud nine, it’s a very, very special day.”
“It was so much fun to host, especially since it was ours. It was so sweet, all our family and friends were thrilled.
‘I still get messages saying “Take me back!” and asking if I can host a wedding every year.’
The wedding began in the late afternoon of December 31 at the State Theatre, a historic building she had always been in love with.
“It captures all the right elements of a fairy tale you can imagine, with otherworldly architecture,” he said.
‘The first question I asked when I inquired was, ‘Can I change the lettering on the marquee sign out front? ‘ So, the deal was sealed for me.’
‘The first question I asked when I inquired was ‘Can I change the lettering on the marquee sign (pictured) out front?’ So for me, the deal was closed.’
Ms Moussa (pictured) wore three different dresses, including a red gown, at the glitzy event which began at Sydney’s State Theatre.
Flowers spilled down the lobby stairs as a harpist played dreamy melodies and ribbon-makers danced throughout the space as guests entered and were treated to boxes of personalized ‘At the Stroke of Midnight’ popcorn to snack on during the show.
Therese walked down the aisle in the first dress of the evening designed by Serbian label Vlora&Kaltrina which she said was inspired by the glam art deco style of theatre and a medieval goddess.
As the couple wanted to officially tie the knot at midnight, they staged a “fake ceremony” on the theatre stage in front of an explosion of red roses with Therese and Ramzey’s two best friends as celebrants and a master of ceremonies entertaining and directing the crowd.
‘We needed that element because we were going to surprise the crowd by telling them we weren’t getting married yet.
“The emcee did a fantastic job telling a fairy tale story. It was very magical and fun too,” she said.
At the end of the “ceremony,” the group leader informed the guests that they would board a bus to go to another mysterious location while Therese had her first outfit change of the night.
She wore a custom-designed ‘ultimate Jessica Rabbit’ dress by Nikita Sernack, who is a friend of hers.
The ruby red dress was embellished with sequins and feathers and had matching gloves.
The couple then travelled in a red Mustang to the next destination, where guests were already eating canapés, to start the party inside a pop-up Spiegeltent that she fought tooth and nail to organise.
Ms Moussa (pictured with Mr Choker) told Daily Mail Australia she “loved” using her expertise to plan her perfect wedding exactly the way and in the style she wanted.
The wedding began late in the evening on December 31 at the State Theatre, a historic building that Ms Moussa (pictured) had always been in love with.
“It’s an old German circus tent. It’s something that Ramz and I have loved for years.
“We’ve seen a lot of cool shows at Spiegeltents and every time I thought, ‘I’m obsessed with this space, I would love to decorate it exactly how my inner creativity would want to decorate it,'” she said.
He spent months looking for a place that could house the tent, as most of Sydney’s parks were booked for New Year’s fireworks.
He put out an appeal to more than 50 different locations before being given the green light to place it outside the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park.