A historic gaol might not be the first venue you think of for a wedding, but for Molly and Malcolm’s self-proclaimed “dark mofo-inspired, romantic/dramatic, quirky” wedding, there was no better venue, Old Melbourne Gaol provides a moody, intimate spade for a candlelit wedding, which was not only what dreams are made of, but the perfect expression of Molly and Malcolm.

Filled with incredible colour (just wait until you see the flowers), custom details handmade by Molly and Malcolm themselves, photographs surrounded by books and plenty of rejigging of tradition to make their day their own, Molly and Malcolm’s wedding is quite a simple one that’s unforgettable.

Molly kicks it all off, with a story that began many moons ago. “We met at work. I was waiting with a group of new starters by the customer service desk, nervous about my first real job not sure which department I would end up in. A strange-looking guy walked past with big glasses, a giant fro, jeans, and a black blazer with orange graffiti on the side. That was my first sign that maybe this job was not going to be so scary after all if other quirky people were working there. That guy ended up being Malcolm and we worked in the same department for 18 months together. There has rarely been a day we haven’t spoken or seen each other since.”

Malcolm tells, from his point of view, “In a way, we were both starting new jobs on the same day. I had worked there for a while, but I was in a new store. I remember the CEO was in our shop that day because we were reopening after a refurb. Most of the new starters, including Molly, were oblivious to the importance of the occasion which I found very reassuring. If she wasn’t freaking out on her first day of work, then there was no need for me to. I remember standing next to her trying to look busy (as there were not many customers around) and I think we refolded some t-shirts together, which there was no need to do because the store was in immaculate shape, and everything had already been folded ten times. But I remember it was fun too!”

The proposal did not quite go to plan, says Molly “Malcolm will have to answer this one, but it got sabotaged by our wonderful cat Remi, who got very sick when Malcolm was planning to make things official. Malcolm had made me this amazing card that was covered in photos of all our adventures, and there was a secret compartment that showed me the design for the engagement ring. Malcolm left it for me to open when I was ready to and it was such a nice gentle way to start our engagement, as I was still overwhelmed by losing Remi, and I’m not one for public displays of anything!”

Malcolm added “It was to be on New Year’s Eve in Hobart. We had a dinner booked at the fanciest restaurant in town and tickets booked afterwards for the fireworks on the harbour. But Remi had other ideas and we had to rush home on New Year’s Eve eve to look after him. When we arrived back in Melbourne, we raced to the vet hospital and Molly held Remi so that he knew he was safe and loved. The next night we were both so upset but I left the card I’d made on her bedside table and told her she could read it when she was ready. I’d approached one of her favourite jewellers months before to help with designs for the engagement ring – which was inspired by her granny’s ring – but I like that it ended up being a collaboration between the two of us.”

The day began with music, Molly and Malcolm handmaking their intentions which featured custom printed 7″ vinyl records. “The stuff we did ourselves together was really special; the invites and the favours in particular” explain Molly and Malcolm. “We even waxed and sealed the envelopes in emerald green and a stamp that said, “all you need is love.”

Molly worked with D’italia to create her dream gown. “I wasn’t comfortable going to a traditional wedding store but I had something in mind. I found a Vampire’s Wife (Susie Cave) dress which I used as inspiration. D’Italia was able to hook me up with really good Italian silk fabric and put be on to Eva Tomala who I came to trust implicitly. I wanted a vintage/classic look and wanted to feel comfortable and she incorporated all of my ideas into her design and made final adjustments right up to the last minute. Nothing was too much trouble”

Molly and Malcolm shared a first look before they left the hotel. “We did do a first look at our hotel before we left for the ceremony (where we both had a little cry). The lasting memory we have of the day was that everything just felt right.”

Malcolm dressed in an earthy coloured green suit and floral patterned shirt, finding the pieces at Sarti Tailors and MJ Bale. he tells”Funnily enough I bought the first suit I looked at/tried on. I’m all about earth tones and it was deep, textured forest green. This then became a bit of a theme/motif for the occasion. We used it on our invites and favours and Molly had the same colour in her shoes and her headband. I also had a paisley shirt tailored and bought some black Dr Martens boots that I thought would work as well. The florals also contained this richness and vibrancy/sense of fun. I am far from fashion-oriented but I was glad I chose what I did and felt comfortable in it.”

The couple spent time with their wedding party, before their ceremony for photographers. The decision to hire Georgia Verrells is one they are well and truly grateful for. “Georgia was wonderful. She had such great energy and hugged us when she arrived. She also took us for a cheeky drink as we made our way to the venue in a unique little bar in the city. Malcolm now refers to drinking negronis at “Georgia-pace” and could not keep up. We had also let her know beforehand we are not the most comfortable people in front of the camera but she immediately put us at ease. Also, we love that she uses Sony equipment. Georgia also arranged a second photographer for the night, Dave, whose style complimented hers and who shares a love of symmetry with Malcolm.”

Honouring Molly’s Scottish heritage, the couple hired Bagpipes by Robert Crozier to welcome guests to the wedding.

Molly and Malcolm held their wedding at Old Melbourne Gaol (managed by Showtime Event Group). “We chose Old Melbourne Gaol because it has character and history” they explain. “Wherever we go, Molly makes sure we do a ghost tour and we felt that it was a blank canvas that we could dress up the way we wanted to make a statement. Also, Showtime was so lovely to deal with and so responsive that we were very confident in moving forward with them.”

Molly and Malcolm walked into their ceremony at the same time to a medley of songs mixed by Malcolm himself. “We walked into the ceremony together and came downstairs from above our guests. They were ringing little wedding bells we had handmade for them. Malcolm also made an entrance music medley which included a song with the refrain “Guess who’s going to Jail tonight?”, some standup comedy (a passion for both of us), some spoken word and, finally, Nick Cave’s “Breathless”.”

It was important to Molly and Malcolm that their ceremony was personal, and for this, they handed the responsibility to celebrant Nat Sproul, telling “We just wanted it to reflect us; our values and what we love about each other. Our celebrant (Nat Sproul) nailed it. There were no readings but we enjoyed experiencing our ninja vows (which we had secretly written to read to each other).

Malcolm also took inspiration from classic romantic comedies and Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” music video by delivering his vows without any spoken words on cue cards accompanied by the Magnetic Fields’ “Its Only Time” (which our DJ had cued up). About halfway through this, Molly was so overwhelmed that she told him to stop but they got to the end together.”

Even the rings had special meaning, both Molly and Malcolm’s wedding rings contain gold from Molly’s grandmother’s ring.

Once the official part of the day was complete, Molly and Malcolm welcomed their guests to an instance candlelit reception, “The styling brought the venue to life and felt magical. The area where we had the ceremony was like a little grotto or theatre and was incredibly intimate and special and then when the room opened up the scope and scale of what all our vendors had done for us became apparent. Rather than the guests welcoming us to the reception, we welcomed them. Showtime had arranged an emerald curtain that divided the space and we timed our room reveal to the beat dropping in the Prodigy remix of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” (from Trainspotting 2 – side note, Molly is from Edinburgh) as we poured a champagne fountain for them.”

Botanics of Melbourne created the incredible moody floral details of the day, explain Molly and Malcolm. “We left this entirely up to the floral designer with very little direction from us. We gave them one reference image from Dark Mofo which was of a long banquet table filled with candles and we also specified that we wanted a hanging installation above. The only other instruction we gave was to make sure the colour popped. All of our vendors were absolutely, bloody fantastic and we couldn’t have done it without them. We have no regrets. If you can, don’t compromise (treat yourself). And, trust your vendors”

There were several really special details that Molly and Malcolm switched up. “We handmade bells and, printed our welcome sign and seating chart and menus.  We also commissioned a neon sign from Sketch & Etch that read “Let Love In” and asked guests to write us to love letters to be opened on our first anniversary (paper).

We had his and hers cocktails for our guests; Molly’s favourite which is an Elderflower Collins and Malcolm’s, a Whiskey Sour. The guests loved them (they were very strong). We also asked both of our mothers to speak at the reception in a break from tradition (rather than the father of the bride and groom).”

Wedding favours were custom made CDs.”We made favours which included a mix CD with our artwork designs – front cover “If you’re reading this we’re already married” (Drake) and back cover “we love you like Kanye loves Kanye” (YE cover generator).”

The newlyweds made their dance floor debut to slow dance to Dave Sitek’s “With A Girl Like You (Troggs cover).”

With the help of their venue managers, Showtime Event Group, Malcolm and Molly were able to have a late-night photo session at the State Library, the images of which are amongst some of their favourites.

Congratulations on getting married Molly and Malcolm, and thank you for sharing the stories and images of your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Georgia Verrells for sending the images our way.