“We decided early on to keep our wedding plans simple and true to us as a couple” tell today’s stars of the show Chelsey and Jaidan. “Sticking to these initial thoughts helped keep the wedding planning process easy, stress-free and enjoyable.”

And that sticking to those personal choices? Evident in every beautiful moment of their bright & fun Adelaide wedding. From Chelsey’s bold orange wedding dress (as glorious as it sounds) with matching pastel veil, to the couple opting to keep their wedding as eco-friendly as they could. Time with Alex was chosen to capture this day, a day that was a while in the making.

It was many moons ago, way back in 2011 that the paths of Chelsey & Jaidan first crossed, they tell “We met in June 2011 at a bar called Rumpus Room in the Brisbane suburb of West End. It was Game Two of the State of Origin series and much to Chelsey’s surprise, a couple of her uni friends brought along their housemate – Jaidan. A few weeks later we met again cheering on the Maroons at Game Three of the State of Origin series and decided that we should meet up again and planned a date at South Bank. Despite a very average first date meal, we decided that we enjoyed each other’s company and organised a second date.

Fast forward eleven years, many adventures, welcoming a fur baby, an interstate relocation (during a pandemic), and here we are as Mr and Mrs Watson!”

And thanks to COVID, the proposal, originally planned for Japan, occurred somewhat closer to home. Chelsey & Jaidan shared “With initial plans to be in Japan for the proposal, Covid derailed those plans. Jaidan thought it all could be saved by a winter trip to Japan in late 2020/early 2021, however as time passed this was not an option. On a trip to visit the family in Adelaide, we decided to stop in at Utopian Creations to look at sparkly options and it was meant to be as Chelsey spotted a sapphire (from Queensland of all places) and the ring creation process began.

Again, Covid was not a friend and our design process took a while, and even when we were able to pick up the ring we had to keep it under wraps from family. As it had been so long, we didn’t want any delay or fanfare, so Jaidan organised an intimate dinner at our favourite ramen restaurant. After a few logistical hiccups at dinner and a very full restaurant, he decided to wait and we headed back to the car, with time running out an opportunity presented itself and Jaidan proposed (June 2021). A complete surprise to Chelsey, she couldn’t have asked for a more perfect proposal.”

As you might imagine, there is a story behind why Chelsey chose a beautiful orange frock. A painted veil made by designer Tiff Manuell to wear. She explains “With a Gorman-filled wardrobe, the thought of wearing a dress without colour didn’t make any sense to me. After a few months of searching and an in-store try-on, I found my dress at Aje. The dress fit the brief perfectly and most importantly to me, it had pockets and made me feel like myself. The dress would not be out of place in my wardrobe and could easily be worn again which was important to me as I dislike the one-time use approach of the typical wedding dress.

Originally not planning on wearing a veil, it felt like the universe was sending me a sign in April when Tiff Manuell launched her newest venture, Tiff Manuell Bridal. Wearing a Tiff Manuell piece was a dream come true for me and I cannot thank Tiff, Indigo, and the Tiff Manuel team enough for bringing my veil vision to life. My veil is a piece of art and I will treasure it forever.

I coupled my dress and veil with champagne-coloured earrings from Maison SABBEN, heels from Pink Inc (for the ceremony), and my old faithful Saltwater Sandals for the party. My wedding day bag was gifted to me by my husband and was a black clutch from The Daily Edited with my new initials. Brides don’t have to wear white, if you love colour, embrace it!”

Even Jaidan added his sense of whimsy to his outfit. “Something that was important to Chels and I was not wearing an outfit for the wedding that would be single use” he explains, “I chose to wear a suit that was already in my wardrobe but updated it with a funky shirt that complimented Chelsey’s wedding dress. For my shoes, I wore my old faithful RM’s and pulled the outfit together with a customhand-painted pocket square that had been made for me (to match Chelsey’s veil) by Tiff Manuell.”

The couple chose one venue for their wedding, Chateau Apollo. “We chose Chateau Apollo, a former industrial warehouse in the heart of Adelaide’s East End. We had been looking at the venue for a few years before we were engaged and had always thought it was the perfect venue for us as it was centrally located, a flexible space, and housed the most beautiful, exposed brick walls.

Post engagement when we booked the venue, the details of the space excited us more and we were so happy that we could have our guests at the venue for the ceremony, post-ceremony nibbles and reception.”

The venue was filled with native blooms and foliage styled by Into the Bloom. Chelsey and Jaidan telling  “Our flower inspiration were Australian natives which we wanted to showcase in an understated and refined way throughout our wedding day. We also opted for ceremony arrangements that could be repositioned for the reception to reduce wastage. Our reception tables were decorated with vases of blue gum eucalyptus.”

Chelsey chose to walk down the aisle alone, the Artic Monkeys cover of The Beatle’s classic “Baby I’m Yours”.

“We chose to hold onto each other’s wedding rings for the ceremony, so we bought these small timber ring boxes to keep the rings secure in our pockets until the ring exchange.”

Chelsey & Jaidan chose Natalie Peachey Marriage Celebrant to officiate. “When we first engaged our celebrant, Natalie Peachey, she asked, “what does your wedding day mean to you?” and we said, “a day well spent with our family and closest friends.”
At 3:00 pm on Sunday, 2nd October 2022 we said “I do” in front of 41 of our nearest and dearest. Our ceremony was filled with so many happy tears, love and laughter and coordinated perfectly by our amazing celebrant Natalie.”

The wise words from these two are golden. “Don’t be afraid to say no to “traditions” and those little extra things that you see in the wedding magazines; if something doesn’t add value to your day, question why you should do it. Remember that your wedding is about you and your partner, so don’t be afraid to block out the noise from others.”

“As our photos are so wonderful, we have a few favourites but one photo that does stand out from the rest is a photo of the two of us walking down Sym Choon Lane in the Adelaide East End. Although we’re not looking at the camera, the photo encapsulates what drew us to Time with Alex; the photo has a depth of emotion behind it and that captures a moment in time that will be forever treasured.

Our photographer, Time with Alex was awesome. Our guests thought he was a friend which is a testament to how well Alex engaged with our guests. We also are still in awe at some of the shots he was able to capture, for so many it feels like Alex was in two places at once as we can’t remember him being around or standing out in the moment that was captured.”

Of the decor, they couple wanted it pared back, with Australian native flora shining through. “Although we didn’t have a theme, we wanted our wedding to be a relaxed and intimate celebration so when selecting furniture, we chose tables and chairs reminiscent of the family dining table and created chill out spaces for our guests with deep red vintage lounge sets.” And not only did Jaidan make all the stationery himself, but the couple spent months before the wedding sourcing vintage vases from op-shops to use as the centrepieces for their reception tables.

“We have lots of special moments from the day but one particularly special moment that comes to mind is when we viewed our reception setup before our guests returned for the evening and were surprised to find a gift from Jaidan’s brother – a framed hand-drawn image of ourselves and our fur baby. It was especially sentimental as we couldn’t include our fur baby on the day and the drawing is a beautiful piece to treasure in our home for years to come. We also added a Gorman fabric planter to store our extra instant camera film on our wishing well table. The planter was a fun way to include some colour and will be a treasured planter for a house plant in our home for years to come.”

The couple opted for two long tables for their guests to dine at. “Several years ago, we attended a friend’s wedding in which the bride and groom spent time with their guests before the reception and sat with all their guests for the reception at a long dinner table. The vibe of this friend’s wedding stuck with us for years and when it came to planning our wedding, we knew that we wanted to spend as much time with our guests as we could and enjoy our dinner with them at big tables.

Although logistically we couldn’t fit all our guests at one long table, having two long tables alongside each other (with unassigned seating) was the best way to enjoy our evening with family and friends.”

“We loved spending time with our friends and family, enjoying good food and wine and celebrating the night away on the dancefloor with the perfect set by our awesome DJ, Ruby Chew. All our vendors were awesome and each contributed in their way to bring our day together in the best way possible.”

“Much like the rest of our wedding our first dance was relaxed and intimate” remember the newlyweds “We chose to not take up any dance lessons leading up to the wedding and slow danced on our way to Florence + The Machine’s cover of “Stand By Me”. We picked Florence + The Machine’s cover as we wanted a classic but couldn’t go past the depth of feelings that this version created.”

The night ended with a favourite tune – take special note of this rave review for DJ Ruby Chew! “Although not a typical end-of-evening song for a wedding, Africa by Toto is a special one for us, so being able to sing at the top of our lungs “bless the rains in Africa” was truly a moment to treasure. Thanks again to our incredible DJ, Ruby Chew for bringing together this moment!

The twelve months leading up to our wedding had been a whirlwind with an interstate relocation, so it was so special for us to celebrate and dance the night away with our closest friends and family.”

Congratulations to you both Chelsey & Jaidan. What an absolute joy to be able to share your days. Thank you both and thank you to Time with Alex for sharing this beauty with us.