Sarah and Jasmine: An environmentally conscious wedding in an urban winery

When Sarah and Jasmine’s super cool yet chic Melbourne wedding ended up in our inbox we knew right away that we had to share it. It is the combination of everything they loved that made this Urban Winery wedding so perfect and unique to Sarah and Jasmine.

After 4 years of being together it was a conversation over dinner that led them to deciding on marriage, and so their story below commences.

Photography Niki Photography | Wedding Film Native Weddings

Tell us about how and when you met? It was 4 years ago when we started chatting on a dating app and quickly arranged a first date at a local bar. Sarah may have been a tad late (one and Jasmine's pet peeves); however, this was quickly forgiven as Sarah proved herself to be quite the raconteur.

Tell us a little bit about your relationship... We have joked from the start about our desire to be the social justice power couple - having a passion for our careers has been a really important aspect of who we are as individuals as well as a couple. We love to travel, and we're always planning a few trips in advance - thankfully we have lots of friends and family who live overseas that we get to go and visit. In our house, Sarah grows the food and Jasmine cooks it, the result being a luscious flourishing garden, and a delicious, well-stocked dining table.

Give us a rundown of the proposal… We agreed together that we were going to take this step in our relationship. After throwing around the idea for a couple of months, one Friday night we decided to skip the movie we had planned, go straight to dinner and over a bottle of wine decided, "let's do it!"

When was the wedding? Saturday the 21st July 2018.

Sarah & Jasmine’s story continues below >

How long did you give yourself to plan the wedding? Basically 2 years, with a little break in the middle when the Marriage Equality survey got a bit much to deal with. Sarah mainly planned the ultimate playlist over the course of the 2 years and the serious planning took 7 months.

What was the main influence behind your wedding day? We wanted a really big party with all of our loved ones that was typical "us". We wanted to be environmentally conscious and reflect our lifestyle, so no single-use plastics and lots of delicious shared vegetarian plates with plenty of sparkling wine.

What was the one thing that you just had to include in your wedding day? The right music! A lot of thought was put into the vibe of each part of the day and our DJ, Chris Appleton made sure everything transitioned seamlessly.

Tell us a little about your overall wedding planning experience... Straight away we wanted Fire Cracker to be involved; it was non-negotiable. We weren't disappointed. All along the way, we would present Cassie with random questions, and she would come up with the goods. She knew all the best suppliers (people we had stalked on social media) and made sure we had the highest quality, seasonal items for our big day. There wasn't a single occasion that we were turned away due to us being a same-sex couple. Sarah had always wanted a bespoke tuxedo, and when we first approached Oscar Hunt (which had been recommended to us by so many of our friends), they were honest with us that they had not commercially tailored a suit for a woman before. They were really excited at the prospect of this challenge but clear that it was a risk, but they were willing to take the risk on us if we were willing to take the risk on them. The risk paid off.

Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration? Cassie from Fire Cracker helped us pick out the most amazing suppliers to suit our needs. For the rest, our brilliant videographer (a friend) set off a chain of events that lead one recommendation to another. He had worked with a great photographer, who had been married by the perfect celebrant, the small connections lead to a great community of support behind us.

Who were your stand-out suppliers? Cassie from Fire Cracker, Mike from Native Weddings, Niki Photography

Did you find it dicult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding? We wanted to make decisions for ourselves about each aspect of the wedding as opposed to following a prescribed formula. Each element was a part of the wedding because it's something we wanted. We arrived together, making sure to hug and kiss everyone as we walked through the room to an amazing song. Every aspect of the day was how we wanted to represent us and our relationship.

What was the most dicult thing about planning your wedding? Keeping the numbers down. We wanted to celebrate our special day with everyone and Sarah has a HUGE family; however, we had to keep it small to give the event the consideration it deserved. It's not every day you choose to commit your life to someone else.

What is the number 1 main suggestion that you give to other couples planning their wedding? Don't compromise. Do exactly what you want and what feels right for your relationship.

Any advice for other same-sex couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey? Try everything! The cake, the wine, everything. Try your outfit on, and make sure it's perfect. Have trial runs. Make sure you feel like everything fits and feels perfect. Do what you want and not what you think you should do.