Dennis + Christine

“Jam was super helpful and friendly to work with from start to finish in the process of planning our wedding to the day of the wedding. The communication was fantastic and Jam was so flexible and understanding, she was there to guide us through the cancellation of our first date due to covid and made the whole process for our second date easy and reassuring. On the day of the wedding, the guests had nothing but good things to say about the ceremony and that was a huge credit to Jam. Thank you so much!”

LOVE WINS!!!

It was such a joy to see these two sweethearts get hitched. Not only did COVID19’s pandemic pandemonium ruin Den’s original idea of an epic Euro trip proposal in honour of their 5 year anniversary (they made up for it with staging a euro themed dinner in their living room), it also meant that they had to postpone their original wedding date due to Lockdown 4 or was it Lockdown 5… Anyhow when I finally got to get them hitched they ended up being my 50th wedding couple and I couldn’t be more happier to share that milestone than with these two lovers!

Christine and Den’s paths crossed at Christine’s good friend Isabella’s birthday bash. Den’s good friend Jono was quite keen on Isobella and convinced Den to come along to the party with him, with the promise of cool chicks and a free ride there. Den thought ‘Fuck it! Why not!’ It was a good call!

When Den got to the party he was greeted with Jello-shots and met some of Isabella’s friends, one of them being Christine. Den recalls instantly digging Christine’s style and at one point in the night Christine jumped onto the couch with her buddy Sarah to dance to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it off”. Jono immediately turned to Den and said ‘That’s a Dennis Girl’. For Dennis had a very specific type, an alternative looking girl that usually wears clothes from Princess Highway.

Luck would have it that Jono and Isabella became a thing and Den would often see Isabella and ask her ‘How’s that friend of yours Christine doing?’. Isabella then passed on the message with the added good word that Den is really funny and a great driver. Armed with that knowledge Christine added Den on the book of faces and slid into his DM. They had some cute chats and went on their first coffee date. Den was so nervous at their first date that he walked out of the cafe and forgot to pay. He thought to himself ‘Yep, that pretty much confirms that.’ He has found his Dennis Girl.

For their wedding ceremony, Den and Christine brought their loved ones together for a wonderfully delicious day at the Post Office Hotel in Coburg. Christine’s cousin Nicola performed a couple of songs throughout their ceremony and they had also invited their good friend Katie to come up and speak. Christine made her spectacular entrance to the ceremony in a standout vintage ride accompanied by her ultimate love squad. And when Den finally saw Christine walk up with her parents he was blown away at how stunning she looked in that magnificent Vampire’s Wife red dress. Our lovers were finally able to join their hearts and hands in marriage supported by their nearest and dearest. I love their post ceremony walk down Coburg laneways with their love squad and their first dance as a married couple at a carpark rooftop.

You two rock!!!

Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Venue: Post Office Hotel
Photography: Roam and Wander
Dress: Vampire’s Wife
HMU: Make Up by Inez
Suit: Topman
Rings: Happy Endings Co

Annabel + Kasper

“Jam was fantastic, just the right amount of preparation yet she embodied such a relaxed and natural feel which suited us so well as a couple. We felt absolute trust that the whole process would be smooth and most importantly enjoyable which Jam absolutely delivered on. Would highly recommend Jam to a couple looking for someone to marry them that feels like a guest and friend.”

Annabel and Kasper are a fairytale tinder dream date come true!

As modern day lovers they swiped right over each other’s online profiles and took their chat across platforms onto the Insta. Annabel was impressed by Kasper and thought he was pretty cool so she made the next bold move and asked Kasper out on a date! Our girl decided to be brave, take a chance and for the first time ask someone that she likes out.

Kasper rocked up to their first date at the Builder’s Arms in Fitzroy dressed very low key in overalls and covered in dirt from a day of upholstering. Annabel saw through his uncharacteristically rough appearance and still thought that he was very handsome, with a great sense of humour and also an attentive listener. At the end of the night Kasper offered Annabel a ride home in his mum’s Subaru, not his usual ride of choice which is a 1965 Valiant AP6, nevertheless he still scored a goodnight pash at the end of their date. And for their second date of pasta at Pellegrini’s, Kasper made sure he had enough time to clean up and was dressed in his usual selvedge denim, vintage watch, cardigan, signature slicked do and not a hair out of place.

They fell in love during their early morning strolls to the Vic market getting boreks. And when they decided that they wanted to get hitched Kasper proposed to Annabel on one of their days in the city and they celebrated with getting pasta back at their spot at Pellegrini’s.

For Annabel and Kasper’s wedding day it was all hands on deck as they did things their own way. Their laid back ceremony and wedding celebrations were held within Kasper’s parents’ lush back garden down in Aireys Inlet. Our lovers were driven in by their good mate in a vintage 1957 Chrysler Royal and the day was captured by their friend Alex. They even had a delicious home made wedding cake baked by Kasper’s mum Vicki. It was so wonderful to see everyone come together to celebrate the union of these two beautiful lovers.

Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Photography/Videography: Alex Cleland
Car: 1957 Chrysler Royal
Dress: Simone Rocha
Suit: Baumler Menswear

Meg + Taylor

Meg and Taylor are the ultimate couple that knows how to roll with them punches.

Because sometimes the best laid plans just don’t go to… plan!

For their engagement Taylor had thought to take Meg and their beloved doggo Mack on a leisurely walk around Lake Elizabeth within the lush Otway ranges and pop the question at one of the scenic look out spots.

But come the day the weather gods were not on Taylor’s side and they endured the trek under a constant drizzle and when they got to this picturesque clearing they were greeted by a lady doing yoga in the rain. Taylor then somehow encouraged the already drenched-to-the-bone Meg to press on and they managed to climb another hill before he stopped to ask Meg the question, at which point Meg simply yelled out YES! and burst out laughing realising that Taylor had probably planned to say something really lovely back at the spot where that lady was doing the rain yoga.

Taylor made up for the wet and cold day by throwing a mini surprise engagement party for them that evening. He had secretly invited all their wedding squad over to celebrate their engagement news!

So for their wedding day they had booked a fellow celebrant buddy of mine Annie from down the geelong surf coast way. But about a week out from their big day Annie’s daughter comes down with COVID, which is every wedding vendor’s worst nightmare right now, get taken down by COVID and having to find a ceremony replacement. Luckily a lot of us have been bracing for this moment and have some fellow buddies to reach out to for this very real modern day conundrum. So when I got the call from Annie I was ready to go and pick the ball back up to help Taylor and Meg get hitched as planned!

Meg and Taylor were very cool and calm about the sudden change of plans. We were able to arrange a video chat to sort out the legal and logistical plan of attack for the day and I was able to quickly knock out a revised ceremony script and shoot the google doc direct to them to ensure that we are all on the same page.

For Meg and Taylor’s big day they wanted to get ready separately and see each other looking at their finest for the first time at the ceremony. So I had organised to meet Taylor and Meg separately before the ceremony in order to get their Notice of No Legal Impediment to Marriage form signed and to check off their photo IDs. Lucky for them that their wedding venue The Warehouse in geelong has a set of private loft apartments onsite for wedding couples to get ready. I was able to pop over to meet Meg as soon as I got in and get the paperwork done and out of the way. I then of course gushed at how amazing she looked and told her I’d see her out there! Taylor and his boys arrived ahead of their guests and I was able to grab him and get the last of the legal marriage paperwork in order before everyone else starts to come through.

Once all the guests have arrived and settled we waited for the cue to draw the blinds on the side of the venue so that Meg can make her way down to the front, for her grand entrance reveal. And when The Warehouse finally opened up it’s curtains for the final time, all eyes were drawn to see Meg emerge looking absolutely radiant as she walks down accompanied by her proud parents Joanne and Craig. There were tears of joy in Joanne and Craig’s eyes as they greeted Taylor and took their seats. Our lovers took their positions and were simply beaming as they stood together throughout the ceremony, holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes.

After their ceremony Meg and Taylor took their love squad for a fun ‘Just Married’ champagne toast shoot around the colourful Geelong backstreets, accompanied by their photographer Ryal and videographer Hamish. They then re-emerged back at The Warehouse and partied with their loved ones well into the night.

Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Venue: The Warehouse Geelong
Photography: Ryal Sormaz
Videography: La Este Film

Sophie + Tom

“Jam was so wonderful to work with. She made every effort to ensure our day was perfect, and we would recommend her time and time again. She's dedicated to her work, and goes above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and special. Thank you, Jam, for everything. You're a total rockstar.”

Sophie and Tom’s wedding day was super dreamy!

Tom and Sophie met on the other side of the world as high school kids in the UK trying to figure out what they’d do next. Tom was the cool guy on campus who helped Soph with her last minute change of mind in applying to study the arts. Through that process they hit it off and fell in love, but then went their separate ways to pursue their studies. They worked hard maintaining a long distance love and it paid off as they were genuinely supportive of one another and fell more in love with each other every time they came back together. They had eventually decided to come together and make the bold move of establishing a home for themselves ‘down under’ in colourful Melbourne.

Now these two beautiful lovers almost gave the whole ‘getting married’ thang a miss, what with all the COVID19 lockdowns and border closures over the last couple of years throwing all their wonderful plans right out of the window. This was their 3rd attempt at putting together their wedding celebration and by this stage they’ve adopted a super chill and laid back approach to the day. And their day couldn’t have worked out more perfectly, with travel restrictions lifting just in time for Tom’s brothers to fly down from UK and be a part of the day.

At our first meeting Tom and Soph were weeks away from welcoming their baby girl Sunday. At our final meeting right before the wedding, I paid them a home visit and darling little Sunday napped through it all. And so it was such a treat to finally meet the lovely Sunday on her parent’s wedding day. She was the most delightful babe lovingly cradled by her grandparents throughout the ceremony.

Sophie and Tom’s wedding day took place at the picturesque Butterland in Newstead. A simply stunning space owned by renowned floral designer Katie Marx and her furniture maker husband Greg Hutton. On the day Tom and Sophie’s ceremony took place outside at the bottom of the back garden steps with Katie’s signature seasonal sculptural floral arrangements framing our gorgeous couple.

Tom and Sophie’s ceremony had some beautiful personal touches. At one point within the ceremony we invited Tom’s mum Lou up to present a reading of Our Marriage by Kahlil Gibran. And as we stepped aside to complete the official marriage papers, Sophie had one of her family members Patrick Almanci perform a special song he wrote dedicated to baby girl Sunday.

Once the ceremony concluded Tom and Sophie were whisked away by the wonderful photographers from Lou Lou Memphis for some epic ‘Just Married’ shots around the lush grounds of Butterland. The hyper romantic shoot made this genetically blessed duo look like they walked straight out of pages from a magazine.

Our newlyweds then returned to join their guests for a delicious time within Butterland, celebrating their love into the night.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Venue: Butterland
Florist: Katie Marx
Photography: Lou Lou Memphis

Jack + Mathilda

“Jam is clearly a well organised and experienced professional. But more importantly she’s really fun, vivacious and allowed us to craft a low key but special day. Would highly recommend her!!”

This pair of globe trotting lovers always did thing their way and their wedding is no exception!

Jack and Mathilda met whilst working together at a bar in Sydney. Jack was the manager the night Mathilda did her trial and she had made a lasting impression on him. They then shared a summer of love together, working and partying side by side.

After declaring their love for one another and living together for a short stint, our young lovers would then go their seperate ways in pursuit of work and adventure. They’d come back together intermittently, reconnecting and building on their relationship. A few personal accidents and the world going under COVID meant that they were put to the test with caring for one another and spending time locked down in one place, it in turn made them stronger and more certain that they could not imagine life without the other.

It was whilst on their trip to Thailand that they received the good news that Mathilda can finally enter Australia as Jack’s partner. The next day as they were kayaking around the picturesque Phi Phi islands Jack asked Mathilda if she would marry him when they got to Australia. It was the perfect time for it, in fact they kicked themselves for not doing it earlier when they were locked down in Mathilda’s hometown in France. It would have made their adventure filled lives much easier, just to be able to simply be together and follow each other wherever the wind blows.

And so it was a beautiful Sunday morning in April, when these two easy going sweethearts joined their hands together in marriage in front of a small gathering of family and friends within the lush grounds of the Fitzroy Gardens. They had Jack’s brother Tom strumming the guitar throughout the ceremony and were savvy enough to have his other brother set up a virtual link to include Mathilda’s family and friends, tuning in from the other side of the world in France. The inmate ceremony was captured by photographer Peter Koelmeyer, who happened to have been the photographer at Jack’s mum and step dad’s wedding, a full circle moment.

Our newlyweds then set off to The Supper Club where more friends and family were waiting to celebrate their marriage. It would have been an epic day of celebration to forever commemorate your visit back to Melbourne.