The lead up to a wedding can be a trying time for any bride and groom-to-be, but Jemma and Matt are experts in the field of chaos (first featured in issue 14). Between their engagement and wedding, this pair kept their cool despite losing their house in a flood, inheriting three stray cats and moving (twice) while Matt took on a new job (which meant he spent the eight weeks before the celebration living in a hostel) and Jemma packed up their entire house. Phew!
“Talk about cutting things fine! All these things just helped make the big day even more special as we had only seen each other twice in the two months leading up the the wedding,” explains the bride, who opted for a ceremony at The Zoo Fortitude Valley and a day that reflected them as a couple.
“Our inspiration definitely came from our casual life together. Surrounded by our close friends and family and good live music. We didn’t want our wedding to be anything that we weren’t. It almost just felt like a big party. The most important thing for us is we got to spend quality time with all the people who matter to us in our lives, and we just wanted to feel relaxed, eat good food and dance to fun songs that we all picked together.”
That’s right, this quirky couple strayed away from tradition in more ways than one… no bouquet toss, no first dance, no DJ (just a laptop for everyone to help themselves to their favourite tunes) and one heck of a wedding dress. “I struggled a lot to find a dress that I thought wasn’t super over done or generic. I wanted something unique with colour but nothing so gorgeous that my mother would hate it. I got really lucky on ASOS (Needle & Thread), I stumbled upon a $300 dress that definitely wasn’t labeled as a wedding dress but seemed way too amazing to be anything but. It fit me as if it was made for me and I never looked back. Best decision I ever made. I loved my dress so much.”
Full of fun and fabulous to the core, Jemma and Matt opted for a killer cookie dough filled cake, amazing vendors (like photographer Janneke Storm and legend celebrant Paul Voge) and landed on a pretty cheeky invite option thanks to Matt’s mix-up of confetti and glitter before realising the potential for an incredible joke. “We totally loaded every invite with mountains of glitter – telling our close friends specifically that they should open the invite in their lounge rooms with the kids… which was a bit evil.” Jemma and Matt – 1. Guests – 0 (and covered in glitter).
CREDITS Photography Janneke Storm // Florist Bella Bloom Floral Designs // Stationery Damon Whiteley // Printer Officeworks // Ceremony Venue The Zoo Fortitude Valley // Reception Venue and Catering Lock?n?Load Bistro // Cake Karlee Kupcakes // Celebrant Paul Voge // Bride’s Ring Carbon Contemporary Jewellery // Groom’s Ring Pauline Calvar // Bridal Gown Needle & Thread // Robes Peter Alexander // Accessories Lovisa // Hair Hair By Jools // Bridesmaid Dresses Review // Bridesmaid Shoes Novo // Suit and Bow tie Scotch & Soda // Shoes and Groomsmen Suits Jack London