Sus + Luke

“Celebrant Jam was the perfect fit for our ceremony. She is the perfect amount of professional, yet also provides a unique calming and fun energy to the whole experience. Could not recommend higher! xx”

They say it takes a village to raise a child and in this case the village gathered around to lend a hand for Sus and Luke’s homegrown Bonnie Doon Wedstival. Luke’s lush and open family property in Bonnie Doon has always been our couple’s special little slice of paradise so naturally they wanted to bring everyone there to revel amongst the trees and see them enter into married life together.

For this unique occasion our couple embarked on an ambitious plan, enlisting the help of their dear friends and family in building a free standing structure on a secluded piece of their property overlooking picturesque Lake Bonnie Doon. And like most builds and things in life, they encountered some hiccups and delays. The wedding was postponed for a few months, but that did not dampen the occasion. 4 months on we came together to celebrate the life and love between Sus and Luke under their own personal hand built ‘love shack’.

Sus and Luke also brought other members of their ‘village’ together in manifesting their wedding day. They were fortunate to have wonderfully talented friends and family on hand to man the bar, cook up a delicious Spanish feast and also capturing the day on both film and video.

I had the pleasure of getting to know both Sus and her twin sister Bella through our time together undertaking a Master of Teaching a few years back. So we were truly honoured when my husband Malachi and I were asked to be a part of Sus and Luke’s wedding day. My husband Malachi, an arborist by trade, have just started down the path into creating floral arrangements and installations so it was the perfect opportunity for us to join forces and rock out on a wedding celebration together.

The looming rain clouds on Sus and Luke’s March wedding day meant that our guests were safely huddled within the cosy ‘love shack’ for the beautiful ceremony and delicious reception fest. The thumping tunes and warmth of the dancefloor and open fires lasted well into the next morning!

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Photographer: J.Quertier
Floral Installation: Arbor Florist
Make Up: Hair and beauty Sactuary

Ricki + Sam

“Jam was an absolute legend to work with! Her vibe fitted ours, and she was a standout compared to other celebrants we had enquired with. She radiates happiness, fun, excitement and passion which resonated with my husband and I from the get-go! She is professional, informative and was a great help at getting us through the paperwork and vows process. We couldn't recommend her highly enough! In fact, our maid of honour and best man have even booked her for their own upcoming wedding!”

What a pair of down to earth lovers! Getting to know Ricki and Sam was like having a relaxed catch up with some old mates.

Ricki had came across me through the wonderful Wedshed directory and due to the travel distance between us we had organised an initial Skype meeting to chat about their wedding plans. We bonded over raising cheeky toddlers and wanting to bring all the good vibes to their ceremony. We then managed to organise a face to face catch up at their lovely home down the coast one weekend with my own little family coming along for a day at the beach, our toddlers had a chance to briefly practice their sharing.

Ricki and Sam’s good vibe extended well into their ceremony where all their loved ones gathered within the picturesque Old Church on Red Hill to witness these two make their heartfelt vows to each other. The weather gods turned it on that day as the showers cleared just in time for our lovers to greet each other for their adorable ‘First Look’ shoot with Kyle from Valley and Peak photography. The sun then miraculously emerged as we got the party started with Sam and Ricki’s wedding ceremony.

Ricki and Sam credit the start of their romance to their besties Sarah and Cam for hooking up and together forming what is to become an awesome foursome crew. It just happens that the awesome Sarah and Cam are also planning to get hitched later in the year, so I’ve been given the honour to come full circle and make it official for the ones who started it all. What a great bunch! I can’t wait to catch up with all these legends again for another lovefest.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Venue: Old Church on Red Hill
Photographer: Kyle from Valley and Peak
Stying: Dream Catcher Weddings and Events
Florist: Flower Muse Styling Co.
Make Up: N.A. Makeup by Nicole Aquilina
DJ: Rich Spanning Time
Bridal Dress: Goddess by Nature
Groomswear: The Academy Brand

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 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 nice 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