Real Wedding – Jordyn & Rich, Wahgunyah VIC
What do you do when some of the best wedding entertainers in the biz get married? You prepare for a glorious celebration filled with a stellar line up of musicians and wedding vendors from around town.
For a country-meets-classic vibe, Jordyn and Rich of Hey Jack Entertainment settled on All Saints Estate in Rutherglen to house their nuptials – a suitably stylish soiree in an impeccable setting, with a black tie dress code that saw guests don their finest.
Jordyn stunned in a Steven Khalil gown, whilst Rich looked ever so charming in his shapr black tux – a single white rose boutonniere the perfect accompaniment. And while their ceremony, which saw them standing hand in hand in front of all their loved ones, holds a special place in their hearts, entering the reception and the energy of their epic dance floor are definite standouts in their favourite memories. Lucky guests were even treated to a few tunes by bride Jordyn herself!
They had their dear friend and valued photographer Ashleigh Haase capture the day, whilst one of our Ivory Tribe faves; Alex from For the Love Celebrancy delivered the most perfect ceremony and of course all Hey Jack performers for the evening were on point! We’d expect nothing less!
The meeting.
We met in a share house in South Yarra in 2015. Rich was working a high intensity corporate job, and I had just come back home after living in Japan for twelve months. We lived together as good friends, sharing deep conversations over wine and going to markets together, before falling in love and renting a place of our own six months later. It was a unique way to start a relationship, but it just worked and I knew I was going to fall for Rich pretty quickly after meeting him. We have never not lived together, and we’re not sure if that’s a good or bad thing!
The ‘one’.
We both knew pretty quickly. As soon as we were introduced as housemates, we got along instantly and I fell in love with Rich pretty early on (before we got together). Rich played harder to get than what I did, I gave away my feelings pretty early on, but I think because we were housemates and our friends telling us “it won’t end well”, we were both definitely apprehensive.
The proposal.
Rich popped the question on the second last day of a four-week long holiday in Europe. We were in Mykonos and by that point, I had lost hope that it was happening as he waited until the very end. I can’t complain though, he asked me as we overlooked the ocean at a small restaurant. He was so incredibly nervous and I kept asking him “Are you drunk?”, just before he got on one knee. It was pretty magical and something we’ll never forget.
Planning process.
We are fortunate enough to have the support from fellow wedding vendors, and being in the industry ourselves, it was reasonably simple for us. We’re surrounded by weddings every day and help couples plan their dream day, so it was definitely surreal to be doing it ourselves. Thankfully, we knew exactly who to go to and everyone was such a dream to work with (as expected).
Style inspiration.
Country but make it classy. I am from an Italian background, so I have always wanted to wear a big wedding gown and have a fairly traditional ceremony. We chose the venue because we loved the charm and the big wine barrel room, (as well as the fact that neither of us had worked there before – so couldn’t compare it to other weddings!), but it was a little more rustic than I envisioned our wedding to be. To make up for it, we added a few formal elements such as black-tie dress code, my Steven Kahlil gown and the groom/groomsmen in black tuxes.
DEFINITELY real wedding! I had a squiz on my fave blogs (Ivory Tribe being the main one of course!) and sought inspiration from a few different weddings I’ve seen. However, Rich and I are at weddings every single weekend so most of our inspo definitely came from the real weddings we worked at (me singing, Rich shooting)
The outfit.
I found my Steven Kahlil dress via an Instagram post that was shared and my beautiful Mother (shoutout) was the one who linked it to me. This lady was selling her dress hire business, and therefore, selling all her designer dresses. I didn’t think much of it when I saw the post but I thought no harm going and trying on a couple. I arrived at her Docklands apartment to find her entire second bedroom dedicated to wedding gowns. She only had a few left and one of them was this incredible Steven Kahlil gown. I tried it on, and it was an instant love at first sight. I would have never thought that I’d be wearing a designer gown at my wedding, as it was never in the budget and Rich would have absolutely died if I spent so much on a dress. I bought the dress and veil instantly (after sending a few photos to loved ones of course) and was one very happy bride-to-be. I had the dress for two and a half years before our wedding so I did have thoughts that I may not love it leading up to the day, but I think I fell more in love with it over time.
Helpful advice would be to search high and low online before purchasing a dress. You never know what you might stumble across and I am ALL for pre-loved dresses – a dress only being worn once makes me so sad and if someone else can love it just as much as you – win!
Favourite moments.
Rich: Besides our ceremony and getting married, our reception entrances were a highlight. Each couple had a routine and danced through the tables, and then J and I came in with our epic sax player to Jubel and it was the best!
Jordyn: I really enjoyed our vows and holding Rich as we stood at the alter. I dreamed of the ceremony most nights in the lead up and it was better than I ever expected. Rich and I attend so many ceremonies, and I get so emotional watching them so it was pretty special to finally understand the feelings!
Our dancefloor was pretty epic too. We had an incredible line-up of musicians (I mean, it would be strange if we didn’t!), all hand selected from our company Hey Jack, and they kept everyone dancing all night. I also got up on stage and sang a couple of songs. It was the best.
Meaning of marriage.
Trust, support & being your true self with another human being. Flaws and all.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle song: I Don’t Want to Wait by Paula Cole (obsessed)
Ceremony processional: This Will Be by Natalie Cole
Reception entrance: Jubel by Klingnade (feat live sax)
First dance: Best Part by Ed Sheeran and YEBBA
Funny stories or near disasters.
I forgot the cake. Literally. We started the drive up (three and a half hours) and half way through the lovely Gina from Ladybird Cakes called me asking where I was. My heart sunk and when we realised my sister in law could go and get it, we had a good laugh. There is so many little things in the lead up that you need to remember to do, so I recommend a list and ticking everything off! I did NOT have a list. My own fault.
Planning surprises.
How much I relied on the professionals surprised me. I thought I would be picky and over the top with details however, it occurred to me that I am also a supplier in the industry and some of our best weddings are the ones where our clients trusted us and had creative freedom based on the brief we were given. So, I took my own advice and left it to the experts. Best thing we ever did.
Words of wisdom.
Don’t sweat the little things. Work out what is important to you and focus your wedding planning on that. For instance, our big things were music, food and photo/film. So our florals, stationery, cake etc was super quick to book and as mentioned above, we trusted our suppliers to provide the quality and service they’re known for. There is no point stressing over the little things. Enjoy the wedding planning process and ENJOY the day. It’s your day and don’t feel selfish about that.
On the hunt for a team of incredible wedding entertainers? Check out all the fab talent Hey Jack has to offer here and get booking a team that always bring talent and a total vibe.
JORDYN & RICH’S VENDORS
Ceremony & Reception venue: All Saints Estate
Celebrant: Alex from For the Love Celebrancy – Alex was so incredibly lovely and a delight to work with. She is very authentic and delivered our Ceremony perfectly!
Photography: Ashleigh Haase – Ash is one of our dear friends in the industry and we loved having her by our side. She kept things super chilled for us on the day.
Videography: Hey Jack – We had one of our senior videographers Alex shoot our day. We could have chosen any of our shooters as they’re all amazing, but Alex has been with the company from the early days and he nailed our footage. I am just waiting for my husband to edit it – ha!
Styling: Us!
Florist: Amalfi Floral Design
Hair & Make Up: Kate Radford – love love love!!! Kate was a joy to work with and handled the day so well considering it was just her and had six women’s hair & makeup to do. She is very natural so highly recommend if you’re not wanting the full glam look!
The Dress & Veil: Steven Kahlil
Shoes: My Mums!
Rings: Diamond Exchange
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy
Suits & Bow Ties: Peter Jackson
Catering & Bar: All Saints Estate
Favors: We didn’t do favors! It wasn’t important to us and knew our guests would have the memories of the night, rather than something they didn’t want or may never use!
Cake / Cake topper: Ladybird Cakes
Stationery / Signage: Polka Dot Paper
Entertainment: Hey Jack – acoustic soloist Charlie for ceremony and canapes, followed by a five piece DJ band for reception. Although this is our own company, I cannot fault the quality of performers. They went over and above to deliver incredible music throughout the night and the energy was through the roof. They nailed it for not only us, both all of our clients.
Hire: The Small things Co
Honeymoon: Tropical Island Resort, Fiji. Highly highly recommend!
