Raquel + Charlie

Raquel and Charlie exude a zest for life and a powerful love shared between them both.

This being a modern romance, our two lovers were struck down and matched by OkCupid. It wasn’t long until Charlie boldly asked Raquel to meet him for a breakfast date at the cafe that he worked at. A very brave move that paid off big time!

Charlie had already thought that this chick is too cool for school, and in comes Raquel looking drop dead gorgeous. She walked in with this sultry and power swagger that just took his breath away. When Raquel met Charlie she instantly thought that he was super cute and fell for his bright green eyes that would sparkle every time he talked about something that he was passionate about, which happens a lot!

Their first date left Charlie’s eyes sparkling for days after and they were pretty much inseparable from then on. No holding back and not afraid to invite each other into their lives. They loved spending nights talking until 5am, about life, the universe and everything in between. They felt an instant comfort in each other’s company where they could be brave and vulnerable with each other and trust that the other will love them. They both said that they felt ‘met’, and had found their equal, in an almost fairytale kind of way.

On their 1st anniversary our bold and beautiful lovers celebrated with a magical day in the hills. They had a delicious breakfast, followed by a drive up to the Alfred Nicholas gardens where they had a stunning couple’s portrait shoot by Tom McEvoy. They then took a stroll down to the lake where Charlie asked Raquel to marry him.

A year later Raquel and Charlie gathered their loved ones within the lush grounds of Fitzroy gardens to witness them coming together in marriage. Love is belonging and a knowing, and they have found in each other a place to call home.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Engagement Photography: Tom McEvoy
Wedding Photography: Andrew Babarczy

Doug + Alice

A super chill Christmas Eve surprise wedding special!

The wonderful Doug and Alice better known as babytje and honeychunks met almost a decade ago on sunny Rainbow beach. Alice was travelling around Australia with a friend, she never knew that a chance encounter with a bunch of Aussie boys at a beach in Queensland would lead to her meeting the man of her dreams. Their saucy summer holiday romance led Doug to fly Alice down to visit him in Melbourne and the rest is history.

Fast forward to present day our summer lovers now have two beautiful children together, and about to move into their new home sweet home. So they thought they’d take this opportunity to host a special Christmas Eve house warming soiree and surprise their guests with them finally getting hitched in their backyard by the family pool.

So on a balmy Aussie Christmas eve Alice and Doug’s guests gathered around the pool for a very special presentation. The couple’s best friends were asked to come forward to assist in the upcoming event at which point we revealed that everyone is about to witness Doug and Alice get hitched! Our radiant bride Alice then emerged to join Doug to declare their love to each other in front of their nearest and dearest. Our guests soaked up the ceremony in laid back merriment with the couple’s children viewing the whole exchange from the comfort of the pool. Their mischievous son Miles managed to give his folks a cheeky splash during their vows, which added to the fun and casual vibe of the ceremony. This family sure knows how to go with the flow and to always enjoy the good times together.

Soman + Ingrid

“Celebrant Jam brought a unique and positive energy to our special day. She made things fun and enjoyable and made us feel at ease. We really felt like Jam cared about helping us craft the day just as we wanted it to be. Jam also provided us with different ways of doing things so we could make all our friends and family feel a part of our ceremony - and it was this creativity that made the difference.”

‘Twas a few days before Christmas that I had the honour to marry these two international expat aid workers back on home soil.

I first received the call whilst in the Coles deli section on a lazy Sunday arvo in April.
‘Hi is this Celebrant Jam? This may be a little out of the blue, I’m Soman calling from Jordan and I got your contact from an acquaintance we met in Beirut. We are looking to get married in Melbourne at the end of the year.’
I knew immediately that this one is going to be pretty special.

Through the magic of Skype I had gotten to know Soman and Ingrid and their plans to have an intimate wedding ceremony with their close family and friends in Melbourne at the end of the year before embarking on an epic Italian ‘la dolce vita’ wedding gathering the following year. So for their Melbourne do they had put together a delicious lunch at the gorgeous French Saloon.

At our first video meeting we spoke about what Soman and Ingrid had in mind for their ceremony. They wanted something to possibly involve their loved ones and was really into the idea of a little hands-on ring warming ritual. On the day Soman’s neice Arya did an amazing job taking care of the rings and escorting them around the room for our guests to hold them in their hands and pass on their love and blessings. A truely beautiful moment shared amongst all the people in the room.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Venue: French Saloon
Photographer: Elsa Campbell
Florist: The Road Stall

Tom + Cip

“Thank you Jam for your passion and energy! You were warm, relaxed yet proffessional and made the lead-up to our wedding such a breeze. We knew exactly what to expect on the day and you absolutely nailed the ceremony. Thank you for encapsulating our story and putting so much love into the entire process. We couldn't reccomend you highly enough!'“

A pair of high school sweethearts joining their hearts and hands in marriage in spectacular fashion!

These two love birds met and fell in love as sweet 16 year olds riding the daily train to neighbouring high schools. They grew up together and survived the transition from adolescence to adulthood as well as living at opposite ends of the country when Cip moved away for her studies. They stayed true to each other through it all and once reunited they built a wonderful life together surrounded by their loved ones.

Tom and Cip’s wedding day was the perfect occasion for them to bring together all of the things that they love and share it with all of the people that they love in an ultimate celebration of their life and love. Tom and Cip are all about sustainable living and supporting their local community. So they gathered everybody for their wedding ceremony at the rooftop gardens of their local North Fitzroy library, with the after party held at their favourite bar Atticus Finch. They had thoughtfully organised catering to be provided by Melbourne Farmers Markets and put together a set of metallic reusable straws in little canvas pouches as wedding party favours for their guests. You can see their unique little touches throughout the day from the hand drawn signs to the little love hearts carefully carved out from potatoes and stamped on the bonbonniere pouches.

On the day Tom and Cip had assembled a kick ass wedding squad of 7 charming individuals who have been there for them through their daily life. And on their big day their wedding posse was TURNT, with our lady bride’s mates rocking bold red jumpsuits by Melbourne’s Oats the label that perfectly matched the vibrant blooms styled by Honesty Flora.

Our beautiful bride and groom stole the show when they joined their hands at the ceremony, they looked into each other’s eyes and read out their vows declaring their feelings and reasons for loving one another.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Ceremony Venue: Bargoonga Nganjin, North Fitzroy Library
Photographer: Caroline Sada
Flowers: Honesty Flora
Food: Melbourne Farmers Markets
Music: Songbirds
Make up: Viv Roche Makeup
Hair: Steve Mazza & by.RELLA
Cake: Tuileries Cakery
Afterparty: Atticus Finch
DJ at afterparty: My Best Friend's Wedding DJs
Bride wears: Top from Japan and Skirt by Arnsdorf
Groom wears: Hugo Boss
Bride’s Mates wears: OATS the label
Groom’s Entourage wears: Jack London

Photography Caroline Sada

Drew + Addie

“Having Jam around on our day was best ever. And in the lead up too. Chilled out. Fun. Professional. 10/10”

These two mega babes have the most magnificent megawatt smiles that will shine through even torrential rain during the middle of their wedding ceremony!

I loved meeting Drew and Addie at their home and getting to know them around their kitchen bench. I also had the pleasure to work alongside their dear friend Jess to deliver their wedding ceremony together. We collaborated in bringing together a ceremony that had Drew and Addie’s story told through Jess who was there from the very beginning personally witnessing something special that developed and grew between our two lovers.

On the day of the main event the unpredictable October Melbourne weather forecast was all over the place. The ceremony set up at Butler Lane in Richmond had an indoor wet weather plan in place, however the brooding skies daringly held off all day and even gave us little glimmers of sunshine at times. We triumphantly began our ceremony with Addie making her radiant entrance accompanied by both her parents.

We were about half way through the ceremony right as Drew’s sister was making an emotional reading when the waterworks started. We felt little drops of rain fall upon the crowd and by the time we had gotten some umbrellas up the light drops have gained in strength and volume. I remember looking over to Addie and she decisively signalled for a move inside. It was then all hands on deck with the brilliant staff at the Butler Lane and all the wedding guests swiftly grabbing everything within reach and rushing it out of the sudden torrential downpour. Our awesomely talented photographer Anna Taylor was able to capture all the wonderful wet chaos where our beautiful bride Addie’s signature smile carried the move inside with such grace and spirit!

Once inside we excitedly gathered ourselves and regained our feet quickly to pick things back up from where we left off. The rest of the ceremony had just as much if not more heart as our guests huddled closer together around what has become a more intimate indoor ceremony. And once we finished the ceremony and signing of the legal documents the rain clouds miraculously parted to give us clear skies. Our guests spilled back outside to form a tunnel of love for our glowing newlyweds to joyfully walk out through.

It goes to show that all you really need is love! Through rain or shine, love will come out on top and there’s nothing that could get in the way of a good celebration of love.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant JAM
Venue: Butler Lane
Photographer: Anna Taylor
Bride’s Dress: Karen Willis Holmes
Hair: Candi Brown
Make up: Danni McDowell
Suit: Oscar Hunt Tailors

Photography Anna Taylor