Sara + Adam

“Jam, I get so teary thinking about our ceremony four weeks later. It was absolutely perfect and our friends and family commented on how very us it was and how lucky we were to have someone that knew us so well marry us. I can't imagine anyone else would have pulled it off. Your support in the lead up to the day was amazing and we couldn't have done it without you!! Thank you so much Sara and Adam”

Adam and Sara are the most low-key fabulous couple!

So 2020 saw the world go through a wild Coronacoaster ride of a year. Sara and Adam seemed to somehow embraced each unexpected sudden change and come out more fabulous than before! Just as a developing world pandemic saw an end to Adam and Sara’s long awaited wino trip to Tassie by shutting down the boarders with less than 12 hours till they were scheduled to fly out, Adam decides in that moment to casually proposed to Sara. He went out the very next day to buy a ring, the following day saw Melbourne go into a total Lockdown. Now that’s some boss move!!!

A couple of months later, Sara literally googled local celebrants ‘for a very low key ceremony’ and luckily found me in her search. It took us a few emails back and forth to finally ‘meet up’, and when we did, we found out that we had local friends in common, so it was a perfect match. And when I say ‘meet up’ I meant we had to negotiate our rendezvous plans around COVID venue restrictions and capacities. Eventually we agreed on me conducting a home visit, only to be plunged into Lockdown 2.0 with no visitors allowed to enter your residence, so our first ‘meeting’ had to pivot online.

I did eventually get to meet up with Sara and Adam in person a few months later to finally complete some of their legal marriage paperwork (the Notice of Intended Marriage form), with them. Just as we were about to catch up for our final meeting, the week of Adam and Sara’s wedding, Melbourne went into a sudden-death 5 day SNAP lockdown. Like literally WTF! Thank F the restrictions eased after the 5 stress inducing days had passed. And at our final online meeting we planned to complete the rest of our legal marriage paperwork just before we kick off their official ceremony. Sara casually mentioned at the end of our meeting that they’ll have Anna Taylor from Lulu & Lime present as their photographer on the day, with some styling by Good Day Club, two of my fav wedding vendors!

So on the day when I rocked up onsite at the chapel within Mission to Seafarers, I was blown away by the absolutely fabulous set up by the good people from Good Day Rentals as well as the bold eye popping blooms by Bloom Boy. And when I finally met Sara to complete our Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage document I had to simply gush over her stunning Jason Grech dress. This low-key ceremony had just gone next level bold and beautiful.

Adam and Sara’s intimate marriage ceremony had only 25 of their VVIPs present and it was full of heart and feels. It was my first ceremony delivered ‘blind’, Sara and Adam elected to not know beforehand what was to be said during the ceremony and to hear it for the first time along with their guests. This ensured that there were some truly genuine tears and laughs coming from our beautiful lovers up front and centre.

After our little ceremony, our newlyweds had a moment to relax before the rest of their loved ones arrived to help them celebrate their newly married status wildly into the night.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Venue: Mission to Seafarers
Photography: Lulu & Lime
Florist: Bloom Boy
Styling: Good Day Club
Sara’s Dress: Jason Grech

Charles + Stacey

Charles and Stacey just wanted to low-key get married with minimum fuss and drama.

And as Kensington locals they got in touch with me after seeing my ‘Celebrant Jam’ sign out the front of my house during their COVID local lockdown walks.

We were all set to go for their legals only ceremony held at our local ‘Women’s Peace Garden’ for Saturday 13th of February 2021. A day out from their scheduled marriage ceremony I received a call from my husband over lunch with news about the imminent SNAP 5-day Lockdown that will see Melbourne shut down all the fun that was to be had over the Chinese New Year/Valentine’s Day weekend, including a ban on all weddings.

I went into some kind of quiet panic and proceeded to finish my lunch date, knowing that things are about to hit the fan. On my journey home I got in touch with Charles to discuss what their thoughts are about changing their ceremony plans. Out of the blue I suggested on the spot if they wanted to get married this afternoon instead of after the lockdown. Charles immediately had a chat with Stacey and green lit the quick change of plans.

And so on that lovely Friday afternoon Charles and Stacey came together with their 2 absolute legends of mates, coming as their photographer and witnesses, and got hitched just in time before Melbourne’s Lockdown 3.0 It wasn’t what they had planned, but that’s just life sometimes and we just gotta keep rolling with them punches/waves/lockdowns.

Thank you to Charles and Stacey for being such awesome sports!

Pia + Gonzalo

“We can't thank Jam enough for the beautiful ceremony and words that she had given to us and our loved ones at our wedding day in 2020.
We met her through destiny and we could not be more thankful for that.
Jam is very organised and professional celebrant, but at the same time she down to earth and so lovely. She definitely has a sense for all the beautiful details which made our ceremony so unique. She created a most beautiful flow and vibe. It was more than we ever expected for our little, but very close and beautiful wedding in the unexpected and different year 2020.”

Pia and Gonzo are from opposite ends of the earth. It was at a lime farm in the far north tip of Australia that this beautiful German girl met her handsome Chilean future husband. They hit it off straight away and spent a wonderful couple of weeks working and enjoying the summer festivities on the lime farm. Gonzalo eventually had to return to Melbourne to resume his studies and they had made plans for Pia to join him in a couple of week’s time. During their 2 weeks apart their hearts grew feverishly fonder and when they were finally reunited in Melbourne their relationship went into hyperdrive.

Gonzo and Pia fell in love in and with Melbourne. It is here against the colourful Melbourne backdrop where they shared their hopes and dreams and moved in with each other to create their own home away from home with each other. They had both worked hard to save up and visit each other’s families and homes back in Germany and Chile. They loved sharing all of themselves with each other and felt that together they can do anything.

So the last time Pia’s folks came out to Melbourne for a visit, Gonzo formally asked Pia’s parents for their blessing for them to be married. And even though Pia’s folks are happily-not-married, her father Benno was so overcome by the incredibly moving moment that he cried tears of joy.

And then 2020 and a global pandemic happened.
All of their wedding dreams went out the window that is until…

Pia saw a sign… LITERALLY!

A chance encounter at the front of my house brought Pia face to face with my Celebrant Jam sign. That moment was pure fate and the rest is wedding history!

For Gonzo and Pia’s intimate ceremony they had gathered their closest family and friends in Melbourne at the picturesque Carlton Gardens to witness their nuptials. And living in the COVID age with thanks to modern technology both Pia and Gonzo’s parents were able to join in the ceremony via video link. Our lover’s beautiful heartfelt ceremony was followed by champagne and cake before the wedding party continued their celebrations throughout Melbourne.

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Photography: Sofia Machado

Jam + Mal

My husband Malachi and I are celebrating our 6 year wedding anniversary under Stage 4 COVID19 Lockdown in Melbourne this year and I am taking this opportunity to look back, reflect and give thanks to this life we have made together.

Malachi and I met almost 10 years ago through the miracle of online dating and a little website called Oasis Active. This was pre-Tinder days when it was still considered a little weird to go on a date with someone you have just been talking to on the internet. I have been dabbling in online dating for a couple of years and have had my share of horrible dates, but I still had hoped that I’d find someone who I’d click with.

It was one lazy Saturday arvo that I logged on and saw that this mysterious looking Treeman23 had viewed my profile. His black and white profile photo didn’t give too much away. He was pictured sitting on a boulder looking away in the distance, and when I clicked into his profile his photo gallery revealed that he was smoking hot and also that he knew how to have a good time. I sent him a ‘wink’ to connect and we got chatting that night. During our online banter we found that we were living only around the corner from each other (Johnston St/Smith St) until recently when he relocated down the coast to Mount Martha. I mentioned that I have never been down that way and it just happened to be that Mal’s birthday was coming up the following Thursday. So next thing we know I’m driving down to Mount Martha on the eve of his birthday to meet him for the first time.

We really went for it! And it was instant magic at first sight.

I remember locking eyes with Mal as he walked in the door. He was wearing a sleeveless black Harley Davidson t-shirt that showed off his tatts, and as I looked into his clear blue eyes there was this bashful gentleness that immediately put me at ease. I then presented him with some blue orchids and the game Twister to help us celebrate his birthday. The rest of the evening unfolded with him preparing our roast veg dinner (he thought I was vegetarian), driving down to the beach to watch the sunset and getting to know each other over dinner. By the end of the night we both knew that I would not be staying in the guest room.

We embarked on a summer of love and had an amazing time together. The following year saw us test our relationship with me living in New York for 3 months. In that time Mal had moved in with some of my friends at their sharehouse in Carlton. We had planned a rendezvous at the end of my time in New York with both of us flying into Shanghai and then travelling through India for a month together. Our connection grew stronger through our wild India adventures, and on our way back Mal got to meet some of my family in Shanghai as well as seeing where I had grown up. Upon our returned to Melbourne, I conveniently moved in with Mal and our friends at the Carlton sharehouse.

During our time in Carlton I completed a Masters’ degree in Teaching, whilst Mal worked as a contract arborist across Melbourne. We were able to live our lives to the full with the best of inner city social offerings and playing host to some great times. We also welcomed our furbebe, French Bulldog Oscar Wild and thanks to our awesome housemates we continued to embark on many travel adventures away to Tasmania, Thailand and also visiting Mal’s family throughout WA.

It was when we were planning our next big trip to the US to rendezvous with our good friend Raae and attend Burning Man that we thought about visiting Las Vegas. Mal had off handedly mentioned that he had ‘always wanted to get married by Elvis’. After hearing this I basically ran with it! Getting married wasn’t really on our radar and come to think of it, the logistics of having a wedding was just too much, especially with half my family living in Shanghai and Mal’s family in WA. So going to Burning Man then driving to Las Vegas to get married just made perfect sense for us. Also I wasn’t going to get married in Vegas with Elvis just for the LOLZ, so if we were going to do it then it will be legit.

We shared the good news of our unexpected wedding plans with all our loved ones and it was met with much excitement. We then enlisted the help of our friend Mitch from Evita Jewellery to design and make our rings for our trip. Next we booked our Elvis wedding ceremony package at Graceland Wedding Chapel - World’s First Elvis Wedding Chapel and our Viva Las Vegas accommodation at the Hard Rock Hotel. In order to make our marriage legal we completed an online application for a Clark County Marriage Licence, which we had to pick up in person from the Las Vegas Marriage Licence Bureau once we rolled into town. All that was left to do is to find our wedding outfits and of course to survive Burning Man!

Or so we thought.

With less than a month to go until we fly out on our US trip we received a letter informing us that we had 60 days to find a new home as our rambling Carlton sharehouse was going to be auctioned off. Our hearts sank and we went into instant action searching frantically for a new house to call home. We had many a sleepless nights thinking that we might end up married and homeless. It was a small miracle that I stumbled across this beautifully renovated self contained one bedroom cabin in North Melbourne, we were able to arrange a private viewing with the owner and secured the rental on the spot. Our wonderful friends helped us move into our new home with a week or so to spare, in which time we held a smashing housewarming/send off party! Life sometimes throws us some crazy stuff, but time and time again we somehow find ourselves coming through the other end shining brighter.

Our road trip across the US was everything we had dreamt of and more. Needless to say Burning Man was EPIC. We drove outta there as soon as the Man burned in order to make it to Vegas in time for our wedding ceremony. We checked into the Hard Rock Hotel a day out from the big day and we are joined by my cousin KC who flew down from Vancouver for the occasion, as well as our motley crew from Burning Man, which include our good friend Raae, her housemates CJ, Sam and their English mate Harry.

Mal and I woke up together on the day of our ceremony, quickly said goodbye to each other and then rushed off to get ready in seperate hotel rooms. Mal arrived at the chapel first and waited anxiously as my ride was slightly delayed. By the time I rocked up with my entourage Mal was all set to go and waiting nervously inside the chapel. What happened next is but a surreal blur, all I could remember was thinking to myself that ‘this is really happening!’, thank goodness we took out the ceremony package including a video recording of the whole event.

I vaguely recall Elvis coming over to ask me if I was ready to Rock’n Roll and then taking me by the hand to enter the chapel. I remember walking down as he was serenading us to the tune of ‘Love Me Tender’ and watching Mal finally turning around to see me for the first time in my wedding dress. Our eyes met across the chapel and we gave each other the ultimate once over, nodding in appreciation of the moment. Our celebrant then proceeded to say lots of hilarious things in a very thick French accent. At one point Mal accidentally vowed to be my ‘Facebook husband’ instead of being my ‘faithful husband’. Our Elvis really knew how to work the room throughout the ceremony and after our kiss we all broke into a dance to ‘Viva Las Vegas’ finishing with a victory lap up and down the aisle with the King of Rock’n Roll.

We were married by lunch time and celebrated afterwards by hitting up some All You Can Eat Sushi with our wedding party. The rest of the day was spent lounging poolside back at the hotel and then when night came we toured the casinos and finished up the day at a karaoke bar.

We did it our way and it was the most fun!

It’s 6 years, 2 kids and a house later during a global pandemic and I’m still having fun with you.

Thank you to my handsome husband Malachi for being my ultimate partner in adventure and I am excited to keep on making magic with you in this life!

Gemma + Justine

What a time to be alive, and choosing to get hitched in the middle of a Pandemic is exactly what these two crazy cats have decided to do!

Gem and Justine met through the magic of the interwebs and little did they know that the wonderful ‘World Wide Web’ will also be there to connect them to their loved ones on their wedding day. Our lovers had always wanted to get married (YASSS marriage equality!), and with friends and family scattered all over the world they thought that this would be as good of a time as any to do it with the help of the internet and a little thing called ZOOM. Let’s get with the times! Livestream ZOOM weddings are a real ‘THING’ in this age of COVID19 and Lockdown restrictions. In order to accommodate all the various International time zones, we were set to rendezvous for Gem and Justine’s ceremony at sunrise on a Sunday, 7am Melbourne Eastern Standard Time. We were very fortunate to also have the help of our lovely photographer/videographer couple, Jay and Mash from WedTilDeath as technical support, ensuring that the ceremony is perfectly captured.

Our bride Gemma is a meteorologist who had always wanted to get married outdoors and ironically the weather forecast was not looking favourable. But as luck would have it by the time I had arrived to set up at the amphitheatre at Footscray Community Arts Centre the early morning drizzle had ceased with clearer skies emerging with the day break.

And so it was against all odds that we see these two lovers unite in marriage with their 4 witnesses present and over 100 guests tuning in from all over the world. Three days later metro Melbourne went back under Stage 3 Lockdown, so we had made it just in time!

Marriage Celebrant: Celebrant Jam
Photographer: Wed Til Death
Ceremony: Footscray Community Arts Centre