Real Wedding – Abbey & Jack, South Yarra VIC
When it comes to the joy and excitement of a surprise wedding, newlyweds Abbey and Jack 10/10 recommend.
Just six weeks before their planned engagement celebrations, they decided to turn the warm-up party into the real deal.
Fifty of their closest loved ones arrived to what they believed was a long lunch; they instead discovered Jack dressed in a classic black tuxedo, flanked by a groomsman and the couple’s friend and celebrant, Married by Tori.
The reactions were loud, and the feeling was electric.
And then (as if that wasn’t enough to plan and execute on one day!) following an emotion-filled ceremony, they pulled off a second epic reception reveal with a further 100 guests later that night.
Though the turnaround was swift, the aesthetics were considered and refined. Autumn hues, dramatic draping and bow accents combined to fuse a hint of vintage into the classic yet contemporary affair.
Within moments of arriving to the store – and as time to find Abbey’s dream outfit was running out – the magic makers at Kyha perfectly understood Abbey and Jack’s style sensibility and recommend her a stunning two-piece set complete with a silk skirt and drop waist corset that was as jaw-dropping as the wedding surprise itself.
Delight in every cohesive detail below.
The meeting.
We actually met on a riverbank in Yarrawonga one summer holiday. I was up there staying at my friend’s caravan, and Jack came up to fix the aircon in the caravan. When he arrived in town, we were all out on the boat, so he made his way to the river, and that was it. He rocked up and I awkwardly got up and introduced myself, and the rest was history.
‘The one’.
Honestly, we knew straight away. The fact that I went out of my way to say hello is a big deal. He must have felt the same way because he had to drive home the next day to drop off his work van, but after he dropped it off, he got straight in his car and drove all the way back to see me – it was a seven-hour round trip!
The proposal.
Jack had sneakily recruited our beautiful friend Chloe to get me out of the house in the morning under the guise of getting a facial. While I was out, the two of them got to work setting up the house. When I arrived home, I opened the front door. I saw candles down the hallway, our song was playing and at the end of the hallway stood Jack, under a hand-painted sign that read: “Will you marry me?”. As I walked through the house (in absolute disbelief!) he got down on one knee and asked the question. On the table beside him was the most beautiful floral arrangement, more candles, a Polaroid camera and a bottle of Veuve ready to pop! Later that day, we travelled down to Sorrento and spent a beautiful weekend at the Intercontinental in our little love bubble.
Planning process.
The planning process was actually quite stress-free. We only decided six weeks before that we would make our engagement celebrations a surprise wedding. This meant there had to be lots of quick decision-making! Nothing like a bit of pressure to get things done.
Style inspiration.
The season played a big part in inspiring the style of our wedding. We really loved the tonal autumn colours of ivory, green and burgundy. We also wanted it to have a vintage feel with a modern twist. To achieve this, we went with dramatic ivory draping, pearls for jewellery, accents of bows and grapes and kept with classic black and white for our bridal party.
I found hearing from people who have been through the wedding planning process so beneficial. It’s nice to know what other people’s experiences are, how they felt during the planning process, things they did differently and things they wish they did differently.
The ceremony.
It was so incredibly special because it was a surprise! Fifty of our closest friends and family arrived under the impression that they were attending a lunch to celebrate our engagement. When they arrived, they walked up the stairs to find Jack standing at the end of an aisle, with our celebrant Tori and Jack’s groomsman up there with him. The emotion was high!
The outfits.
You know the saying ‘diamonds are made under pressure’? Well, the same principle applies when finding your wedding outfits! As soon as we decided to turn our engagement into a wedding, we wasted no time in getting Jack and Biz (groomsman) their suits. We went to Peter Jackson and managed to snap up some tuxedos on the same day.
My dress was a little more stressful given the turnaround time – we went dress shopping about five weeks out! Kyha was the last place I went to, and I knew I had to find something that day, so the pressure was on. The girls at Kyha were so helpful and totally put my mind at ease despite the timing. I described my wedding vibe which really helped them pick out pieces they thought would suit. I ended up choosing a two-piece. A stunning drop waist corset and a beautiful silk skirt with a train. I loved how it had the vintage spin with the corset, but a modern twist with the silk skirt.
Favourite moments.
The reaction of our friends when we entered our reception. I mentioned we had a surprise ceremony with 50 close friends and family but we also had a surprise reception with an additional 115 people. They all arrived at Morris House at 6.30pm while Jack and I waited it out until 7.30pm. My brother took on the role of telling everyone that we were running late and eventually shared with our guests that it wasn’t our engagement party and that we had gotten married earlier that day. The response was WILD! Once he announced the music started, and we entered the room dancing, and it was nothing but a big love-filled party from there!
Meaning of marriage.
To us, marriage is a long-term partnership where both people choose each other daily, not just out of love, but out of respect and shared goals. It’s about building a life together, not always in perfect harmony, but with trust that we’re on the same team and having the most fun along the way.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Lover by Jonah Baker (I’m a huge Swifty so had to get a Taylor Swift song in there somewhere!)
Reception entry: These Words by Natasha Beddingfield/Badger (remix)
First dance: Anyone by Justin Bieber
Funny stories/near disasters.
Surprisingly, none! I think organising a wedding in six weeks and keeping it a secret at the same time is funny enough!
Planning surprises.
The fact that all the suppliers I wanted to use were available with six weeks’ notice absolutely blew my mind! And that Morris House was free. The stars really aligned for us – we were very lucky. Apart from that, I think how quickly the day went really took me by surprise – it was over so fast!
Words of wisdom.
Have a surprise wedding! It really takes the pressure off and makes the experience not only fun for you, but so exciting for your guests. It brings a whole different energy to the day at makes it memorable. Also, don’t forget to take some time to enjoy the day with just the two of you – for us, we went downstairs post ceremony and had a cheeky shot at the bar together.
For more elopement-style celebrations of love, check out our Real Wedding back catalogue here.
ABBEY & JACK’S SUPPLIERS:
My beautiful celebrant Tori is a long-time friend. I saw she had a stall at the Melbourne Wedding Guide Expo in February, so I went down to have a look. Naturally, I spoke to Tori, but this is also where I discovered Nick, my photographer.
Everything else was word of mouth or suppliers I found through TikTok. Brett did the flowers that my partner organised for the proposal. I found Katerina from Ethos Events on TikTok. Andrew, my videographer is actually a friend from work, and Sandra from Pretty Game MUA is a friend of mine too. I know Rebecca who did my cake through friends and the entertainment company director is a friend of my husbands. Was lots of fun having people who know personally play a part in our day!
All of our suppliers were incredibly accommodating! Both The Gilson and Morris House were a dream to work with and took all the stress out of the day – they had everything covered and were more than willing to help me pull of the surprise.
Nick, Andrew and Ruby – our photographer, videographer and content creator were the literal definition of a dream team. They had never met each other before the day but they worked together seamlessly and got along like a house on fire. They made the entire day so much FUN!
I don’t have enough words to describe our celebrant, Tori. She was perfection. The ceremony was so beautifully curated with such professionalism and grace. It was emotional in the best way possible and there is absolutely no one else I would of wanted to marry us.
Our backdrop, cake and flowers all complemented each other beautifully, and Katerina, Brett, and Rebecca were a dream to work with.
Ceremony venue: Gilson
Reception venue: Morris House
Celebrant: Married by Tori
Photography: Weddings with Nick
Videography: Andrew Whatman Videography
Content Creator: Your Day by Ruby
Florist: Flowers by Brett Matthew John
Hair: Nargges Salon
Make-up: Pretty Game MUA
The dress: Kyha Studios
Veil: Calily & neck scarf: Made With Love Bridal
Ceremony shoes : Billini & reception shoes: Novo
Rings: Brilliant Diamonds
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Sheike
Suits & ties: Peter Jackson
Cake: Rebecca at Flour and Sugar
Stationery & signage: DIY
Entertainment: Ei8ht Entertainment
Décor: Ceremony backdrop hire Ethos Events
