It was in a group chat through a mutual friend Viv, that Jess and Victor’s paths first crossed “One day, Viv randomly messaged the group with photos of Vic, offering Vic to Jess. Jess thought he was cute and met her height criteria. Viv then sped up the process and asked Jess to join her work drinks where Vic would be there.” The pair caught each other’s eyes at first sight. “She thought he was handsome and not too awkward to talk to. Vic thought Jess was stunning and surprised how she stuck around even though he mostly talked about his work.”.

And it was a clear summer’s day in Melbourne that the pair tied the knot, on a day full of bright beautiful colour, sweet rustic charm (farm animals included) at Collingwood Children’s Farm, and so many heartfelt personal details, that it’s hard to think of anything not to love about these two. Beautiful photography by Kyra Boyer included of course!

The question was popped in Easter 2021, which the couple spent camping on top of Mount William in the Grampians, Victor impressing Jess with coffee made from the couple’s brand new camping stove before he asked her to marry him. And the ring? Victor had Matt Wynne Designer Jeweller redesign Jess’ grandmother’s engagement ring into a brand new setting.

Victor, wanting a timeless look chose a black suit from Oxford. “Vic wanted something classic and timeless, an excuse to wear a tuxedo (having never worn one before) and to learn how to tie a bowtie. Vic found a tuxedo jacket from Oxford, a Jeff Banks bowtie, a dinner shirt and a pair of slacks from Charles Tyrwhitt.” The couple even made sure that one extra special guest was dressed to the nines. “We made sure Vic got photos with our cat Miso in the morning. We even bought him a special bow tie for the day to match his tuxedo fur coat!”

Jess kept the chic styling of the day by choosing a Prea James gown from Bluebell Bridal. “I wanted something modest, classic and timeless.  I eventually fell in love with Prea James’ Cara dress from Bluebell Bridal. It was strange trying on dresses in between lockdowns but after trying on the dress, I knew it was the one for me. A Sex and the City fanatic, I had always wanted to own a pair of Manolo Blahnik Hangisi’s that Carrie made famous in the movie so knew this was the perfect time to justify the purchase!”

The couple were married at Collingwood Children’s Farm, with help from The Farm Cafe who hosted the event on-site. “For the wedding, we chose the Collingwood Children’s Farm. Jess had been many times as a kid. And a frequent stopover for brunch when we ride the Capital City Trail. We wanted something close to the city to make it easy for our guests.

For our ceremony, we opted for a spot under a Gum Tree in the Paddock area next to the Yarra. Our reception was in the Barn, just a short walk away from the ceremony spot.”

The couple opted for a first look and were thrilled with every single one of the resulting photos, telling “We loved Kyra’s work and the way she captures happy moments. On the day, she was amazing and made us feel at ease behind the camera, which is hard given that we can be so awkward.”

Beautiful floral arrangements of peach and hydrangea blue added to the bright and fun feel of the day, the beauties styled by Pomp and Splendour. “Flowers were a big part of our wedding day and we wanted something colourful that matched our rustic aesthetic. We chose Pomp and Splendour, working with them, we designed a mood board with colours and flowers that would be in season. We also love the contrast of the reds, oranges, blues and greens against our outfits and barn, as these are colours we use in our home.”

It was to the sounds of “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges, on the arm of her father, that Jess walked down the aisle.

The couple was married by Maree Livy. They tell “Our Celebrant Maree designed our ceremony with the perfect upbeat vibe to make us feel at ease and keep the crowd engaged. We both wrote our vows separately and surprised each other with funny niche moments of our lives. Vic shocked Jess when he nearly started singing a rendition of one of Jess’ favourite Jack Johnson songs “Better Together” with the help of the guitarist but continued to recite the words instead. It was very sweet.”

 

Jess and Victor’s wedding planning advice? “Don’t leave everything to the last minute! If you’re doing stuff yourself, make sure you have plenty of time the week before to finish the little details.”

The couple added their special handmade touches to the day. “We loved the DIY aspects and working out what we could do ourselves to make everything unique. Given that we were in lockdowns through most of the year leading up to our wedding, the DIY tasks were great indoor activities to keep us busy.

We love to DIY and were quite handy on the tools when doing up our terrace house in Carlton. It wouldn’t be our wedding if it wasn’t DIY’d. We DIY’d our wedding ceremony sign by re-using our letter board, used Vic’s Mum’s old carpet runner, baked brownies for all our guests, designed our seating cards (bought flower pressed paper and hand-stamped each letter), made our seating cardholders (on the circular drop saw with fallen branches from Jess’ parent’s Little River home), designed our seating charts and bar menu. Not to mention, Jess DIY’d her infamous party jacket with a denim jacket and tinsel from Kmart.”

Guests enjoyed a delicious sit-down feast catered for Catering At The Farm Cafe. “The team at the Farm, especially Cat and Alice, were an absolute dream to work with and helped everything run smoothly on the day. They kept us informed of any changes and made sure our day was perfect.”

The first dance? A Taylor Swift favourite! The couple taking lessons with Jo at First Dance Melbourne. “Vic doesn’t have many moves on the dancefloor, therefore wanted something simple with a little surprise” laughs Jess. “We chose “September” by Taylor Swift as we met in September, then mixed it up with the Earth, Wind and Fire version. We started with a slow sway, a few spins and dips, then cranked it up with some disco moves (not quite Travolta from Saturday Night Fever).

After the dancefloor started heating up, Vic stole Jess’s tinsel jacket and was the life of the dancefloor. He looked even better in it than Jess!”

Then biggest of beautiful congratulations to you both Jess and Victor! thank you for taking the time to share your stories with us. Thank you also to Kyra Boyer for sharing today’s celebration with us.