Az and Jamie: A Vanity Fair Wedding
Inspired by the cover of the annual Vanity Fair 'Hollywood Issue', Az and Jamie designed their wedding with this as the preface and used this cover to drive the theme for their 2020 wedding, held just one week prior to Australia going into lockdown.
Photographer Kas Richards | Date 6th March 2020
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How and when did you meet?
Jamie: We met in 2009 on Grindr - if I remember correctly, 2009 was the year it officially launched and whilst the platform was quite polarising in regards to its actual intentions, Az and I relish in the success it had on our relationship.
Tell us a little about the first time you met?
Az: It actually took a few months before we were finally able to meet each other beyond the confines of the virtual world. We were both so consumed by our jobs at the time and our calendars would always clash. We planned to meet on a lazy Sunday afternoon for a few “frothies” at my local drinking hole in West Melbourne. I remember walking up to the pub and Jamie was already sitting outside, sunglasses on, he looked up at me and in his deep reverberating voice said “Sup” - I think from that very moment, I was hook, line and sinker.
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
Az: Jamie’s voice - he has a voice for radio and a face for TV and I’m the lucky bastard that got to marry him!
Jamie: Az’s confidence and swag. He has a way of commanding a room and I love that about him.
Tell us about the standout moments in your relationship?
Az: We’ve hit some pretty epic milestones in our 10+ years together that we’re both incredibly proud of - both in our personal and professional lives. We started our business The Haus of Cruze back in 2016 which evolved from a hobby into a successful side hustle. We then built our first home in 2017 which now plays an integral role in our business and whilst we work incredibly hard in our 9-5 corporate jobs, we love to indulge in vacations away and have also shared some amazing moments together in some incredible countries across the globe.
What does marriage mean to you?
Az: Marriage for us both resonates beyond a certificate that legitimises our love for each other. It cements the good fight of equality we’ve (and many before us) have faced since 2004 in Australia. It represents and validates our belief in humanity to be the bedrock principle that we are all equal.
Who proposed and how?
Jamie: I proposed to Az a few days before we were to jet off on our 6 week SE Asia holiday to celebrate Az’s 30th back in 2012. I proposed at home and he said No.
Az: Ok, to be fair, it was a Saturday morning, we were both hungover and just had an argument about something trivial - like which cafe to go have brunch at. Secondly, our 6 week trip would see us visiting the most romantic places - Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Coron an island in the archipelago of the Philippines - the most perfect incredible backdrops for a wedding proposal right? So, in the moment I blurted out NO, took the car keys and left Jamie at home and went for a drive because I was shook. But after calling my mum and telling her what had happened (and copping an earful from her), I returned with my olive branch (a couple of cheeseburgers) and said yes.
When did you get married?
Jamie: We were married on Friday 6th of March 2020 right before Australia was turned on its head and COVID-19 hit. We’re thankful to have snuck in just in time and were able to still have Az’s relatives fly in from Canada and the Philippines to celebrate with us on our wedding day.
Az and Jamie’s story continues below. ↓
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Az: The most important thing to us was ensuring we had the most important people there to share our special day. We’ve always leant on the notion that you don’t need to know people for a long time to know they are the right people in your life. These are the people we know we can break bread with.
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Az: There was one particular image from the cover of Vanity Fair magazine that became the preface for our entire wedding. Their annual Hollywood issue is an institution in itself and it was the 2016 cover that really drove the theme and stylised our wedding concept. From that very cover we knew we wanted the wedding party to be in all black, we wanted it to be glamorous and sexy and we wanted every decision from the veue, to the floral arrangements to resonate from that image. That’s how we landed with the theme - Vanity Fair.
How did you choose your suppliers?
Az: We were super picky about our suppliers/vendors and spent months researching, following and stalking them all on social media. It was really important to us both to land vendors that not only slayed in their field but produced magic that truly resonated with us. But more importantly, we needed to feel a connection with them. Part of our journey with choosing our vendors was hanging out with them over a few frothies and a feed to really get to know them as people, beyond what they could do/provide us with for our wedding. It wasn’t just about the quality of work they would produce, but the fact that beyond our wedding, we would have them in our lives. We’re so chuffed that we’re now good friends with all of our suppliers/vendors. They’re now a part of our lives which is super sweet.
Any standout suppliers?
Jamie: Each one of our suppliers stood out in their own excellence and regard. But we have to say both our photographer Kas and our videographer Sash exceeded our expectations beyond what we thought was humanly possible. They produced the most incredible work in capturing our day in line with our brief. They know the industry well and really looked after us the entire day. We’re so thankful.
Did you find it difficult to translate more common traditions into a ‘same-sex’ wedding?
Jamie: We really embraced the fact that we could be as unconventional and untraditional as we wanted however we did struggle a little around how we would tackle the ceremony component - if we would both walk down the aisle, who would walk us down the aisle, if one of us would be waiting at the altar etc. We both agreed that we wanted our mums to play a special role and decided that our beautiful mums would walk us down the aisle. This both was one of our proudest and most memorable moments of our wedding.
Any surprises on your wedding day? Or anything that didn’t go to plan?
Jamie: It was an incredibly memorable day and every component of it was perfect. We’d both prepared for the fact that there could potentially be things that may not go to plan however we were quite lucky that the only thing that didn’t go to plan was something that was completely out of our control - the weather.
We had our hearts set on an outdoor garden ceremony as we fell in love with the Heritage Gardens at the Abbotsford Convent which had an incredible backdrop of the old buildings. We did have a wet weather backup option though as a contingency plan if the weather was forecasted to rain. However on the morning of our wedding, there was a 0.5mm chance of “drizzle” forecast so we decided to roll with our outdoor ceremony and brushed it off. The sun was out all morning - even whilst the wedding party, myself and Az were lined up waiting for our string trio to start playing to make our entrance down the aisle. Our celebrant Lara commenced the ceremony and within 5 minutes, it started to drizzle… then spit…. then it started to rain. Right up until the point Lara announced that we were legally married and just like a fairytale ending, the clouds parted and the sun came out as we walked back down the aisle officially married. It was a special moment and I think the rain made it even more romantic.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Az: Compromising on must-haves and ensuring we didn’t blow our budget. We both agreed (well Jamie did anyway) that if the wedding was going to cost us the same amount as the brand new Volkswagen Tiguan R Line he wanted then we would call it off. No surprises, we blew out the budget (by a lot actually) and yet Jamie still got his brand new Tiguan in the end! LOL.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Az: Unfortunately we’ve had to postpone our 6-week Italian honeymoon due to COVID-19 but we look forward to the adventures through the rolling hills of wine country and sailing the Amalfi Coast once the world conquers this pandemic.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Az: Don’t take everything on yourself. Trust your vendors with your brief, but remember to also allow them the creative freedom to really deliver something special. You booked them because you love their work so trust that you’ve made the right decision and allow them to create the magic. As creatives ourselves, we know all too well our best work is done when we are given the creative freedom to deliver amazing work.
Suppliers
Photographer Kas Richards
Videographer Sasha Gavrilovic - Apertura Wedding Films
Venue Heritage Gardens Abbotsford Convent (ceremony) & The George Ballroom, St Kilda (reception)
Suits P Johnson Tailors
Planner Stasia Fox Events
Flowers Stasia Fox Events
Wedding Party Attire: Best Men - P Johnson Tailors
Cake Christina Blaby
Stationery Sketch and Etch Creative
Save The Dates Sara Sidari
Celebrant Lara Williams
Grazing Eat Plate Love
Barber Ben Kane
Wedding Party Makeup Jack Cail
Wedding Party Hair Vahairdo
Wedding Bands SH Jewellery
Confetti (eco friendly) Blue Mountains Eco Confetti
Acoustic Rory McKenna
String Trio Artistique Strings Studio
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