A wedding planner’s own day at Jack Rabbit
A relationship centred on laughter and a wedding day centred on pure fun – Jordan and Alex’s celebration was always going to be one hell of a party.
Set at Jack Rabbit on the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula, the pair kept the styling elevated and timeless with a black-and-cream palette, because for them, the day was never about over-the-top details or wedding “must-haves” – it was about good people, good food, plenty of laughs and a dance floor that stayed full all night long. Alex even introduced a strict no-tie policy for the dress code, which resulted in one particularly hilarious moment that was absolutely priceless.
Wanting to wear something fun, funky and a little unexpected, Jordan chose a Honeymoon Studios outfit described as making you feel like a “god damn queen” – and she absolutely exuded that energy all day long. Alex looked effortlessly suave in a black velvet suit jacket, while the bridesmaids stunned in what might just be the steal of the century: gowns sourced from an op-shop find.
When it came to planning, Jordan was surprisingly chill – especially for a self-confessed type A personality. That may have had something to do with being a wedding planner herself at Provenance Wines. Knowing exactly how much happens behind the scenes, she trusted the process, locked in a dream team of vendors and focused on soaking up every second of the day instead of sweating the small stuff.
One to read, take note from and fall a little bit in love with – all beautifully captured by Jacob Heston.
The meeting.
We always say Alex met me six months before I met him. He was an RA at our university and helped me back to my apartment after quite a few too many beverages at a uni night. I joined the RA team six months later and introduced myself as if we’d never met – because to me, we hadn’t! This was back in 2018, so we’re coming up to being together eight years.
The one.
There wasn’t really a moment in particular. We just got on so well from the get-go. We don’t take ourselves too seriously; we’re constantly laughing, and along the way we realised that this was the kind of relationship we wanted to have forever.
The proposal.
Easter 2025. We drove down to Ocean Grove for the weekend to see my parents. On the drive down, Alex asked if I wanted to go for a walk along the beach and have a bev at The Dunes later on. Very up my alley, but not the kind of thing we usually do on a weekend with my parents. Suffice to say, this was the first alarm bell – the first moment where I thought, hmm, something might be afoot here.
A few hours later, we were just hanging on the couch when Alex asked, “So, are you having a good day?” I said, “Um, yeah?” thinking it was super weird he was asking. It was the second alarm bell.
We eventually headed down to the beach, with Alex walking a step behind me to hide the giant ring box in his pocket. The tide was really high, and I, in a bit of a shit-stirring moment, said, “We’re about to run out of beach, so did we wanna just get a bev first?” Alex, of course adamant we had to go for a walk first, said it would be fine, and off we went.
We were looking out over the bluff in Barwon Heads and, having grown up there, I said it’s my favourite view. Alex said something along the lines of, “Guess it’s a pretty good spot to do this then,” got down on one knee (actually kinda lost his balance, so temporarily got to two knees, then back up to one), and proposed.
Style inspiration.
FUN! Laughing is the core part of our relationship, so we just wanted all of our favourite people together, having fun, and celebrating. We went with a black and cream colour palette to bring some class but personalised it with custom illustrations my bridesmaid did of us to really give it a personable and “us” edge.
Planning process.
Oooh this is going to sound super taboo now that I work in weddings, but I didn’t look at any wedding blogs or magazines! I knew we would be making this our own and not following the playbook or taking inspiration from others, so I didn’t pick up mags or read blogs. We just spoke about what we wanted, bounced ideas with our creative friends, and off we went!
The ceremony.
Ahhh our ceremony. One of our best friends got certified as a celebrant last year, so we were the second wedding he did. Historically, we were always tossing up an elopement vs. a full wedding because we weren’t sure we could craft a wedding that felt hyper-personal and tailored to us. Part of this was the celebrant. We were always going to ask Bailey to at least tell our story and get an official celebrant to do the legal bit. But he ended up getting certified. It was a wonderful moment to have someone who has been there from day dot of our relationship telling our story and putting his own spin on it.
Bailey aside, our vows were super complementary to each other. We used all the same in-jokes, so when it was echoed in Alex’s vows (he went second), it was funny and warm and brought everyone along on the journey with us.
The outfits.
I am not an indecisive person, but throughout my wedding journey, I bought three hens dresses and two wedding dresses (lol). For my wedding dress, I wanted something fun, funky, and different. The classic styles at bridal stores didn’t resonate with me, so I started with a mini Elizabeth Gilbert dress that was simply STUNNING.
But then I had my classic bridal shopping day with my mum and bridesmaids, and a friend from work recommended Honeymoon Studios in Northcote. From the moment I arrived, I knew I was buying something from them. Super different, but still evidently bridal. They were warm and inviting and had all the time in the world for us without being over the top.
One of the bridal shops I went into had a “mock aisle”, where they had me walk down it with a bouquet, and when I got to the end, the consultant said, “Soooo, are we saying YES to the dress?!” And while I hold nothing against her – that’s her job, after all – it was just soooo not me. It was a total juxtaposition going to Honeymoon afterwards. Calm, warm, lovely, with beautiful pieces that felt unique. In case you can’t tell, I am simply obsessed with them!
Believe it or not, I found the bridesmaid dresses at an Op Shop. I was 20 minutes early to my bridal fitting, so I went into the Op Shop next door to browse the racks. I knew I wanted a black silky dress (a Billy J or Petal & Pup style one), and as I was flicking through the racks, I found one in the perfect size for one of my bridesmaids. I snapped a photo to the gals and said, “This is brand new, with tags, and only $21! I should just get it anyway, right?”
Of course, the answer was yes.
But then I kept flicking through the racks, and the exact same dress showed up. Also brand new with tags. In the size of my second bridesmaid. By now, I was thinking, holy shit, how cool is this?
But it gets better.
Yes, I kept scouring the racks and, can you believe it, another identical dress. In the size of my maid of honour. All brand new with tags. All the perfect sizes. All $21. I still think this is perhaps the coolest thing to have ever happened to me.
Alex got a black velvet suit jacket. I don’t know where from, but it looked HOT. Alex’s non-negotiable was that our wedding was a “no ties” affair. He hates ties and always kicks up a fuss about having to wear them to formal events. So, on our invites, he wrote, “If anyone rocks up with a tie on, I will cut it off with scissors.”
Which leads into the next thing…
Favourite moment.
After Alex vowed to cut the ties off any guests who dared disobey the dress code (lol), I had the idea to get custom ties printed with our faces on them and leave them on everyone’s place settings as wedding favours. But I didn’t tell Alex, so he would walk into the reception, wonder why everyone was suddenly wearing ties, and then clock that they had our faces printed on them.
Mum (absolute MVP) led the charge on this and made sure there was one for everyone. She also had the genius idea of getting a pair of fabric scissors and giving them to Alex once he realised what was going on. SO, after we entered the reception and got to our bridal table, Mum handed Alex the “tie scissors” tied with a black ribbon, and he was ECSTATIC.
The whole night, we got photos and videos of him cutting everyone’s ties off, so a lot of the photos later in the night feature our friends and family in half-cut ties. It ended up being such a fun moment that everyone got involved in, and honestly, it’s always lovely to pull off a surprise for your husband!
Meaning of marriage.
Marriage means showing up every day choosing to love each other, laugh with each other, and have each other’s backs. To keep communicating, even when you don’t feel like it, and make sure you’re on the same page (or can get to the same page).
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Perfect by Ed Sheeran
Recessional: September by Earth Wind and Fire. Our anniversary for dating is 21 September, so this has been our song from the get-go. The first line is “Do you remember, the 21st of September?”
Reception entry: Fireball by Pitbull
First dance: Didn’t really do a formal first dance, but Beyond by Leon Bridges.
Funny stories (or near disasters).
We had two Best Men as Alex’s groomsmen, and they kept sneaking off the day before the wedding to practice their entrance into reception. We were all wondering what the hell they were doing, but it turns out they were practicing a stunt to do together! It was crazy cool but felt very suspicious the day before. We were like, “where the hell did Xander and Gautham get to?”
Planning surprises.
Honestly? How chill I was. I’m a pretty type A person, but I just didn’t sweat the small stuff – or the big stuff, really. I think it was because we were so clear on what we wanted, on doing this our way and not caring about tradition (no cake, no formal first dance, etc.), so we knew we were having the day we wanted.
Also, I started working in weddings four months prior to my own, and I think having the inside scoop on how it runs from a venue/vendor perspective made it easier. As I always say to my couples, it is so incredibly hard to mess up a wedding because there are so many people getting paid to make it run smoothly – making sure you’re in the right place at the right time, etc. That was a weight off, because we just trusted the process, had great vendors, and it was so stress-free.
Words of wisdom.
Planning a wedding is as stressful or relaxing as you make it! It doesn’t need to be stressful if you have really clear boundaries with your people (e.g. my grandma kept saying, “You must be SOOOO stressed,” and I said to her, “I’m not stressed, but you have to stop saying that because it’s making me feel stressed. Otherwise, I can’t talk to you about my wedding”); work with really good vendors you fully trust; and pick a bridal party/crew that has your back and puts your experience of the day first.
Jordan and Alex’s Vendors
Honestly, I can’t say enough kind words about every single one of the vendors that made this day possible. Everyone was simply wonderful, and I cannot recommend them all enough!
Ceremony and reception venue: Jack Rabbit
Celebrant/Officiant: Bailey Stone
Photography: Jacob Heston
Florist: The Posie Place
Hair: Rella Cannata
Make-up: Olive Torrance
The dress & veil: Honeymoon Studios
Rings: Sarah Gardner Fine Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Op Shop
Entertainment: Demi via Unplugged Entertainment
Transport: ABDA Bus Hire
