Vibrant DIY Wedding in Victoria

Some love stories begin with a grand romantic gesture – but for Jo and Z, it started with words. An online reading group sparked a connection that led to late-night discussions, summer swims, and, eventually, a life built together. Their love story unfolded with spontaneity and colour, creating this vibrant DIY wedding that was as joyful and unique as they were. With a bold mix of personal touches, dazzling outfits, and a celebration that put love and community first, Jo and Z created a day that felt unmistakably them. With the help of Georgia Wiggs, every sparkling detail was captured with incredible talent.

In the depths of Melbourne’s infamous COVID lockdowns, Jo and Z found a light in the darkness – an online reading group! “We developed a friendship based on our mutual admiration of each other’s contributions to the group. When we were able to escape our own houses, we met up at our local pool and spent a summer swimming together. Z finally made the first move in 2022, and we haven’t really been apart since!”

Jo proposed to Z on one of the most beautiful spots in the world – the Isle of Skye in Scotland. After months of agonising over the ring, she proposed with three different rings (a lolly ring and two-budget style rings). They had a rough idea of where she wanted to propose, but instead of picking an exact spot – Jo decided to go off the vibes. “We found ourselves in one of the most beautiful spots on earth, with no one else around, and it was the perfect moment. Z also did a reverse proposal when we got back home, complete with a custom cake and bath-time story,” shared Jo.

For their first look at this vibrant wedding, Jo wore a dress she actually already owned! “I came across an incredible size-inclusive Scottish designer called Isolated Heroes. After a big win at work, I decided to splurge on a ridiculous dress and decided I needed an occasion to wear it!” She finished off the look with Converse and a matching flower headpiece.

While it may look like Jo and Z picked their outfits out to match each other, they had no idea what the other person was wearing! Z wore a vibrant pink shirt they’d found at a vintage store in the city and a pair of orange pants from Sezane. “They were comically long when they arrived from France (I had to get 18cm taken off!). I found it hard to figure out what I wanted to wear gender-wise, so I focused on feeling comfortable and ‘myself’.”

Their favourite photos from the day were from the first look in the hall after spending the night apart. “We had a few private moments together before we walked into the ceremony, and Jo almost ruined her mascara!”

All of these gorgeous, vibrant flowers from throughout the day are grown by Friday Flowers by Swagata in Coburg. “Jo knows Swagata, and while she doesn’t usually do weddings, she kindly agreed to let us buy most of her blooms for the first week of September! We picked up our bouquets on the day from a local florist.”

Their venue for the day was Christmas Hills Mechanics Institute in country Victoria. “We realised early on that we wanted a DIY wedding (a sober vegan wedding was important to us!). We pretty much stumbled upon the hall, which was in a beautiful location, had a gorgeous open space to hold the ceremony outside, and had a cute retro vibe inside.”

Instead of walking separately into their ceremony, Jo and Z wanted to start their marriage like they do everything else – together. As they stood at the altar, Jo and Z were flanked by their Best People dressed in vibrant purple and reds.

Bridie Cavanagh was the chosen celebrant to lead the ceremony and tell Jo and Z’s love story, and she was a perfect addition to the day! “She captured our love story exactly the way we wanted it to be. We included a reading of a Frog and Toad story, which was read by Jo’s mum with extra comic timing as the microphone we hired wasn’t working properly!” they explained. “Jo also did a reading by Roxane Gay about finding your soulmate and finally managed to get through it without crying. We wrote our own vows and exchanged rings, which we designed ourselves.”

Instead of rice or confetti, Jo and Z decided to have bubbles floating through the air to finish off the ceremony! “We had kids at the ceremony who really seemed to enjoy getting involved.”

Their rings incorporated stones from Z’s Sri Lankan grandmother, giving a new lease on life to the old jewellery with the help of Bella Clark Jewellery. “Our rings don’t match exactly, but they echo each other, and that feels really special. We also got our wedding bands engraved with something special to us.”

Georgia Wiggs was the perfect photographer for this vibrant DIY wedding – Z and Jo couldn’t have been happier with their choice! “She is amazing. Neither of us particularly liked being photographed, but Georgia put us both completely at ease. We love the photos of our special day and look at them all the time. A bonus we hadn’t thought of previously was how special it was to receive beautiful professional photos of our loved ones that we could share with them. We had a few families with small children, and it was really special to give them candid photos of their little ones.”

The top five things that made this DIY wedding so unique to Z and Jo was:

“1. We did it our way.

2. All of our people were there and got to see how happy we make each other.

3. All the vendors we worked with were great and made the process super easy.

4. The venue was beautiful and a great blank canvas for us to make it work the way we wanted it to.

5. Wedding = HONEYMOON! The day after, we flew out for a long-awaited trip overseas, starting with family in Scotland and ending on a beach!”

The advice Jo and Z want to leave for future married couples is this: “Marry the right person! You’re guaranteed to have an amazing day – it could have just been the two of us, and it would have been perfect, but it was perfecter with all of our loved ones there.”

Everything within the reception space was DIY’d by Jo, Z and their friends and family! “So many friends on ladders! We decorated the hall with fairy lights and paper decorations. We had a ‘Kids Corner’ with Legos and books and toys. We designed our own mocktail menu with drinks that celebrated special moments in our relationship, e.g., ‘Falling in Love Cake’ (inspired by the cake that Jo baked, which made Z fall in love with her),” they shared. “We also had a ‘Z’s special drink’ inspired by the ginger and lemon concoction that got us through COVID. Jo also made an entirely vegan grazing table complete with cheese, pate, bread from our favourite local bakery (Back Alley Bakes) and homemade pickles. Some of our guests thought this was the entree and didn’t realise they should have saved room for the delicious Somali food that followed!”

After struggling to find a caterer that created delicious vegan food, Jo was planning to just take care of all the food themselves, so it was pure luck and fate when they were recommended Cultural Catering by a friend! “They are a social enterprise of community cooks living in the North Richmond housing estate, sharing their love of community through food. This was the first wedding that Steve and Fatuma from Cultural Catering had ever catered. Fatuma developed a delicious vegan Somali entree and main course, and her generous portions meant that most of our wedding guests got to take some food home! They were a joy to deal with and made the whole day significantly less stressful than it could have been!”

For the reception, Jo changed into their second outfit of the night – a fun white fringe sequin mini dress, perfect for dancing the night away.

One of their favourite moments from the reception was listening to their loved ones’ speeches while they ate the incredible food. “Jo’s friend from the UK couldn’t fly over for the wedding as she had a newborn baby, but their mutual friend did an excellent job of reading out a speech on her behalf and had everyone laughing along.”

Their first dance was a Scottish Ceilidh. The first song was “Strip the Willow,” followed by “Gay Gordons.” “These are entry-level dances that got everyone up on their feet and laughing along as we learned together. Shout out to Kim, Jo’s sister, for ‘calling’ the dances so that everyone knew what to do! One of our favourite memories from the wedding dance was when almost everyone had gone home, slipping back to the dance floor to dance to MUNA and Leon Bridges together on our own.”

To round out the night, Jo and Z had vegan cannolis from Eat Cannoli and a custom vegan cake by Ruby from Kefe Kekes 69. “The cake was delicious (coconut and pandan), decorated with our favourite colours, and featured a little ‘Frog and Toad. ‘Ruby gave us so much creative control and made our vision come alive!”