Real Wedding – Sho & Adam, Melbourne VIC

Sho and Adam’s stunning soiree is a testament to their elevated sense of style and sharp insider insight. Sho, who has been planning weddings for over a decade, chose to make her intimate celebration very different from many she plans for others—an inner-city affair that dials up the party feel and drops the wedding extras, captured perfectly by Jessica Sadie.

Surrounding themselves with a truly A-class team of vendors helped realise this vibrant vision – beginning with a perfectly personal, uplifting ceremony by ultra-talent Kat of The Celebrandt.

While Adam cuts a sharp figure in his classic noir suit by MJ Bale, Sho is breathtakingly radiant in her Eva Lendal gown from our friends at The Bridal Curator – giving elegant contemporary queen, enhanced for the ceremony with a dreamy veil by Amelie George.

In a true masterstroke, Sho briefed superstar florist Flowers by Varu simply with her styling ethos—elegant city chic—and then left them to have full creative control. From the colour scheme to the table styling, everything was a surprise to Sho and Adam on the day, and boy, what a stunning surprise.

We couldn’t love this more, from the choices to the trust to the final look – read on to see the dreamy results.

The meeting.

We both went to the same gym –  although we eventually connected on Bumble. After the all too important “match” and a nervous few days around the gym, I finally built up the courage to go say hello. We got chatting and eventually our first walking date was set.

The ‘one’.

It turns out that it occurred at the same time for us both!

We both got covid and had to isolate together for seven days in Adam’s TINY South Melbourne apartment. It was the busiest time of work for me (Sho) that I’d ever had and I was incredibly stressed. It was also the first time “living” together for more then a few nights. On the first day of isolation Adam hired me a spin bike and set it up in his lounge room so I could stay sane. Over that week together, despite being sick and stuck in a tiny apartment, we had the most fun. And at the end we both did not want to live separately.

The proposal.

As we had a Europe holiday planned for later in the year, I had a feeling it may happen then! So I was just completely shocked!

It was Easter weekend and we had already made plans to stay with Adam’s family in Mornington. The day before, Adam suggested we go for a winery lunch together on the Friday as well and make the most of the long weekend.

We headed to Mont Rouge Estate. After lunch Adam casually suggested we find somewhere for wine tasting afterwards as well.

I googled what would be open on Good Friday and was so happy to see that Polperro was. It was a special place for us as we had stayed there the previous year for my birthday weekend.

When we arrived at Polperro, Adam started driving towards the villas where we had stayed on our last visit. He said to me that he just wanted to check it out again. Adam jumped straight out of the car and straight into the villa! I realised we were staying then and was so shocked/excited/surprised I’m not sure I noticed anything else going on.

We sat on the back deck with a cheese platter before he got down on one knee.

The best part was we had already planned to see our families that weekend so got to share it with them too in person which was amazing.

Planning process.

I’ve been planning weddings for over ten years, so naturally I took the reins with planning our day! I think this is also why we wanted to have a more intimate celebration with our closest friends and family. Sort of the opposite to what I plan at work.

I have a lot of friends who are wedding suppliers (and would also be guests) so it was pretty easy selecting the people who would help bring out day together.

As for reception venue, we knew we wanted to have an inner city vibe and both love good food and wine. We had been to Cumulus before and LOVED the food. So we went back to check out the upper level and it felt perfect. It was the first venue we looked at and we got lucky being able to secure the Sunday of the long weekend.

After that, we knew we wanted a ceremony venue within walking distance to the reception – to avoid the need for transport or wedding cars, as well as somewhere dog friendly! Fitzroy Gardens was just across the road and we loved the fact that The Conservatory was indoors so weather friendly! They also allowed BYO so we could arrange a champagne bar for celebratory drinks there as well.

Style inspiration.

We both decided we wanted to cut out any unnecessary wedding fluff (such as wedding cake, bonbonierre, even first dance) so that it felt more like a party then a wedding.

In terms of style, we gave our florist three words: “Elegant city chic” and gave her full creative control and let it be a complete surprise on the day! We didn’t even know what the colour scheme would look like until our bouquets got delivered on the wedding morning. She took care of all our table styling, stationary, candles, even our invites! It was the most stress-free and fun decision and we’d put our full trust in her all over again!

The ceremony.

We got married inside the Conservatory in Fitzroy Gardens. It is quite a unique shape inside and only suitable for smaller groups (which suited us perfectly), as guests stand in a semi-circle around the couple, rather than in rows facing the front, as is customary. Every season they change the flower display inside so it comes completely decked out in florals already. Only catch is you don’t know what the flowers will look like until a few weeks before!

Our celebrant, Kat, is also a very dear friend to us, so the ceremony itself felt so personal and emotional. Lots of tears and laughs! We also managed to have our dog Louie involved which was really special.

The outfits.

I had an image of a wedding dress saved on my phone from 2022 and always thought if I get married I want this! Through some intense stalking I somehow found a very similar style by Eva Lendal. I found one sample available to try on at The Bridal Curator, tried it on and bought it then and there.

We kept everything else very classic – black suits and bowties for the boys and black dresses for the bridesmaids. This helped also in the fact that we didn’t know what colour our flowers would be.

I let the bridesmaids pick their own dresses (and jumpsuit!) so they all had a different style that suited them.

Favourite moments.

The dance floor! Our musician Tom was amazing – acoustic guitar/vocals turned DJ later on. We got everyone dancing and it was just so much fun.

We asked our friend Ben to MC – he nailed it. We played a little game with our guests and gave them each a number (creatively included on their place cards) when Ben called a number, that person had to get up and do an activity – including singing a song with Tom! It was all pre-decided by us of course, and our very talented friends got to showcase their talents for us!

Meaning of marriage.

The ultimate commitment to life together, whatever that may bring.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Warm Coffee (acoustic) by Ziggy Alberts

Reception entry: Beauty & a Beat by Justin Bieber

No first dance, but Sho & Dad did a surprise choreographed dance to Sunshine (My Girl) – Wuki

Funny stories (or near disasters).

I guess the fact that we ended up with one of the hottest March weekends on record!

It was 38 degrees for three days straight. Luckily our ceremony didn’t start until 5:30pm so it had cooled (a little!) but first-look photos were hot!

Planning surprises.

Adam did our seating plan single handedly in five minutes!

Words of wisdom.

Enjoy every moment as it really does go so quickly! We arranged a welcome drink and barefoot bowls the night before the wedding and it was the best decision as it made the wedding feel like a weekend and not just a few hours! Anything you can do to get some extra time – do it!

You have enough decisions to make in the planning, on the day and beyond, so trust in your suppliers. They do this for a living so hand them the reins and follow their advice.

Looking to ease the stress of your wedding planning journey? Our sweetly efficient little planning book, Wedding Plans, helps you organise your dream day vision so you can relax and enjoy every step on the way there.

SHO & ADAM’S VENDORS

Working in the industry I had my A-team lined up and ready to go in terms of ceremony and reception. I definitely utilised Ivory Tribe blogs for inspiration on outfits and accessories.

Ceremony venue: The Conservatory, Fitzroy Garden (booked/permit via City of Melbourne)

Ceremony champagne bar: Boss Bar Hire 

Reception venue: Cumulus Inc (upstairs), Flinders Lane

Celebrant: The Celebrandt, Kathryn Brandt

Photography: Jessica Sadie

Content creator: CC Captured Content

Styling, florals, stationery & signage: Flowers by Varu

Hair & make-up: Narz Studios

The dress: Eva Lendal at The Bridal Curator

Veil: Amelie George

Shoes: Siren Shoes

Rings: Larson Jewellery & Angara Jewellery

Bridesmaid’s dresses: various

Suits & bow ties / ties: MJ Bale

Entertainment: Melbourne Entertainment Company: (Tom P)