Scott O’Halloran and Marcus Sellen { 22 February 2019 }

Jackalope Hotel, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

DATE NIGHT | A modern-day love story with technology namely a dating app introducing Scott and Marcus. On their four year ‘dating’ anniversary, Scotty took Marcus back to the night they first met with dinner at Radio Mexico, followed by their first Broadway show together ‘Book of Mormon’. Unbeknown to Marcus their house was being staged with flowers, a chocolate fountain with berries and marshmallows, a couple of bottles of Dom Perignon on ice and balloons that spelt ‘Marry Me Noi’ (Noi being Marcus’ pet name) coming down their stairs for Marcus to see when he opened the door on their return. “The funniest part is Marcus thought at first glimpse it said, ‘Happy Anniversary’ and thought this was way over the top for an anniversary,” said Scotty. However, that was until he turned to see Scotty on his knee with a ring in hand.

TRADITIONS AND MOTHERS' LOVE | On Christmas Day in 2018, Scotty and Marcus’ mothers gifted them with a goodie bag each. Both contained a special note that gave meaning to the items in each pack. Within the bags, they discovered something new and blue, which was matching bonds jocks. Their borrowed items were diamond earrings and a fob chain necklace while the old were handkerchiefs with their new crest embroidered on and pennies to wear in their shoes. “We were so humbled they went out of their way and put this tradition together for us both.”

TEAMWORK | Using their strengths based on their professional skills, Scotty and Marcus worked at bringing their day to life but understanding how to support one another during the process. Scotty being an Executive producer, provided all the suppliers months before with mood boards, agendas and running sheets. While Marcus, the leader was able to see the big picture and ensure there was a clear vision.

MASCULINE CHARM | When it came to choosing their venue, they had a strong view of what they didn’t want, which was a great place to start. Moreover, it was after a glowing recommendation to check out the newly launched Jackalope, located an hour from Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, that they decided one evening along with two close friends to see what all the fuss was about. “A minute after we walked through the doors and enjoyed their degustation in their restaurant Doot Doot Doot, it was a pretty easy decision. Jackalope was by far the most outstanding venue for our wedding. It was masculine, luxe, a style we both appreciate and was truly fitting for a wedding of two grooms.”

TWO AISLES | Marcus’ mum Wendy-Jane and Scotty’s dad Davo, each walked down the aisles first at the same time, one with each of the groom’s fur babies on the lead. It was cute. Funny and very fitting for the grooms to kickstart the day with their boys “Romeo Jesus” & “Austin Edward” front and centre.

OPERATIC | No one other than the grooms knew that the wedding song ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ by Elvis was to be performed live by Rejieli Paulo an acclaimed Opera singer, and a close friend to them both. “Her opera rendition gave guests goosebumps and not a dry eye in the house.” Scott and Marcus made their way down the aisles through guests tears.

WEDDING EVE | Scotty and Marcus chose to spend the night before their wedding at Jackalope Hotel. “Arriving at the venue together was the best. We left all responsibilities behind in Melbourne and could settle in and enjoy what was about to unfold,” said Marcus.

CHALLENGE | “Getting the wedding invitations out to our guests was the hardest part of preparing the wedding. It was nothing short of an invite nightmare. From not being aligned on designs, look and feel, spelling and print mistakes, but thankfully, after three reprints, we finally were able to send them out. Fortunately their designer Katie was on standby for every change and update they required, no matter the time or timeframe.

They chose a friend’s online wedding RSVP site, sayido.com, to ensure the rest of the experience flowed smoothly. With guests staying at the hotel as part of the day, the website was also able to assist with all the additional information we needed to provide and have returned.

ACKNOWLEDGE OF LAND | Indigenous friend Marcia started off the ceremony with an acknowledgement to country, which was both meaningful and educational. “She taught everyone how to say welcome “Wominjeka” in the language of the Wurundjeri people of the Melbourne area and the Dja Dja Wurrung people of Central Victoria and encouraged everyone to imagine what the land was like before we stole it from them. It was done with real class and humour and set up our beautiful celebrant Carol who stumbled on announcing us both as husband and wife. You could hear a pin drop right before we burst into tears of laughter followed by every person at the ceremony, including guests and staff.” Carol Campell really was the conduit of their wedding process. She made every aspect comfortable, clear and most of all ensured that nothing but fun and love was had.

CRISPLY WHITE | Crisp fresh white roses, orchids and hydrangeas were the flowers of the day. “The venue speaks for itself, so we only had to compliment the wedding arch with a pop of white florals.”

Scott and Marcus felt that Jackalope had been curated so perfectly that it deserved more personal elegant touches to bring their wedding to life. The decision was made that anything brought in for the wedding should be crisp white, as they would serve as standouts amongst the dark tones and textures of the venue.

A white framed arbour that served as their ceremony stage and was adorned with floral with the green vineyard as their backdrop behind. “We did find it challenging making our arbour and floral less ‘feminine’.”

Belle Balloons brought a touch of the round taking inspiration from lightbulbs inside Doot Doot Doot as if they were spilling outside onto the terrace from the balcony to the ceremony terrace.

SUIT UP | “We were so incredibly lucky to work with Carl Nave, Melbourne’s bespoke suit tailor. He not only knocked our vision out of the ballpark but also made the entire fitting experience personal and fun. One week we would have a scotch on the rocks to cold beers and whisky the next time.” His attention to detail with the brief of making Scotty look taller and Marcus slenderer was met. Carl even embroidered our wedding date and initials inside our jackets “You don’t get more bespoke or better than him.”

SCENT DE NOIR | Embossed on a black card with silver and gold foil they sprayed their invites with their favourite Cologne ‘Tom Ford Noir De Noir’. “Every recipient made a comment when opening them and loved it!”

SWEETNESS | “If there is one thing Marcus knows, it’s fine foods, and he has a very ‘refined’ palette. We discovered Krista from Pollen Pastry; she was unbelievable to work with.” Hosting a private tasting at her kitchen, something Scott and Marcus thought only happened in Romcoms; they fell in love with the three flavours! So it was out with tradition, and each tier had a different flavour. The cake was decorated with custom made gold and silver bowtie toppers that ensured it stood out in the luxe darkness of Doot Doot Doot.

Top tier: Chocolate, espresso buttercream, wattle seed ganache, dark chocolate crunch

Middle tier: Raspberry red velvet, lemon cheesecake buttercream, white chocolate crunch

Bottom tier: Passionfruit butter cake, passionfruit curd, elderflower buttercream, white chocolate crunch

THAT FIRST DANCE | “One-night driving home from a family BBQ we realised we always played a Beyoncé song ‘Smash Into You’ and when we stopped to listen to the words, it summed up exactly how we both felt of one another. That night over five years ago we agreed it would be our wedding song. We didn’t rehearse a dance and wanted it to feel like we were having a boogie with one another in our living room, with no eyes on us. Nothing forced and just authentic…. To quote Tim Picken ‘Clearly you two didn’t practice that dance’.

HEY DJ | In the best hands with their DJ Lauren Mac from Verve the Agency, “she asked us the best question throughout the entire process; ‘what artists and songs don’t you want to be played’.” Rocking the house down with Hip Hop, 70s rock and today’s dance jams she ended the formalities with leading everyone on to the afterparty in Flaggerdoot, with ‘Sissy that Walk’ by Ru Paul.