Married on their five-year anniversary at Sandgate Town Hall in Brisbane, Melita and Steele, frontman of Aussie band The Steele Syndicate, themed their wedding around joy! We LOVE that! “We are both music lovers and performers, so as the wedding planning continued phrases such as ‘night at the jazz club’ began to emerge,” the couple share. “At the end of the day, we were just aiming to plan an event which was both uniquely us and a great celebration – dancing to live music, eating good food and celebrating life and the start of a new chapter.”

With the help of Roxy Celebrant to officiate and Sam Wyper Photography to capture the mems, the loved-up newlyweds threw an impressive party, so much so it even got gatecrashed by a few passers-by. Scroll down for the full story and some stunning pics…

THE DRESS “My dress is quite classic, with an A-line falling skirt and fabulously puffy sleeves. I got it from Luv Bridal during my second fitting session, and knew it was perfect as soon as I put it on. All credit goes to my sister Bri who pulled it off the rack and knew it would look great on me when I had doubts! I loved the experience of trying on the dresses. I am not usually a shopping lover, but the excitement of having my mum, mother-in-law, sister and godmother there to rate each dress made it very fun. I also loved showing my Dad the pictures when I got home for a debrief.”

LITTLE LOL “We had so much great live music that we had a few accidental wedding crashers thinking it was just a gig.  If I heard those bands I too would want to check out what the fuss was about! I wonder when they figured it out? Probably when the beer was free. I hope they got a few in before they got kicked out. Also the air-conditioning in the venue had an auto time-off feature and had to be re-turned on every hour. Simple enough, except I made the mistake of only telling my dad.  We were both enjoying ourselves too much that we completely forgot. We only each realised that neither of us did it when my mum remarked the next day, ‘That air-conditioning was a bit weak, wasn’t it?’. My dad and I gave each other a silent look and vowed to keep this secret.  ‘Yeah it was a bit weak,’ we replied.  Sorry Dad, don’t show this to Mum… ”

MEMORABLE MOMENT “One of my favourite memories of the day was entering back into the reception after the photos were taken hand in hand with Steele. The jazz band was playing, the hall looked amazing, and everyone seemed so happy. Standing there together, I think that was the moment that it really hit me – ‘wow, we’re married! I get to be with you forever’.”

STANDOUT VENDORSSam Wyper Photography – not only is Sam a phenomenal photographer, he is also a top guy to spend your wedding day with. When we saw Sam’s photos on his website which featured so many beautiful candid moments with family and friends, we knew we had to reach out. The quality of his work is incredible and we couldn’t be happier. I think it is easy to forget that your photographer will be with you the entire day, so my advice… pick someone fun like Sam! And Roxy Celebrant. Roxy crafts a simply beautiful ceremony. The thoughtfulness, care and humour she showed throughout not only the ceremony, but also during our meetings and discussions in the lead-up to the wedding was so appreciated.”

If you’re looking for a Brissie-based celebrant and like the sound of Melita and Steele’s, get in touch with Roxy here. Head over heels for Melita’s dress? Make contact with Luv Bridal here.

CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Sam Wyper Photography Event Planner I Do Crew Flowers Bride and bridesmaids, purchased from the Brisbane Flower Markets Ceremony & reception venue Sandgate Town Hall Catering Bombay Dhaba Food Truck Something Sweet Gelato Hire Items Aladdin’s Party Hire Sound Hire JLX Productions Entertainment Solstice Guitar Duo, Pocket Love Celebrant Roxy Celebrant Rings PW Fine Jewellery Ringleaders THE BRIDE Bridal boutique LUV Bridal Shoes Sandler Accessories Angus and Coote Hair Ellie Ross HMUA Makeup Vanessa Kay Makeup Bridesmaid dresses Baltic Born, Billy J, Fortunate One Bridesmaid shoes Spendless Shoes, Novo, Jo Mercer THE GROOM Suit, shirt & groomsmen suits Enclothed Tie Myer Cufflinks Calibre Shoes RM Williams