Tiramisu, jazz and flooded rivers: Inside Molly and Jack’s Byron hinterlands wedding

“Thinking about what you want rather than what’s expected is so liberating and made the celebration feel like our own.”

Here at Fashion Journal, we make no secret of our love of weddings. We’re suckers for a bit of romance and have a soft spot for weddings that do things differently, whether it’s a Las Vegas elopement, a tropical getaway or a Town Hall celebration.

Days before guests were meant to arrive, Molly Salmon and Jack Neale’s wedding was almost called off. They’d planned a weekend-long retreat at Milkbar Valley, a large property in the Byron hinterlands nestled between mountains and valleys, when Cyclone Alfred tore through Australia’s east coast.

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“There were kilometres of flooded rivers to cross, no power (therefore no water), trees had fallen down and the property was a mess,” Molly remembers. Where most people would admit defeat, Molly and Jack went to work and convinced the owners to let them have the wedding anyway.

“The floodwater receded, we found the last generator on the east coast which powered the whole wedding [and] we cleaned the property up, with the help of all the guests,” she says.

In the end, the wedding went ahead. The couple were married by a mutual friend, danced to a live jazz band in between courses, celebrated with a tiramisu cake and ended the night by jumping (fully clothed) into the pool, along with all their guests. “The sense of love and community felt that weekend was nothing short of magic.”

Fashion Journal: Hi Molly! Congratulations on your beautiful wedding. Can you walk me through how you met Jack and how you two got engaged?

Molly: Jack and I met almost 10 years ago now but have been together for almost five. I was on a family holiday in New Caledonia and I had this inkling that I needed to go to Isle des Pines, so I dragged my 15 year old sister with me there for the night. Our flight got cancelled the next day so we were stranded, leaving us with nothing to do but swim and lay about on a picturesque white sand turquoise water island (hell, obviously).

A cruise ship arrived at the island and my sister and I laughed at the people getting off wearing their matching lanyards right as one of the families sat down next to us. While I was swimming, one of the brothers turned to me and said there was a turtle, so I swam after him trying to spot it. We didn’t find a turtle but we did spend the day together and exchanged contact details. Over the next four years, we’d send an annual ‘how are you?’ message until we realised we were both moving to Melbourne at the same time.

Long story short, we were besotted and within eight months I proposed to him with a ring while on a walk in the Byron hinterlands. He proposed to me six months later. We were in no rush to get married and decided a couple of years later to plan it for the following autumn.

Where did you hold your wedding?

Neither of us had a clear idea of what we wanted, though we had a few essentials, like good food, good music and of course, all of our friends – except we wanted all of them to stay with us for the weekend in the same house. That was a non-negotiable, to be able to wake up surrounded by our people.

We toyed with the idea of a beautiful home in the Dandenong Ranges and although lovely, it wasn’t big enough for our small wedding. Plus, the party and noise restrictions a residential area was going to make it difficult. After a temporary move to Brisbane, we decided to scout the beloved Byron hinterlands for a space that felt right.

Through some connections we came across Milkbar Valley, a gorgeous, luscious piece of land usually used for yoga retreats. Nestled in amongst the mountains and valleys, it had the space, the energy and we could see they’d hosted some intimate weddings in the past. We imagined our people there, celebrating, dancing, swimming in the pool, doing yoga in the dome, having ice baths and saunas – it could be a wedding retreat!

You had a few speed bumps ahead of the wedding due to the weather. Can you tell me a little bit about the days before the wedding and how you got through it?

Our ideas of stress-free wedding retreat were quite literally torn down as news of Cyclone Alfred came through earlier this year. It made its way through that coastline just a week before the wedding and as you can imagine, we were watching all of the weather apps crossing our fingers that it would blow over and the destruction wasn’t going to be catastrophic. It was a long week.

Two days before everyone was due to fly in, we had a call from the owners of the property. They had finally been able to make it out to the property and the wedding had to be cancelled.

There were kilometres of flooded rivers to cross, no power (therefore no water), trees has fallen down and the property was a mess. After a manic few hours of brainstorming second options we realised it couldn’t be anything other than what we had planned and convinced them to let us make it work.

And we did. The floodwater receded, we found the last generator on the east coast which powered the whole wedding, including fresh water, the whole house, the pool, caterers, jazz band and everything else. We cleaned the property up (with the help of all the guests) and looking back we wouldn’t change a thing. The sense of community only added to the love.

Was it a big or intimate wedding? 

We ended up having around 40 people. It was immediate and some extended family, as well as our closest friends.

Where was your outfit from and what was the process of sourcing it like?

My dress was from Chasing Unicorns, a Byron brand that creates artisanal, small-production pieces. I never dreamt of a big princess white dress and wanted something I could wear again. I fell in love with this dress a few years before the wedding, the low back felt feminine, the sheer felt modern and the beading felt timeless. I sent it to my mum online and we both agreed it was perfect. We bought it without trying it on and it was perfect. I imagine wearing it over bikinis for years to come.

What about Jack’s outfit?

We found Jack’s suit in an op shop on the east coast, he typically has a lot of luck as a six foot-four guy at op shops. Although this one was a little big, we’d discussed the idea of a beautiful dark brown suit and this fit the bill, right down to the subtle stripe. We had it tailored and it fit beautifully. His shirt was from Honest Studios on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy and was made from vintage Greek tablecloths. Again, it’s something he can wear again and it takes us back to that weekend.

What kind of beauty and hair look did you go for on the day?

Up until a month before the wedding I was going to have my aunty do my makeup, a friend do my hair and have cameras around for everyone to capture the day. When we came across Cedar Purchase, that all changed. She’s a hair and makeup artist, and a photographer. We love her natural looks and her photography was exactly what we didn’t know we wanted.

She shoots mostly fashion on film (although she’s now doing more weddings). I don’t wear makeup often so I wanted to look and feel like myself and Cedar did just that, with no trial. She’s incredible.

How did you spend the moments before and after the wedding?

We were arranging the flowers, setting the table, making candle moulds, tying ribbons, stamping napkins, hanging lights and mowing lawns, but we were also drinking wine and wrestling in the pool, doing yoga and Pilates and going for bush runs.

I have never felt that sense of closeness to the people I love and that is a feeling I will hold to my heart forever. The sense of love and community felt that weekend was nothing short of magic.

What kind of food and entertainment did you have on the day? And how did you choose the cake?

Our nibbles and grazing board was magically put together by friends and family, as was the tablescape and decor (no planning, just understanding and cohesion).

We had the girls at Maria’s put together Mediterranean plates for dinner and their bartenders were on hand, ready to make margaritas (using the delicious Azteca margarita mix). The food was delicious and we danced in between courses to the jazz band, Full Creme.

One of our best friends, Cass, who we lived with for years is an incredible baker and dietician. She made us an incredible tiramisu cake, whipped in a champagne bucket and Jack’s brother Patrick wrote a poem, which Cass stencilled onto the cake. We sourced vintage silver bowls to spoon it into and it was incredible.

How did you capture the event?

We loved the idea of film and having singular moments captured with Cedar’s amazing eye. Knowing we had a set amount of film, we just enjoyed our time, we didn’t spend more than five minutes taking photos after the ceremony.

We also had some vintage camcorders hanging around the whole weekend, which everyone lovingly picked up throughout the day and night. We now have four hours of footage that we are yet to cut, but those videos and Cedar’s photos translated the feeling of the wedding perfectly.

Did you have any other fun or unique quirks about your wedding?

We had one of our best friends’, Nick, marry us, through My Celebrant Buddy, where we did the legal parts (sans vows) a week before. We wanted it all to feel as intimate and us as possible. It was better than we could have imagined, having him up there with us on the day felt so right.

We also didn’t do wedding rings. We had proposed to each other with rings already and weddings are expensive enough. We have plenty of years to exchange rings and gifts to each other, so it didn’t feel necessary. Thinking about what you want rather than what’s expected is so liberating and made the celebration feel like our own.

Keep up with Molly here.