Wedding | Melle & Jim

Jun 24

5 min read

Tell us a little about yourselves!

Jim is a rapper turned real estate connoisseur, and I’m Melle, a filmmaker and photographer. In my role as a director, I’ve created short films, documentaries, commercials, stills campaigns, and documented over 300 weddings but planning this wedding was my biggest project to date!

Why did you decide to get married where you did?

The concept of home is a significant motif in our lives (Jim’s family’s business is real estate, so property is in his blood). We were lucky to be able to get married at Jim’s parents’ house - a modernist home inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, curated with an art collection that includes many prominent and emerging Western Australian artists. It meant so much to have our wedding at home - a place that has watched a generation grow, held countless parties, and now this.

The night before the wedding, Jim’s aunt and uncle hosted fifty of our closest for an intimate welcome dinner, which was the perfect chance to break bread and settle in before the chaos of the main event. I now know why people say their wedding is the best day of their lives.

I recently heard in a wedding speech that a wedding is the closest to heaven on earth we’ll ever get, as it’s the only time in your life when you’ll have every single person you love in one room, and the only other occasion that might happen is when you die. Our wedding truly was it - our families, our friends, looking so stylish, in the warmth of a home.

How many guests did you have?

120. Our wardrobe brief was ‘monochrome’, as a nod to our love of light, shadow, and high-key drama. We had so much fun with it and loved how much effort people put in with their fits.

Tell us about your outfits.

For the welcome dinner: Jim wore Telfar. I wore a silk set that I stumbled across on a trip to Singapore with my mum by Vietnamese designer Khaar, and altered by my friends at Ilka.

For the wedding: Jim wore a vintage Italian suit and P Johnston silk shirt with a leather tie hand-embroidered by our friend Weary Stitches. My outfit was a classic bride drama! I had originally ordered something online, and when it arrived it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. With just over three weeks to go, I sent an SOS to the visionaries Sarah and Faith at Coutil, who invited me into their atelier and immediately started throwing toile, pinning, dreaming of fabrics and fussing over me, which felt so special. It was a truly cinematic experience. They saved the day and created this masterpiece in an astounding amount of time, which turned out better than I ever could’ve dreamed.

The hat was its own moment - a Weimao, a traditional style popularised in the Tang dynasty, is often seen in historical dramas where the heroine is revealed in her first appearance. I ordered it from Newhanfu, and Coutil customised it with a stunning silk veil.

Jim and I honestly could not have felt more like our best selves in our outfits, and I fear I’ll never look this hot again, lol!

What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?

From years of documenting weddings, I’ve learned that the ceremony is everything. It creates the space, and sets the tone for the rest of the day. It was important that ours took guests on a full journey, hitting all the emotional beats of a good story. Our ceremony was led by our good friend Anna Varga, whose words and presence have a strong sense of reverence, and a special way of pulling people in.

I’ve also learned that the best ice breaker is laughter. It’s an equaliser - it instantly disables nerves and tension, dissolves formality, and brings everyone’s energy into one. From the moment we got engaged I knew I wanted to make a statement entrance, one that would make people clap, sing and laugh hysterically. So I came out dancing to Queen, which noone was expecting. It was my favourite moment of the day, and a memory I’ll never forget.

We also scheduled our ceremony at high noon, which meant we could wrap the formalities by 8pm, and bring our friends back to ours for kick-ons till the next morning.

Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?

The event was spread across the laneway ceremony, cocktail hour on the front lawn, a courtyard bar, lounge room and balcony, and reception downstairs. The goal was to activate these zones to create a cohesive experience that celebrated the stunning house.

My vision was ‘throwing a party at an art gallery’, so we wrapped artworks and covered furniture with calico. Each zone had a monochromatic base with pops of colour - rainbow balloons, pink and red, green floral accents.

I was also really intentional about making this not feel like a typical stylised wedding. That’s just not us. We love crafty art, and we wanted the day to feel playful, cheeky, and abstract with a bit of a lofi, DIY feel.

Most importantly, we wanted to celebrate our insanely talented artist friends, and had their pieces woven throughout the house. A ceramic card bowl by Amy Le Fleur. Hall of Flame LED candles at the welcome dinner by Sheridan Thjung. The DJ table by graffiti writer K3OS. Two pieces by Sam Bloor in his signature handpainted style, and a custom seat cushion by Poiset.

The cake brief I gave Jo was ‘ugly cake falling over’ to which she replied ‘literally the only bride to ever say this to me’! She completely nailed my vision, with leaning tiers and a chaotic mess of multi-colour dripping glaze. And notably, Carla Adams created the glorious ceremony backdrop artwork, which will now sit proudly in our house entrance.

Any tips for couples getting married?

The final push will humble you - drink water, get some sleep. I planned the wedding in less than three months, which I thought was a good idea at the time. In hindsight I wish I’d had a couple more weeks to plan a little more thoroughly. The main insight I’ve learned with a bit of space and time is that you simply can’t control everything. The day will be just what it will be, and at the end of it you’ll be married, which all that really matters.

Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?

Every single person who helped bring this to life were people dear to me whose work I deeply admire and look up to. I think of them more than vendors, they’re artists. Photographing the day were six of my closest friends, including Natasja Kremers and Melissa Mills, who I’ve been working alongside for more than ten years - we’ve shared so many memories and adventures, and it means so much to have them do their thing. That’s what I love most about being in this industry for so long - the people you get to grow up with, moving through the seasons of life together, celebrating these milestones.

A special mention must go to Matt from Entour, and to Sarah and Faith at Coutil for pulling together my masterpiece garment in a superhuman amount of time.