Wedding | Adele & Olly
Tell us a little about yourselves!
We’re both from Adelaide but Olly was living Melbourne until Covid when he moved back home to help run the family publishing company. Off that he’s launched a music magazine which takes up most of his time. Adele has grown up in Adelaide and has been in her own version of “Suits” as a legal secretary for a criminal law firm and models on the side when she can get gig.
We met on Hinge and bonded over our love of music and film. Not long into our first date we realised that prior to Olly’s move to Melbourne we had been at the same gigs, same clubs and Olly had even watched Adele walk in a runway show for the magazine he was working for at the time.
Outside of our shared interests, we are the perfect yin and yang. Olly can be chaotic, creative, with a million thoughts at once (an excuse for his forgetfulness). Adele has a calm, focused and regimented nature. While it leads to some challenges, it also creates the perfect pairing for lifelong partners.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
After spending weekends going to venue openings and wineries to find the perfect wedding venue, which didn’t feel like “us” we stopped into our local “Latteria” on a walk with our dog Morty. After being asked to move for a private function, the idea sprung to Olly’s mind “do you do weddings?” and alas being a local paid off. Latteria was already designed exactly how we would design our own venue with an elevated 70’s feel, conversation pit, sleek marble and a long cocktail list.
It became clear that we thought about the party before the nuptials and after many wild ideas of considering asking residents to use their beautiful front yards as backdrops we decided on a church but not a church feel and in came Adelaide Town Hall’s “The Meeting Hall” which used to be an old church and was close by to Latteria, perfect! With our wedding being in May, having two indoor locations took away the stress over weather conditions.
How many guests did you have?
About 120.
What was your budget?
Neither of us wanted to spend a crazy amount, wanting to keep it under $40k. We had a clear vision of making the day feel like you’ve just walked into a private members area at an Italo disco.
We can proudly say we nailed our vision and kept within our budget (sorta…) by keeping to a strict saving plan and with a little help from our friends (the parents).
Tell us about your outfits.
Adele: I always knew I’d have puffy sleeves, and I knew just the designer to do it! Growing up in the Adelaide modelling/fashion scene I was very familiar with Cristina Tridente of Couture Love Madness and to my surprise she asked me if I’d like to chat with her about a dress. I wanted something that felt vintage but timeless and had the idea of making it a skirt and corset but together looked like one dress, so I could wear the corset again (which I did in Paris on our honeymoon!). I’ve always loved a Basque waist, and the trend was in full swing by the time we started the process, however, I didn’t stray away from my vision. The corset was snatched, the sleeves were removable and the skirt was slimmed with a split to move around our venue in.
My second look was simply removing the sleeves and adding a long neck scarf which turned it into the timeless version of the dress. I considered switching out the long skirt for a mini, but you spend all this time and money on the dress, let it have its moment!
I kept the accessories simple with small gold earrings from Vivenne Westwood with her signature emblem with a pearl drop, Miu Miu white kitten heels and dark cherry red nails. My mum handmade my bag using offcuts from my wedding dress which was inspired by a Japanese knot bag as Olly, and I got engaged in Japan.
Olly: I wanted something a bit different, but not too out there. Adele, found a picture of Matty Matheson from the Golden Globes in a white suit with black piping. We took this to Oscar Hunt who did the rest. Whites not quite my colour so we changed the suit colour to a dark brown, scaled back the piping and made it a bone colour. Stephen at Oscar Hunt did a great job of making me feel comfortable to push boundaries, even when I thought I couldn’t pull it off as I’m not as cool as Matty Matheson. We picked a bone-coloured shirt and then a baby blue one for when I’d most likely spill something on the other shirt (it came in handy).
I’m a sucker for a spaghetti Western, so I paired a silver bolo tie with a small turquoise stone, which my groomsmen also wore, and the shoes were a burgundy loafer from G.H. Bass – Weejuns.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
Making sure that it was uniquely us and throwing the best party that our guests came out of saying “that was so Olly and Adele”.
We didn’t have a wedding planner; so, we worked with great vendors who took care of the heavy lifting. That meant we could focus on creating memories and the little things that people remember. We made a magazine as a keepsake, movie poster style invites, a classic car (which broke down the day before, so we pleaded with a family member to use theirs which had never been driven by another), to a surprise ceremony by an Elvis impersonator.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Sitting down one night over some wine to discuss our invites, we were both tasked with bringing forward ideas, art and references. Adele came to the table with a picture of the cover of Quentin Tarantno’s “Inglorious Bastards” handwritten script and from that moment on “The Wedding” was created. Guests received their invites to the premiere of “The Wedding” starring Olly Raggatt as “The Groom” and Adele Snowball as “The Bride”.
We both love movies and the idea of creating a movie-like feel for the one day your life actually feels like a movie seemed so right. A big part of making it feel that way was of course, the soundtrack. Carefully curated and timed songs for every big moment such as a long dramatic intro for the aisle song that Adele had pieced together from 3 different versions of the song, to the point Olly started to feel even more nervous and guests apparently whispered “is she coming?”, to the perfect needle drop halfway through a song for the kiss and a show stopping entrance for Elvis.
At our reception, our amazing photographers had organised a red velvet curtain and a spotlight behind the dancefloor which added this Hollywood premiere vibe. The custom magazine we created had movie references throughout and the credits on the back which included the names of our bridal party as “The Bridal Party”, our parents as “The Producers” and our guests as “The Cast”.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Pick vendors you think you would be friends with on the outside. Everyone that was involved in our wedding we felt like we could sit down and have a drink with. This helped our vision come to life by having people that were on the same page. We gave them a lot of creative freedom as Adele once received advice by another bride to not fixate on this specific flower, colour, the menus, or what the food was, as long as it was good. If you don’t have something specific in your head and only a vibe, you won’t be disappointed on the day.
Guests will most likely not even notice/remember the details that you shed a tear over so instead spend time and create something they’ve never seen before which you and they will remember.
Also, make sure you take time for yourselves to sit back and enjoy it. If you blink you’ll miss it. We live nearby and went to drop our pooch home after Elvis finished singing him ‘Hound Dog’, at that stage we got stuck at our house during a torrential downpour for 15 minutes. That almost became a highlight as it gave us time to soak it in (pun intended), have some time for us and reflect.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Yes! We’ve of course already talked about Cristina from Couture Love Madness and Stephen from Oscar Hunt.
So firstly, our photographer, Jaz and videographer, Alejandro from In the Mood for Love. They became a rock in the whole process by meeting with us, providing advice, coming up with creative ideas, bringing two extra helpers on the day, coming to our rehearsal the day before and then to just becoming friends. Their experience also aided in helping us navigate the wedding day without a planner.
Deanna Marchesi,our celebrant, was exactly what we were after. Someone who knew what they were doing, cares about her couples, didn’t fumble and made it about us. She tailored the ceremony to fit in the theme of “The Wedding” by telling our story in acts and movie references throughout. We had many of our guests saying that was one of the best ceremonies they had attended.
Sophie, the florist from Bloomhaus. We gave her some inspiration but also gave complete creative control and my god….did she deliver and while carrying twins! The main pieces we had never seen anything like it, the massive braided green straw hanging from a bunch of flowers was a standout.
And lastly, Latteria, without them our wedding wouldn’t have been what it was. The space, the décor, the service, the food, the drinks, and basically running the reception…they even made the cake!
Photographer & Videographer: In the Mood for Love @inthemoodforlove.jaz | Flora: Bloom Haus @bloomhausadl | Ceremony Location: The Meeting Hall @adelaidetownhall | Reception Location: Latteria @latteria | Celebrant: Deanna Marchesi @marriedbydeanna | MUA: Jessica Searle @jessica
searle.makeup | Hair: Amy Williams @smallgirlhairclub | Catering, Cake & Beverages: Latteria @latteria
bar | Dj: Sam Lavers @lamsavers | Elvis: Deon Symon @deon_symoelvis_ | Dress Couture Love Madness @coturelovemadness_ | Suit: Oscar Hunt @oscarhunttailors | Veil: Calily Bridal @calilybridal | Engagement & Wedding Rings: Kip Wilckens @kipwilckensjeweller | Shoes: Miu Miu (Adele); G.H. Bass – Weejuns (Olly) | Other Accessories: Vivenne Westwood earrings, Bolo ties, handmade Japanese knot bag
