Real Wedding - Jordyn & Thomas, St Kilda VIC

September 17, 2023 In Black and White, Real Weddings, Victoria By Ivory Tribe

Real Wedding – Jordyn & Thomas, St Kilda VIC

Jordyn and Tom’s wedding festivities are a swirling vision of dreamy romance and timeless glamour with hints of contemporary detailing.

Choosing the classic-chic backdrop of the George Ballroom to host their ceremony meant the soiree begins with effortless elegance. Soft white roses and lush pillars of greenery complement the ethereally historic surrounds, while a styling palette of crisp black and white enhances the impact.

Jordyn’s gown is a stunning creation by Hera Couture from our friends at Bluebell Bridal, grounded in princess vibes with a distinctly modern neckline, elevated with a headpiece by the perfectly on-point Amelie George Bridal.

Jordyn describes their day as reflecting the two sides to her personality: a classic, emotional and heartfelt ceremony with an epic party to follow. A marquee-style reception held on a private property, styled to perfection by Elderberry Events, ensured it was a dance floor extravaganza that looked as good as it felt.

Scroll on to see each stunning moment unfold through the lens of Brooke Art Studio Photography.

The meeting.

Tom and I knew of each other through our church, but it was in 2020 that we officially met. My best friend had invited me out to dinner after church one Sunday with her two new guy friends and two other girls that Tom was ‘sussing out’. I came along not thinking anything of it. When I met Tom, his humour swept me off my feet, and I had never laughed so much at a dinner before; he was actually hilarious, and the two of us talked all night, forgetting about the two other girls he was meant to be ‘sussing out’. Apparently, once I had left to go home and my best friend, Tom, and his best friend headed back to Geelong from Melbourne, he wouldn’t stop asking questions about me and told my best friend that if he had a rose, just like the bachelor, he would have given it to me. We didn’t stop talking from that night onwards, and the rest is history!

The ‘one’.

Family is really important to both of us, and it was always my dream that the man I would meet and one day marry would be best friends with my dad. My dad has always been a golf fanatic, and when I learned that Tom was also an aspiring golfer, I got very excited about the common interest. A few months into seeing each other, they played a game of golf together, and I came and drove the golf cart around. I remember so clearly sitting in the golf cart watching my dad and Tom laugh and talk together like great friends, and I fell so in love on the spot and knew this was it (among many other things that made me know). It made me sure that this man would be my husband one day.

The proposal.

I was having lunch with my best friend to celebrate my upcoming birthday in Torquay, and afterwards, she suggested we go for a drive up the coast. She pulled into a lookout called Point Addis, and with Tom being a very tall 6’7 man, I could see his head peeking over some shrubs in the distance, and I knew it was happening. A group of elderly people saw Tom was preparing to propose and wanted to wait and watch from afar and said to me, “He’s really nervous and has put in a lot of effort.”

I bawled my eyes out walking to him, all on film as he got our friends to film and photograph the entire thing, and there at the lookout on the most perfect day, he was waiting with these gorgeous white roses all around him. He was crying, and I was bawling, and he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him with the ring of my dreams that he custom-made. We then got to celebrate with all our family and friends at Frankie in Geelong.

Planning process.

Tom and I had a yearlong engagement. I had already been planning prior to getting engaged, as we knew it was going to happen, and I had dreamed of getting married my entire life. I was bursting and couldn’t wait to plan everything.

I downloaded so many planning templates off Esty but ended up just using my notes and plain old Excel, but the 50 Pinterest boards I had, the hours upon hours of looking into different vendors and carefully selecting who we wanted to be a part of our day was so much fun! I did a lot of DIY things, including all of our stationery and some of the styling aspects; our reception was also at my parents’ private property, so there was a lot of DIY in the months leading into the big day.

I wanted our vendors to come to me organically and not just go with who everyone else did, and I am so glad we did because our vendors were truly amazing and made our experience so personal.

Style inspiration.

I wanted our ceremony to be classic, emotional, dreamy and romantic; one side of my personality, and our reception to be a wild party, unique, fun and memorable, the other half of my personality. And that we achieved. Pinterest and going to a few weddings before ours definitely helped narrow down what we did and didn’t want to do!

The directories from different wedding companies (Ivory Tribe being so incredible) were most helpful to me for style inspiration. Being able to look at specific things I was after and see a long list of trustworthy vendors saved hours of googling ‘the best vow cards’ or ‘wedding car hire’ – it was a big save!

The ceremony.

After our ceremony and for weeks after our wedding, we had so many people coming up to us saying, ‘That was the most emotional and beautiful ceremony we have ever been to’ or ‘My husband sobbed the entire ceremony’ (apparently a lot of men cried!), and that is exactly what it was.

Our ceremony seemed to have a real emotional yet joyful presence that was felt by everyone. The ceremony was very significant to me and Tom, especially as Christians, as we were coming together before God in front of our friends and family to declare our love and commitment to one another.

I cried so much walking down the aisle because I could feel the weight of the moment so greatly and just felt overwhelming joy as I went to marry my best friend.

The look.

Tom and I wore very classic outfits. Getting married at The George Ballroom felt so grand and royal in a sense, and we wanted our outfits to reflect the feeling of the building!

Tom wore a classic black tuxedo from Eddy Alias in Geelong, and I wore the La Belle V2 Gown by Hera Couture with a pearl headband and pearl veil.

I went with my mum and sister to Bluebell Bridal in Flinders Lane, and it was the first dress I tried on! I tried on a few others that day, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the first one. They always say it’s the first dress!

Favourite moments.

How can I choose? All of it was our favourite. There was something just so special about our ceremony that we will never forget, but the party we had at night was crazy. We felt like we were in a nightclub; the music and atmosphere are something we will always look back on and love.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage is incredibly important to both of us. As Christians, it holds such symbolic meaning, and we believe it is the heart of God and His gift to us. There were many things that we waited until after marriage to do together, and I think waiting on some of those things made getting married so much more meaningful because it meant that after two + years of being together, being patient and holding ourselves accountable to not do certain things, we then got to share moments together we had never done before, and that has been so special and an exciting journey. To spend the rest of your life with your best friend is the GREATEST gift.

Wedding soundtrack.

Pre-aisle: At the Table by Forever Son

Aisle: A Quiet Prayer by Ben Abraham

Worship song: The Blessing by Elevation Worship

Recessional: At Last by Eta James

Reception entry: Touch the Sky by Kanye West

First dance: Original song by my best friend, My Forever

Father / daughter dance: Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman

Exit song: Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay

Funny stories or near disasters.

Our driver was hilarious! His name was Eddie, and he drove us around in a vintage Rolls Royce.

When we pulled into the reception, a massive marquee was set on the grass, and we could hear our MC start to say, “Ladies and Gentleman…” Our song was about to play, and as we thought we were about to get out, Eddie decided to drive a whole lap of the marquee. A victory lap, everyone called it, as our entrance song played, and everyone roared laughing as we looked through the windows so confused!

He then parked the car and pulled out a red carpet for us to pose on as he took a very blurry photo on his iPhone before we walked into the marquee, the song playing on repeat!!

Planning surprises.

Keeping to a budget was difficult; I felt like post-COVID, the prices of everything went up (and understandably) a lot! Trying to navigate and make a priority list of what was really important to us, what we wanted to invest money into, and what we did not really need to have was something I didn’t expect to have to think about as much as we did! The initial budget went out the window very quickly!!

Words of wisdom.

It is YOUR day, and no matter what happens, no matter what the weather is like, if someone happens to wear white or the food isn’t as amazing as you hoped, who cares! Just be present with your husband/wife, take in every moment and forget all about the details. Your friends and family are there for you on your day, and that is all that matters. I wanted my wedding to be so perfect, and the best three words I said in the few weeks leading up to the big day were, “I don’t care.” And I meant that in the best way possible! Watch the pressure and weight of having the most ‘perfect’ day drop off you.

Love every second of every moment, the good, the bad and the ugly. Have the best party of your life, and don’t regret any of it!

Our friends at Amelie George Bridal are the go-to for stunningly stylish bridal accessories, giving pure understated chic with a twist of personality. So, we’re super delighted to present their Spring/Summer 23 collection, here on the blog.

JORDYN & TOM’S VENDORS

To find our vendors, Instagram was a HUGE help; I looked at different weddings of friends, influencers and blogs like Ivory Tribe and Hello May, looked at all the tags of suppliers and scrolled for hours checking out people’s work.

Our incredible photographer, Brooke, I found just swiping an Instagram story, and I instantly fell in love with her organic, unique, and honest work. I tried my best to find all our suppliers organically like that and not just go with the most popular supplier; it made it all really special.

Ceremony venue: The George Ballroom, St Kilda

Reception location: Private Property overlooking Lake Merrimu in Coimadai

Officiant: Pastor Jake Ford

Photography: Brooke Art Studio Photography

Videography: Anchored Cinema

Styling & florist: Elderberry Events

Hair: Elisha Rae Hair

Make-up: Katia Makeup Artist

The dress: Hera Couture at Bluebell Bridal

Veil / headwear: Amelie George Bridal

Shoes: Loeffler Randall

Rings: Australian Diamond Company