Real Wedding - Jade & Mike, Warrandyte South VIC

March 8, 2023 In Colourful, Real Weddings, Victoria By Jo Betz

Real Wedding – Jade & Mike, Warrandyte South VIC

When the groom has a gift for making the ordinary moments extraordinary, and the bride an obsession with vivid, vibrant colour, their wedding celebrations are bound to be breathtaking. Mike and Jade’s dream day is absolutely this and more.

Kicking off the party flavour with a ceremony filled with personal touches set the tone for the day; blissed-up love, plenty of laughs, and the recognition of the important people (and dog!) in Mike and Jade’s life. Weaving in star roles as flower queens, surprise ring bearers, and a guitar serenade was superstar celebrant Celebrate with Liz.

Fabulous was the only dress code stipulation, meaning the outfit that makes you feel most special. And for Jade, it was Kyha Studios that created her stunningly stylish two-piece gown, accessorised to perfection with the Hepburn veil. A later swap to pants for glammed-up party vibes meant that this bride was dance floor ready.

And who best to take the party to new heights than our friends One More Song? As the loved-up vibes continued well into the night, the newlyweds planning motto of “if it feels stressful, ditch it” absolutely paid off. This is one epic, joy-filled event – scroll on to relish every dream detail captured in exquisite style by Nikki McCrone Photography.

The meeting.

We met eleven years ago at Cherry Bar in Melbourne, on the dance floor of a Stevie Wonder tribute night. We swapped numbers and were on our first date the following night. The rest is history!

The one.

We met in our early 20’s and then grew up and built a life together. We both don’t recall a moment when we knew, but it would likely be around our shared obsession with our dog, Morris (who was a VIP at the wedding).

The proposal.

On a Monday morning walk to the coffee shop, Mike pretended that he had left the keys inside and, tapping his pockets, whipped out the ring. Mike has a knack for making ordinary, everyday moments fun – this was no exception.

Style inspiration.

After the last couple of years, we wanted to create a party that celebrated having all our favourite people together. We set the dress code as fabulous, so that everyone would dust off the outfits that made them feel the most special. That also meant stripping back the traditional bits and prioritising great food, wine, and music!

The Farm was a dream venue for us: five minutes from home, rustic and intimate. Most importantly, it had delicious wine by Rob Dolan and Elysia, the Wedding Manager was so relaxed.

We (well, Jade,) was so inspired by colour. My obsession with wild and loud colour led me instantly to Nikki McCrone (photography), Edward and I (flowers) and Celebrate with Liz (celebrant) who all had bright Instagram pages.

The ceremony.

Our ceremony highlighted all the people who are so special to us. That included Jade’s dad (ex-hairdresser) who did Jade’s hair, Mike’s dad serenaded everyone on acoustic guitar on arrival, my (Jade’s) brother Sam as MC, Jade and Mike’s brother Mitch and Josh as witnesses. Mitch’s partner David was our flower queen, and we hid the rings under a chair for a surprise ring-bearer. I (Jade) didn’t have a wedding band, but instead had my late Nanna’s sapphire remodelled as my ‘something blue’.

The outfits.

For Mike, he wanted a classic black suit. It was the first and only suit he tried.

For me, it was the third dress. I LOVED the experience at Kyha Studios and brought along my besties. I was pretty set on the Lucia top and skirt before I tried it, because I liked the idea of swapping into pants for dance floor freedom. The top option also meant I can re-wear it in future (power suit vibes). The statement Hepburn veil completed the outfit for me.

Favourite moment.

Mike’s vows. He is not a lover of public speaking. He fooled us all and had everyone in tears because he NAILED IT. The morning after, in bed with wedding cake, we re-read our vows to each other again.

Wedding soundtrack.

Everything by Stevie Wonder.

Aisle: You are the sunshine of my life

Recessional: Signed, sealed delivered.

Father of bride dance: Isn’t she lovely

Funny stories (or near disasters).

No near disasters but plenty of stories! There were some dance-offs, shoes off, a conga line and even a few party pashes!

Planning surprises.

There were no planning surprises. We trusted our vendors because they do this every day! We were in great hands.

Words of wisdom.

Our motto was “if it feels stressful, ditch it”. That worked for us, and also helped us (Jade) manage costs and not get too carried away.

Also, swap bonbonniere for hot chips!

We love the idea of swapping out wedding favours for hot chips, but if you’re still unsure about favours and whether you should gift your guests, take a peek at our blog post where we address exactly that.

JADE AND MIKE’S SUPPLIERS

Ceremony and reception: The Farm Yarra Valley

Celebrant: Celebrate with Liz

Photography: Nikki McCrone Photography

Florist: Edward and I

Hair: (Father of the bride)

Make-up: Steph Bottrell

The dress & veil: Kyha Studios

Jewellery: Saint Valentine earrings

Handbag: Aje

Shoes: Tony Bianco

Rings: White November