Real Wedding – Chelsea & Jack, Denver VIC
After a brief flirtation as teenagers, it was only a fortuitous sliding doors moment that brought Jack and Chelsea back together again.
Both due to attend the same footy ball, only 25 minutes before she was due to leave, Chelsea was still in her PJs, reluctant to leave home. A friend’s message – “you never know, you might meet the love of your life there” was the catalyst, and wow, did the friend prove right.
Their effortless, understated romance underpins this stunning celebration, set among the serene gum trees of The Burrow, to the soundtrack created by Hey Jack talent.
The vibe is effortlessly impactful and classically elegant.
With the styling, florals and design in the hands of the talented Prunella team, the timeless yet contemporary aesthetic is realised to perfection, tying in earthy tones and crisp vanilla.
Chelsea is giving Carolyn Bessette Kennedy minimalist grace in her custom Luci Di Bella gown and veil, with a softly sophisticated silhouette and statement accessories.
We adore this gorgeous day, captured with artful perfection by the incredible talent of Tess Follett.
The meeting.
Jack and I met when we were 14 years old through a mutual friend at Half Moon Bay one summer.
We were both so shy and innocent at that age. There were a few cheeky smiles exchanged, and I actually still distinctly remember Jack’s sweet face as he waited for us, sitting poetically out the front of St Agnes Church. After that, Jack asked me to a footy game with him. Despite him being totally divine, I decided I didn’t want a boyfriend, and we went our separate ways for many years.
The one.
Five years later, Jack and I found ourselves catapulted back together by the universe, at a Sandringham Zebras Footy Ball. We both attended with another date. In all honesty, I nearly didn’t go that night and was texting a friend in my PJs 25 minutes before my date was arriving to pick me up. “Just go”, she said, “you never know, you might meet the love of your life there”, and she was right! Two weeks later, we were together and madly in love.
The proposal.
Jack put a lot of thought into ensuring I was surprised. He succeeded.
He had taken my parents out for an incredibly boozy dinner (I was jealous they had so much fun without me) to let them know it was time. He asked my mum to plan a family lunch, which isn’t out of the ordinary for us, so I thought nothing of it. Swimming in the bay, no matter the weather, is a ritual for us when we go to visit my parents, so Jack suggested we have a quick dip before lunch. After running out of the freezing cold water, I went to grab the better towel (think huge, plushy thing, while I had brought a sad little Turkish towel down). Luckily, Jack’s a fast mover, because the ring box was wrapped up in it. That beach was the start of our journey all those years ago, and we both love nature, so it felt incredibly ‘us’ to be proposed to there. We then got to celebrate with all our family with lots of champagne and hugs.
Planning process.
Hahah. Sigh! All the feels.
Being very ‘type A’, planning this wedding was both a blessing and a curse.
There were multiple versions of vision boards, colour palettes and trying to learn dance lifts in our tiny apartment for our first dance. But there were SO many amazing moments for us in the lead-up. We visited The Burrow on several occasions out of sheer adoration for the venue; with it being surrounded by so many amazing gum trees and utter serenity. We loved the drives to Daylesford, editing our wedding playlists, and spent a family afternoon there trying all the wines.
A highlight for us was getting married at the registry a few weeks prior. We planned a very intimate day with immediate family, followed by a long lunch, which was incidentally followed by a very long afternoon at Arbory afloat!
We definitely worked well as a team, and Jack was a generous sounding board for many moments of indecision.
Style inspiration.
We really wanted the vibe of our day to mirror the beautiful tranquillity of The Burrow, which, to us, felt relaxed and easy-going. We kept the tones earthy to tie in to the Wombat State Forest and let the beautiful landscape do most of the talking. We kept the florals timeless with simple greens and whites, which were a nice pop against the natives.
I’m a visual person, so Instagram, Pinterest and Ivory Tribe were main sources of inspiration in curating the aesthetic for our wedding.
The ceremony.
A major highlight for us was having our friend act as the celebrant for our ceremony. This was always something we wanted, to keep the ceremony personal. Brede was hilarious, and we loved how he managed to blend tradition, humour and charm, while centering the moment around our story and love for one another. It also helped us both to feel more relaxed; it was great to laugh throughout it.
We also both deeply treasured the readings our sisters prepared for us; Jack sister Sophie selected an Irish poem in honour of their family heritage, while my sister Ruby wrote her own stunning poem. They are very special words that are a lifelong gift to us.
The outfits.
Jack had a really fun day with his Groomsmen and dad at P Johnson. He opted for a classic tux, and he looked sooooo handsome!
I had my dress made with Luci Di Bella. It was such an enjoyable and personal experience, and it was exciting to watch the dress I had drawn up come together. I wanted to still feel like myself on the day, so I opted for what I felt was simple but sophisticated.
I chose a two-tier veil, which felt a bit dramatic but was so fun to play with, it felt like dress-ups. It was special to wear mum’s pearls from her wedding day as my ‘something borrowed’.
Favourite moments.
There were so many touching moments throughout our day that were special, sentimental, liberating and pure joy. I couldn’t possibly choose just one.
Driving to the wedding with my family in the car was a pretty surreal moment. We were all so nervous and loopy, I think we played the Richmond Football Club theme song?
Walking down the aisle arm in arm with my mum and dad to my to-be husband, surrounded by our favourite people, was also one of those pinch yourself moments in life.
There was also a beautiful moment of pause that allowed me to take everything in amid the pace of the day. My sister took me aside and we just touched up our lippy together and took a few big breaths – that sticks with me.
Meaning of marriage.
A continuation of the beautiful life we have built together for the ten years before our wedding day.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle (bridesmaids): Heartbeats – José González
Aisle (bride): River – Leon Bridges
Recessional: Sunchyme – Dario G
Reception entry: Valerie – Amy Winehouse
Champagne tower: Got to be Real – Cheryl Lynn
Father-daughter dance: My Girl – The Temptations
First dance mashup: You Send Me – Arethra Franklin / Nasty – Tinashe / You’re The One That I Want – Grease
Exit: Billie (loving arms) – Fred Again
Funny stories (or near disasters).
There was a mix-up on the day about the throwing of petals and the petals for the flower kids. Our cute niece and nephew had to walk down the aisle pretending to throw flowers out of their empty baskets – let’s just say, watching the video back, they could have fooled us! We were so proud of them for continuing on when they could have cracked it after days of practising beforehand. We both feel pretty lucky (and relieved) that this was the only ‘disaster’ of the day. In the end, our aisle throwing petals were used to send us off at the end of the night, which made for a spontaneous and unplanned moment, which was honestly a nice surprise!
Planning surprises.
How much you can colour-code an excel spreadsheet!
Words of wisdom.
Enjoy the journey! We were given really good advice to set aside a date night for wedding talk/planning, rather than letting it consume your every conversation (which is very easy for it to do). Making a day out of the tastings, venue walk-throughs, etc, adds to the excitement and helps you look forward to each task.
CHELSEA & JACK’S VENDORS
We used Ivory Tribe, Instagram and word of mouth to select our wonderful vendors.
Ceremony & reception venue: The Burrow – We instantly knew we wanted to be married in ‘The Forest’ when we saw it. The Burrow was such a wonderful, calming space for us to get married, and Aly was so easy-going and receptive. We look forward to spending many weekends in the future enjoying their beautiful wines out under the trees of the courtyard.
Celebrant / Officiant: Brede Seccull (friend, not an official celebrant, but I hear is taking bookings haha!)
Photography: Tess Follett. Tess was just a dream. Such a down-to-earth, wonderful woman with so much professionalism and talent, we knew we were in such good hands with Tess. She was the first vendor we booked and planned our wedding date around her availability.
Videography: Moon and Back. Our wedding film is so beautifully captured. Julia was so wonderful, and in the best possible way, you didn’t even notice she was there. She seamlessly tiptoed around, and we treasure the footage.
Florist, styling, decor, stationery & signage: Prunella Events. It was so convenient that Prunella was able to handle our florals, styling, and food. They really brought our vision to life, and we loved the aesthetic they helped us create.
Hair: Tonic Agency – Stephanie Kate – we had so much fun getting ready in the morning with Steph. She was super relaxed and brought such a positive vibe to start our day.
Make-up: Olivia Florence Makeup – Liv was incredible! I could not recommend her more highly. Everyone felt so beautiful, but still felt like themselves.
The dress & veil: Luci Di Bella.
Shoes: Loeffler Randall
Rings: Sarah & Sebastian, Cushla Whiting
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Bec and Bridge
Suits & bow ties/ ties: P Johnson
Catering: Prunella Events. Having good and generous food was one of our key priorities, and they certainly delivered! So many guests have commented on how delicious everything was.
Bar: Wombat Wines – The Burrow
Favours: Cousin Jack played the saxophone for us, Pink Pony Club was a highlight!
Entertainment: Leeyon from Hey Jack. Leeyon brought the acoustic vibe that really set the scene for our ceremony in the forest. He also very conveniently doubled as the DJ and played all of our requests. The dancefloor was packed!
Transport: Whitmore Bus Group
Honeymoon: Queenstown and the Cook Islands
