Friends, today is a good day. A very, very good day. Because today, we get to share with you Chantelle and Michael’s legendary wedding! This gem was captured by “phenomenal” photographer Jackson Grant. “We’re not interested in the staged group shots, show me my family being raucous on the dance floor instead, please,” the newlyweds told us. “All our guests raved about how much fun they had having their pictures taken by Jackson, even our more shy friends who usually avoid the spotlight.”
One hundred and eighty loved ones gathered in the Mornington Peninsula for this multi-day extravaganza, themed ‘Golden Hour’ as a nod to all the special moments in Chantelle and Michael’s relationship that have been backdropped by “epic sunsets”.
A short skip from Melbourne with “plenty of sunset views”, The Ranch ticked all the couple’s venue boxes, with ample areas to host their tea ceremony, wedding ceremony, post-ceremony drinks, afterparty and reception. “It even had a tennis court so I could live my lifelong dream of getting married on a tennis court lol,” the bride shares.
Yep, you read that right – tennis court ceremony. A circular layout, tennis court ceremony at that! And that really just scratches the surface of what makes Chantelle and Michael’s nups so iconic. But no more spoilers! You’ll just have to suss it out yourself…
THE DRESS
“I think it took approximately one month to narrow down my options to my favourite dress. It was this beautiful, structured and modern design by Kelly Lin Couture. I loved how minimally embellished the dress was, the detail was all in the sweetheart corset bodice and the mermaid skirt with scalloped ‘tail’ to create so much movement and shape.”
THE SUIT
“Once I thought about the idea of custom embroidered designs, I went with Reigner. I wasn’t meaning to go full cowboy theme, but it just so happened that Reigner’s rhinestone cowboy vibes also tied in well with our wedding venue at the Ranch. The design phase was the most exciting. I chose to have designs of my dog Billy, an oyster with a pearl (referencing the pearl farm visit in Broome the day we got engaged) and a Nightcliff jetty sunset (Chantelle and I spent a lot of time watching this sunset together when we lived in Darwin together for a few months).”
TALK ABOUT TRADITION
“So many cultural customs were part of our whole weekend! We started our wedding festivities with the ‘Door Games’ on the day before. Keeping on with traditions from my Singaporean culture, Michael and his ‘brothers’ – a group of his besties, arrived at the place my parents were staying to undergo a series of challenges hosted by my family. Later that afternoon, we met all our guests at the ‘barn’, a cosy wooden hall at The Ranch, for our Chinese Tea Ceremony. This is a tradition where we pour tea [for] our family and honour our elders to celebrate our families uniting. On the wedding day, weaving in my Papua New Guinean heritage, I asked my aunties to perform a traditional singsing ahead of us, as my parents and I made our way down the aisle. It was such a moving experience hearing them sing traditional PNG wedding songs and dance in grass skirts with kundu drums. Finally, we knew we wanted to bring one of our favourite Singaporean customs to our wedding: The Yum Sing toast. Picture everyone yelling as loud as possible, for as long as possible, ‘Yuuuuuuuum’ until blue-faced and desperate. Then finally, just as we hit the crescendo of voices in unison, we yell ‘Sing!’ and cheers to drink.”
REFERENCES
“I found so much inspiration from Hello May. Reading the real weddings sections made it so easy to visualise what kind of vendors and venues we were looking for. Cutting costs wherever possible was also a big part of our process, so going to expos like One Fine Day meant we could meet with vendors and access discounted packages.”
WE’RE GLAD WE…
“Ditching the cake and creating our Ferrero Rocher piñatas was also the best decision. No clean up, high reward, minimal costs, priceless memory.”
Want a wedding album that’ll make your loved ones go ‘WOW’? Slide into Jackson Grant’s inbox here. Or for tips on nailing a circular ceremony layout, click here. Then meet us at here for more outdoor ‘I do’s and real wedding inspiration.
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Jackson Grant On-the-day Coordinator Ivana Rnjak Florist Ella Stoeckli (Friend) Stationery & Signage DIY, Canva, Andrey Azizov Printer Officeworks Venue The Ranch Mornington Peninsula Catering Muse Events Catering Food Trucks or Carts Finn’s Oyster Bar, Elliot-Jones Sibners (Family), Last Drop Hire Items & Marquee Twilight Event Hire Film Cameras Jack Brookes (Friend) Lighting & Sound Hire DJ Warehouse Entertainment Milo Eastwood Celebrant HolyMatrimonty Rings Pip Stent, Matt Wynne Designer Jeweller Wines & Beverages Jordan Hein – Moorak Wines, Dom Smith – Slow Lane Wines, Bae Juice THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Designer Kelly Lin Couture Bridal Boutique Emily May Bridal Shoes Loeffler Randall, Nike Accessories 8 Other Reasons Hair & Makeup Ella Benore Rowe – Elvie’s Studios Collingwood Fragrance Issey Miyake THE GROOM Suit, Jacket & Pants Reigner Shirt Oscar Hunt Earrings Cami Citrine Shoes R.M. Williams Watch Tommy Hilfiger
