Real Wedding – Adele & Jordan, Melbourne VIC
Adele and Jordan’s wedding was a love letter to Melbourne, wrapped in the golden hues of autumn.
Perched atop the iconic Melbourne Town Hall Portico balcony, they exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony by stellar talent Marry Me Tee that felt effortlessly timeless. With the warmth of pinks, reds and amber woven through their styling, every detail was a quiet nod to the season and the city they adore.
Adele embodied understated elegance in a chic, minimal Kyha gown and dreamy Amelie George veil, while Jordan made a statement in a deep green suit, courtesy of Oscar Hunt.
Together, they crafted a day that was not just beautiful, but deeply personal, infused with effervescent vibes thanks to our friends at Married to the Groove. A celebration of love, friends and family, and the place they call home. Captured through the lens of Tahnee Jade, every moment felt rich, romantic, and distinctly them.
The meeting.
We met over 12 years ago through friends. We were all out for dinner, drinks, and a dance at the Night Cat. It was a Sunday night which also happened to be salsa night. We all tried our best, showing off our salsa moves. Eventually, it was just Jordan and I who were the last ones standing.
The ‘one’.
We realised early on that we had something special and wanted to be in each other’s lives. We wanted the same things out of life and made each other very happy.
The proposal.
We were on holiday in Japan and had booked a special stay at a traditional Ryokan that overlooked the mountains and the ocean. As part of the stay, there was a special dinner. We had changed into our yakuta’s and were waiting for our dinner sitting, enjoying a green tea together. Jordan got up to get his ‘phone’ and returned to the slight dilemma of how to propose to me when I was already sitting on the ground at the traditional Japanese table. He crouched down next to me and asked me to marry him. It was a complete surprise and a night we’ll never forget.
Planning process.
The planning process was a lot of fun, working in marketing and having a background in design definitely helped in creating our special day. We loved the idea of an Autumn wedding and since we didn’t want too long of an engagement that left us with 10 months to bring it all to life. A slightly daunting task at first but from the beginning we had a clear vision for what we wanted the day to be like and once we had chosen our venues, the rest fell into place nicely. Having a wedding in May, towards the end of the peak season, certainly helped in securing our vendors, everyone we wanted to work with was thankfully available.
Style inspiration.
We knew we wanted our wedding to be in Melbourne, we live here, moved in together for the first time here and love the city – the architecture, the food, the atmosphere. The Portico Balcony at Melbourne Town Hall with its beautiful architecture and location in the heart of the city made for the perfect ceremony backdrop.
For the reception, we wanted it to feel like an intimate night out with our favourite people like one of the countless nights we’ve had in our time together. Old Palm Liquor is a restaurant and bar that we have enjoyed many dinners at. From the beautiful interiors to the shared style menu, delicious cocktails and space to dance into the night.
The rest of the styling came from complementing these two spaces, a warm romantic colour palette to reflect the Autumn wedding, and little details along the way in the stationery and florals that brought the two venues together on the day.
I found a mix of inspiration from real weddings and styled shoots to reference the vision we had for the day. In depth details on suppliers in the blog were very helpful in getting a sense of who would be able to bring our vision to life and be a good fit.
The ceremony.
We had an intimate ceremony with just our closest friends and family present at The Portico Balcony at Melbourne Town Hall. The beautiful architecture was complemented by our floral arrangements at the top of the aisle that matched the Autumn tones of the trees visible from the balcony. It made the perfect setting for our ceremony.
The look.
Finding a dress ended up being a much simpler process than I anticipated. I visited Kyha with my mum and sister and after trying on a few different styles, when I stepped out in the Luni gown, their faces said it all. I knew I had found the perfect dress. It felt chic and perfect for our city wedding with gorgeous detailing that complemented the simplicity of the dress.
Jordan had a vision of a dark green suit, something different to the traditional tuxedo but that would also be timeless when looking back on the day. We had the suit custom made at Oscar Hunt and really enjoyed the entire process from choosing the fabric to the buttons and all the little details in between.
Favourite moments.
It’s a tie between two moments. After our first look we went to our local pub for a pre ceremony drink with our wedding party. It was really special taking a moment with each other and our closest friends before the ceremony.
Our first dance, it was so much fun. We had taken lessons in the lead up to choreograph a dance and up until the day we hadn’t managed to run through it without any mistakes. On the night though (and after a few champagnes) we got it perfect.
Meaning of marriage.
For us it’s about two people who love each other and want to spend their lives together creating memories, going on adventures, loving, growing and supporting each other unconditionally.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: To Love Somebody by The Bee Gees
Recessional: Smooth Sailin’ by Leon Bridges
First Dance: I can’t help myself by Four Tops
Dancefloor Starter: My Boo (Hitman’s Club Mix) by Ghost Town DJs
Last Song: I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix) by Lykke Li, The Magician
Funny stories or near disasters.
Surprisingly no. Thankfully the day ran smoothly, our vendors were all incredible and everything came together perfectly on the day.
Planning surprises.
The endless decisions and details, especially as the day got closer there were just so many little things to be organised. I don’t think it matters how organised you are. There were just so many small details in the days leading up to the wedding.
Words of wisdom.
Plan the day that you want and enjoy every second of it.
Adele and Jordan opted for an exquisite May wedding, which not only meant they could highlight the beauty of the season’s colour palette, but they were also able to book every vendor they wanted. But for a few more thoughts on why a cooler season wedding is a go, check out our blog post on ‘Why a winter weddding?’ right here.
Love an inner city soiree? Check out our round-up of our favourite Melbourne venues and snapshots of the dreamy celebrations they can host.
ADELE & JORDAN’S VENDORS
Ceremony venue: Portico Balcony, Melbourne Town Hall – We chose the Portico Balcony at Melbourne Town Hall for its beautiful architecture and location in the heart of the city.
Reception venue: Old Palm Liquor, Brunswick East – Old Palm Liquor is one of our favourite restaurants and enjoying our reception there with our closest friends and family was such a dream. The team at OPL were incredible, we didn’t have to worry about anything, we knew we were in good hands. Having great food and drinks was very important to us, we wanted our reception to feel like an intimate night out with our favourite people. It’s such a beautiful space and worked perfectly for the different parts of the night from welcome cocktails to dinner to the dancefloor, it was seamless. From food and wine tasting to the night itself, the team was just amazing to work with.
Celebrant/Officiant: Marry Me Tee
Photography: Tahnee Jade – Tahnee was absolutely phenomenal! We could not be happier with the photos, and have had so many comments on how beautiful they are. Tahnee has a talent for capturing candid, natural moments throughout the day, as well as a talent for amazing portraits. On the day, Tahnee was laid back and relaxed, she helped to put us at ease, and most of the time hardly noticed her hard at work. Could not recommend Tahnee enough, thanks for all your hard work.
Videography: Graeme Passmore
Florist: Thrive Flowers – Alyssa and Breanna at Thrive Flowers were wonderful to work with, they brought our brief to life perfectly. Both our venues were quite striking on their own so we wanted the florals to complement them. They did a beautiful job in creating the arrangements to perfectly suit our venues and style of the day. Our ceremony arrangements were just stunning.
Hair & Make-up: Tonic Agency
The dress: Chosen by Kyha
Veil: Amelie George
Shoes: Nelson Made
Rings: Cushla Whiting
Suit: Oscar Hunt
Stationery / Signage: Designed by Adele herself, printed by Stitch Press.
Entertainment: Married to the Groove DJ
Dance Choreography: First Dance Melbourne
Honeymoon: Four weeks in Japan and South Korea.
