Real Wedding – Jarrod & Izy, Merricks North VIC

Izy and Jarrod wanted nothing more from their wedding day than to have a low-key cocktail-style celebration where they could sit in the sunshine and enjoy an Aperol spritz with their loved ones. Thanks to the weather gods, some perfect conditions meant they could do exactly that!

Being a fashion designer, Izy had the idea of her dream dress brewing in her mind for some time, and once she had sketched the concept she needed an incredible dressmaker to bring it to life. The talented Holly Butler was a natural choice. Izy was a vision as she walked down the aisle, becoming husband and wife in a progressive Jewish wedding ceremony that was a tribute to their late grandparents.

Private property wedding specialists, Popup With Style, helped Izy and Jarrod create a celebration that reflected their personalities and style. From wild and imperfect florals to the use of hebel blocks, raw linen gauze and broken travertine pavers for their décor, as well as a chuppah cover that was hand embroidered with their initials – every element was personalised and exactly how Izy and Jarrod imagined.

Jess Nicholls shot this day to absolute perfection and we hope you enjoy scrolling this stunning celebration of love.

The meeting.

We met through a mutual friend, a work colleague of Jarrod’s. Our mutual friend was quite insistent that we should go on a date. There was some initial hesitancy, but we eventually did have that first date and 6 years later, a wedding.

The proposal.

The question was ready to be popped earlier in 2020, however due to ongoing lockdowns the engagement ring spent most of the year in a chest of drawers as Jarrod decided to wait until later in the year when we were out of lockdown and due to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. We stayed down the Mornington Peninsula where we spend a lot of time, so it was only fitting the question was popped over a picnic lunch at our favourite winery. Given we were already relaxing on picnic blankets, the proposal actually involved Jarrod getting “up” on one knee.

Planning process.

We were both quite clear on our vision for the day so the planning process and the lead up was quite relaxed and low key. The main stress was the ever changing covid related restrictions, however we were extremely lucky to have been unaffected by any restrictions when it came to our actual day.

Style inspiration. 

It was important to us that our day wasn’t constrained by a strict schedule or time sheet and over the years we had discussed about how nice it would be to hire a house and have a low-key cocktail style wedding. All we really wanted was to sit in the sunshine and have an aperol spritz with our loved ones. A desire that only grew stronger after the year spent in lockdown.

We initially thought it was going to be a simple task to organise, however once we started looking for properties, it quickly became apparent that these kinds of events are rarely permitted at hired properties.

We were luckily recommended to get in touch with Kahlie at Popup With Style who specialises in private property weddings. Once we had found our property, the rest of the styling and details fell into place quite easily as the style of our wedding had been cultivating in Izy’s mind over a few years and certainly reflects her personal style. We wanted a slightly undone yet still classic aesthetic. The brief for the flowers was wild and imperfect – as if they had been grown in the garden. We used hebel blocks, raw linen gauze and broken travertine pavers for décor and our chuppah cover was hand embroidered with our initials.

Izy is a professional at scouring fashion shoots from all around the world and finding inspiration. Pinterest was our beloved friend throughout the wedding planning process and so was looking through shoots of real weddings.

The ceremony.

We had a progressive Jewish wedding ceremony. Whilst neither of us are particularly religious, we wanted to have a Jewish ceremony as a tribute to our grandparents who are no longer with us and would have been incredibly proud. It was very special to have our immediate family and bridal party standing up beside us whilst we looked out to see our close friends and family members.

The outfit. 

Being a fashion designer, Izy was always going to design her own wedding dress. The ideas had been brewing inside her mind for many years, but in the last year or so they began to take shape. Once Izy had sketched out the dress, we needed to find a dressmaker talented enough to construct the garment. After scouring through Instagram & google, we managed to find the talented Holly Butler who was able to bring Izy’s design to life.

Jarrod wore a custom tailored suit by P Johnson. 8 weeks out from the wedding, retail was still closed in Melbourne so Jarrod had to get measured and fitted out on the street. The suit was custom made in Italy and luckily arrived just in time.

Favourite moments.

Our favourite moment of the day was when we took a step back from the party and witnessed all of our closest friends and family having such a great time celebrating our relationship.

Meaning of marriage.

The mutual agreement by two people to progress from being in a loving relationship and commit to becoming a family.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: The Wonder of You by the Villagers (an Elvis Presley cover).

We didn’t have a reception entry or first dance, however we wanted for all of our favourite artists to be played so we specifically made requests for the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and old school rap / RnB bangers.

Funny stories or near disasters.

We had always imagined our wedding to be an outdoor cocktail party and after deciding we wanted to get married on our anniversary, we had felt that there was a high chance that December would be sunny and dry. In hindsight this was quite foolish for two born and bred Melbournians…. As the day approached, we soon realised we had been a tad optimistic in that regard given we were going through another La Nina season. We would have refreshed the weather forecast over a 1000 times in the lead up to the day. Whilst we did have a wet weather backup option, all of our planning and our vision for the day was based around an outdoor summer cocktail party. We were extremely lucky that the weather on the day turned out to be a perfect 24 degree, sunny day.

Words of wisdom.

Our biggest words of advice is to work out what are your non negotiables for you big day and after that, don’t get stuck on the tiny insignificant details. Don’t let the stress take away from the excitement and happiness of both the planning process and in particular the day.

There were things that went wrong on the day but not focusing on those things meant that our day was filled with happiness & love.  No one is ever going to notice the things that went wrong because they didn’t know what the plan was meant to be!

If you’re having trouble creating your wedding budget and sticking to it, here are some top tips we’ve compiled to help you on your way. 

IZY & JARROD’S VENDORS

Ceremony and Reception location: Both our ceremony and cocktail party were at a private property in Merricks North – we searched AirBnB for properties that allowed weddings and eventually found one that was recommended by our wedding planner. The property had a vineyard, olive grove and lavender fields. There were kangaroos and llamas in the fields next door. It was everything we had hoped for!

Officiant: Rabbi Kim Ettlinger

Photography: Jess Nicholls Photography. We spent a lot of time trawling through Instagram and wedding blogs trying to find the style of wedding photos that we liked. The photos Jess took really stood out and were exactly what we were after.  We love how she focuses on candid shots and manages to capture authentic reactions from friends and family.

Florist: Hello Blossoms – It was important to us to use Mornington Peninsula suppliers and Alison and her team did an amazing job!

Hair: Raffaella Marcellino – Raff was booked through Stephanie Jane and did a beautiful job!

Make Up: Make up by Stephanie Jane – Found through Instagram and she was absolutely amazing; couldn’t ask for anything more!

Wedding Planner: Pop Up with Style (word of mouth recommendation).

The Dress and Veil: Wedding dress was Izy Heriot by Holly Butler.

Shoes:  Femme LA

Rings: Sarah & Sebastian

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy & Bec & Bridge

Suits and Ties: P.Johnson

Catering: Finesse Catering – another amazing Mornington Peninsula based business.

Bar: We purchased all our drinks from Dan Murphy’s and picked them up the day before the wedding Staff/Bar/Utensils were supplied by Margaret & Ritas – Mornington Peninsula based

Stationery / Signage:  Signage was designed by Izy and produced by Pop Up with Style

Entertainment: Little Wolf Entertainment

Décor: Hebel blocks and travertine pavers purchased from Bunnings. We also purchased 2 x sausages with onions, but these failed to make it to the big day.

Hire: Danns Event Hire (outdoor furniture), Bay Events (dance floor, chuppah, fairy lights), Toilets (Gather Round), Rubbish bin (Croc Bags), Cool Room (Specialised Rentals)

Honeymoon: We had a little mini moon straight after the wedding down the Mornington Peninsula however we are hoping to get to Italy/France pending the world returning to relative normal!