Ryan and James: A Modern Romance
Inspired by Old Hollywood Glamour and Royalty, wedding planner Ryan and husband James designed their entire wedding celebration around these two central themes. Incorporating two venues and three outfit changes, this spectacular Melbourne city wedding truly evokes individuality and reflects the couple themselves.
Photographer Kim Cartmell Weddings | Location Melbourne, AUS
“We met online (as most modern romances begin these days)…”
How and when did you meet?
James: We met online (as most modern romances begin these days) back in 2018 and chatted for a few days, but Ryan was about to leave on a holiday to London and Paris with grand plans to become the next Royal. Luckily that didn’t work out, and when he got back, we continued talking and then went on a dinner date at a local restaurant.
Tell us a little about the first time you met?
Ryan: We had both said that we were kind of over the whole dating scene and apps. On our first date, I said to James, “if he wasn’t interested in marriage and kids before turning 40, then we may as well wrap up the date.” James said, “These are things I am looking for too, and um... I’m turning 40 this weekend!” So we ordered dinner and the date continued. We were both working in similar industries and had common goals, which is what connected us. We had a lot of laughs and shared stories on our date, and it was like we had known each other for such a long time.
James: I spoke about having made a list of qualities I wanted in someone, and at this, Ryan became excited and then told me that he had recently made a list but wouldn’t give away what was on the list!
What was the first thing you noticed about each other?
James: I noticed how kind and funny Ryan was, and by the way he was dressed, I knew he had a keen sense of style... and how damn tall he was!
Ryan: I noticed that James had very kind eyes and a lovely smile and wore bold socks. I also felt so at ease with James and just so comfortable, so I knew something was different about him right away.
What does Marriage mean to you?
James: Marriage is a commitment to choose to love your person every day, no matter how good or bad things. It’s also about making space for communication no matter how difficult it can be and doing this with kindness and love. It is about celebrating each other no matter what and building each other up.
Ryan: Marriage is about two people committing to each other, being able to love another person entirely and accepting them for who they are. It’s also about growing together, celebrating each other’s success, sharing the load when things get tough and having a laugh!
Who proposed and how?
Ryan and James: We were on our first overseas trip, and James carried our engagement rings through Asia, not knowing how and when he was going to propose. It wasn’t until we got to the final leg of our journey in Bali that James decided one beautiful morning while we were lazing in bed that he was going to propose.
James: I asked Ryan to sit on the edge of the bed, and I got down on one knee with the rings in hand and said, “It’s now, or it’s never, I hope it’s forever..., (a line form a Lea Michele song) ...will you marry me?” – and as they say the rest is history!
When did you get married?
Ryan and James: We got married on Saturday the 8th of January 2022. Our original date was the 18th of September, 2021, but thanks to COVID, we had to scramble and postpone. We had two backup dates at our original venues, but as COVID continued to impact and we had to move to 2022, the venues no longer offer weddings in 2022. We had to start from scratch to find a new ceremony and reception venue. We are glad we rescheduled and got the opportunity to work with our ceremony and reception venues because they were utterly perfect.
Ryan and James’ story continues below ↓
What was the main influence behind your wedding day?
Ryan and James: Royalty and Old Hollywood Glamour. We both decided on a colour palette of black, gold and white very early on, and this and our themes became colour aesthetic for a lot of our decisions.
Ryan: As a wedding planner, I was particular and knew exactly how our wedding day should look. Working within the theme of royalty and old Hollywood glamour, it had to be soft, romantic and almost like a dream.
We were also very clear that we wanted our wedding day to be original and that everything in our day, from the logo to the styling, to the outfits, to our wedding party outfits, was original and new. We had significant input into the style and design elements of our wedding as we wanted to ensure that it reflected us as individuals and as a couple.
What was the most important thing to you surrounding your wedding?
Ryan and James: The most important thing for us was having the day that we wanted – all the bells and whistles. There were literally no exceptions to what we had or what we wanted to have – from 4 x 6ft cherry blossom trees to confetti cannons and, for Ryan, three costume changes.
It was also crucial for us to have our loved ones there to celebrate and share our love and be part of our love story.
Where did you find the bulk of your inspiration?
Ryan: I have been obsessed with weddings for a very long time, having my own wedding planning business to just always being in love with love, romance, love stories and weddings. I trawled and trawled through the internet for weeks and months to find inspiration as I was very specific about how things needed to be. After not being able to find it, I started to take bits and pieces from different things and put them together to create our wedding.
Our inspiration also came from ourselves and who we are and what we are about. We wanted our day to reflect us and for our guests to feel that they were part of our story, and we feel we nailed it.
How did you choose your suppliers?
Ryan: We chose a lot of our suppliers based on their feel and, more importantly, how they treated us and our relationship and how we connected with them. For example, Elly Louise Bridal, who made the dresses for our wedding party girls, was the only supplier who spoke to us at a Wedding Fair we attended – so literally, out of 150 suppliers, one person approached us. We found this on a few occasions, which was disappointing.
With our major suppliers, such as the photographer, videographer, and designers, we met with them all in person before booking them to get a feel and see how we connected. It is safe to say we chose the best of the best, and they are now people we consider friends and that we are truly honoured to have them be part of our day.
When it came time to look for a new venue, I turned to the Theodore supplier list to look through all the possible venues in Melbourne that fitted within our theme. I had no idea weddings at the State Library were possible, so if not for Theodore, this would not have ever happened.
Any standout suppliers?
Ryan and James: We could literally mention them all because, with all the rescheduling of dates and venues, all of our suppliers were brilliant and incredibly understanding.
The Showtime Events Team at the State Library and the Park Hyatt Events team are, without a doubt, the best of the best of the best. Considering that we contacted them four months before our wedding day, they could not have been more accommodating, supportive, and encouraging and truly treated us beautifully. Nothing was ever too difficult, and they looked after us like absolute royalty.
Our celebrant Shannon Jeans was incredible and wrote and delivered a beautiful ceremony to our friends and family, which truly captured us.
Our photographer Kim Cartmell Weddings was a true artist and captured our day exactly how we wanted it to be. Our videographers from Bottlebrush Films and absolutely BANANAS are like no one else in the industry – true artists, and they created a wedding film for us that is like nothing ever seen before.
The creatives behind the outfits for the day – Hannii Bridal, Tamara Keane costumes and Elly Louise Bridal – all people who went above and beyond to ensure the look of our wedding was perfection.
As we live in regional Victoria, it was important for us to support locals where we could, so the lovely ladies from The Willow Brach florist and Gippsland Cake Co - made and delivered our wedding flowers and wedding cake to Melbourne for us.
Any surprises on your wedding day? Or anything that didn’t go to plan?
James: Even though everything had been planned to perfection for our day, the hairdresser cancelling the morning of the wedding was not something we planned. BUT we dealt with it and got it sorted.
There was also a COVID protest in the city that blocked the cars from getting through and delayed us.
Ryan: One of the biggest surprises was that James sang the lyrics to “Lover” by Taylor Swift at the end of his vows. I was truly blown away, speechless, and in tears when this happened, and it was literally, for me, the best part of the day.
What was the most difficult thing about planning your wedding?
Ryan and James: The ongoing uncertainty of COVID was absolutely the worst part. Planning our wedding was easy – we never disagreed on anything to do with our day, and all of our decisions were made together. But as COVID continued to impact the world and push things and delay things, we got so anxious and worried about “what was next”.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
Ryan and James: We had a cheeky little honeymoon to Daydream Island following our wedding for a week, and it was exactly what we needed after the madness of the big day.
Originally we had planned on going to Disneyworld Orlando and the Maldives, but obviously, that wouldn’t happen at the time. Luckily for us, the world has reopened, and we are off to Disneyworld and New York in October this year.
Any advice for other couples planning their day and finding it difficult to navigate the journey?
Ryan and James: It is absolutely, without a doubt, important to communicate, compromise and trust in your vision when planning your day. Stick to what’s important for you as a couple, what you want and how you want your day to be. Meet with your suppliers to get to know them as they play such an essential role in your day, so it’s important you are comfortable and happy with them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, clarify things and speak up about what you want for your day.
Also, don’t be afraid to push the boundaries with things – it is your once-in-a-lifetime day, so if you want five costume changes, then do it.
Ryan and James’ Team
Photographer Kim Cartmell Weddings
Videographer Bottlebrush Films
Venues State Library of Victoria, Park Hyatt Melbourne
Ryan’s Beaded Cape Hanni Couture
Ryan’s Reception Jacket Tamara Keane Costumes
James’ Ceremony and Reception Jacket William David
James’ Feathered Cape Tamara Keane Costumes
Planner Ryan Morello Weddings and Events
Flowers The Willow Branch
Wedding Party Attire Elly Louise Bridal Dressmaker, Bridesmaids Dressing Room
Cars RR Classic Cars
Cake Gippsland Cake Co
Stationery Emma Smith
Celebrant Shannon Jeans Celebrant
Styling Elements Melbourne Event Florals, One Big Day Event Hire, Amica Event Hire, Abracadabra Events
DJ DJ Masters
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