In Conversation With: Jade from The Modern Romantic
Jade, the visionary behind The Modern Romantic, brings a unique blend of boldness and refinement to Perth’s wedding scene. With a background in fashion and a love for personalisation, she creates celebrations that are as distinctive as the couples she works with.
“I’d say my personal style is definitely a harmonious blend of bold and refined. I love both a clean aesthetic whilst at the same time I'm heavily drawn to maximalism.”
What initially drew you to the world of wedding planning, and how do you infuse your personal style into the weddings you design?
I draw from my experience in the fashion industry, I studied Fashion Textiles and Merchandising and was always drawn to working with colour, texture, fabrics and different mediums to create. I fell into starting my own business on a complete whim when I discovered that there was a whole world of creating weddings for other people, that you could work with florals, print, fabric, lighting and so many other mediums to bring a vision to life that people would remember. I always had the desire to run my own business and jumped head first into it whilst still working full-time in fashion and garment production. Fashion is still a passion of mine and continues to be, and I feel lucky that I'm able to draw a lot of knowledge from this space into what I do for weddings.
Can you share a bit about your own personal style and how it influences the weddings you plan?
I'd say my personal style is definitely a harmonious blend of bold and refined. I love both a clean aesthetic whilst at the same time I'm heavily drawn to maximalism. My own style evolves through time, life experience, and travel and I think it's important to have the flexibility to be involved as you're influenced by the world around you. We're currently building our own home and my kitchen is a sage green with a terracotta splashback, so as you can see I love a world of colour and personality. But I can certainly appreciate a refined and minimalist space too, these are both aesthetics that I enjoy being able to pull from whether that be through clothing, interiors, florals, or how we style weddings.
What are some signature elements or design aesthetics that you often incorporate into your weddings?
Fabric! Always the use of fabric, it's the movement it brings to any styled area, the soften it creates which lends itself to the romantic feminine style I tend to create quite often. On top of that mood lighting is very important for us to create emotion and a sense of warmth, whether that be through lamp lighting, the use of candles or dimmed lighting, I feel that lighting choice has such an impact on the final look and feel of a wedding experience.
How do you work with couples to understand their unique style preferences and translate them into their wedding day vision?
I spend a lot of time getting to know my couples, everyone is so unique, their relationship is unique, their backgrounds are unique, their families and what brought them to this day is so unique from anyone else's story that I always want to make sure their wedding reflects this, that their guests really feel that they are a part of their personal journey and that it doesn't feel like just any other wedding. All of our couples receive a questionnaire during our onboarding process, and this allows me to get a really good understanding of them as a couple, what they're most excited about when it comes to their wedding and a bit more about their likes and dislikes. Understanding my couples incredibly well allows me to be one step ahead and make suggestions that will suit them, to elevate their vision, and what some of my couples describe as "being in their head" - knowing what they want better than they do. I love this!
Are there any particular wedding styles or themes that you find yourself particularly drawn to or passionate about?
We love a design challenge and don't feel the need to stick to a certain style or theme. We are always up to work on any palette or venue if we feel it aligns with us. However, I would say that we are often drawn to an old world meets modern romance twist on things that can be applied to so many different settings and palettes. This is probably one of my favourites because it's very versatile, you can do this in a very moody romantic way, a luscious garden vibe with antique touches, timeless greens and whites and so much more.
Can you recall a wedding where you felt your personal style and the couple's vision aligned perfectly? What made it so special?
I am very intentional with every discovery call with our couples to work out if our personalities, values and style will align and that we can all feel comfortable and confident in working together over the next 12+ months, so I am really proud to say that all of our couples are very aligned with our approach to styling and trust in what we do.
One of my recent favourites however that sticks out in mind and will be etched in my memory is our recent wedding for James and Ben at the State Theatre and WA Museum. This wedding is special for a number of reasons, not only did I have a chance meeting with one of the grooms over 10 years ago whilst travelling (such a good story), but this couple fully and completely put their trust in me, took all of my guidance and went with the flow on the vision that I set out for them. In doing this, we were able to create such an amazing and memorable day with them. They walked down 2 separate aisles, all their guests wore black, they had a champagne tower, oyster shucking, lion dances, outfit changes, a grand reveal curtain and so so much more! They were so open with communication, helping me to understand what was important to them and how they wanted their day to look and feel. With this, I had the confidence and understanding to take their vision to the next level and elevate their concept beyond what they could only dream and I feel like we absolutely pulled this off.
How do you balance staying true to your personal style while also accommodating the diverse tastes and preferences of your clients?
This is such a good question! It's so important to me that I am both fulfilling my couple's needs/vision whilst still ensuring that we are true to our core values, we are giving our absolute best and creating an end product that reflects who we are and what we do. For me, education is always really key if I feel that the couple is after something I believe doesn't work logistically or stylistically; I will always try to steer or encourage a couple to move in a different direction if I feel strongly about it. I always foster a sense of trust from the very beginning to ensure the couple knows I always have their best interest at heart and I put everything into every concept and wedding we create, so my suggestions are there to elevate their day and ensure everything runs smoothly. It comes from a place of care and using my years of knowledge. If I know something is particularly sentimental or meaningful to a couple I will always look for ways to accommodate this in a way that fits back with the overall aesthetic and vision of the day.
As a wedding planner with a distinct style, how do you ensure that each wedding you plan feels fresh and tailored to the couple, rather than repeating similar themes or designs?
My approach to ensuring each wedding feels fresh and uniquely tailored to each couple is rooted in collaboration and deep personalisation. I begin by immersing myself in the couple’s story, tastes, and vision, asking about their backgrounds, significant moments, shared passions, and even little quirks that define them as a pair. By understanding these unique details, I can design a wedding that feels like an extension of who they are, rather than relying on generic themes or repetitive trends. In addition, I am inspired by the couple and then evolve the concept from there.
I also stay intentional about sourcing different styling pieces that will ensure their day won't look like a carbon copy of anything else. This helps create a curated, thoughtful aesthetic that stands out and resonates with each couple's personality.
Find The Modern Romantic online by CLICKING HERE or follow on Instagram at @the_modern_romantic
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