Adam & Joshua's Technicolor Backyard Wedding With Sparkles!

November 16, 2020 Melissa Woods

Adam & Joshua

OK, a technicolor backyard wedding with sparkles doesn’t quite do this one justice because it’s impossible, to sum up Adam & Joshua’s day in a title that has a Google-friendly word count! Read on for the full story of this colourful micro-wedding and the level of thought and sentiment behind each tiny detail.

I’ll start by Joshua aka Molli Sparkles aka Award Winning Quilt Maker To The Stars! Yep! That’s one of Joshua’s creations that both he and Adam are lying on… ‘functional art’ you could call it. I’ve been following @molli_sparkles on Insta for a while now because his art brings me joy and one day I’d love to commission him to make something for me! Anyway, I digress.

Joshua moved to Sydney in 2005 to complete his MFA. It was only supposed to be for a year but 6 weeks into his course he was introduced to Adam by a mutual friend and 5 minutes after that he knew he’s met ‘the one’. Joshua recalls the night that ‘their lives changed forever’ . Joshua and close friend Heath were on one of their late-night excursions, they found themselves standing upstairs in the popular dance club, ARQ. As they surveyed the pulsing bodies below, Heath pointed to a figure in the crowd. ‘Look! It's my friend Adam, let's go say hello!’ As they wound their way down the spiral staircase to the dance floor, neither knew the impact that chance sighting was about to create. After small-talk introductions over heaving beats, Adam and Joshua were lip-locked amidst swirling lights and hands-in-the-air anthems until they both came back down to earth with a bang when Joshua announced:

’Oh shit! It's 5am, I've got to go! I'm hosting an Easter lunch tomorrow for friends, and I've got to defrost a ham!’

… And off he ran like a thief in the night.

Fortunately, Adam asked Heath if he could pass on Joshua’s number so that they could pick up where they left off!

Fast-forward 10 years, it’s 2015 and Joshua was clearly showing no signs of leaving his man and going back to Oklahoma so, he popped the question over brunch one August morning, armed with a beautiful diamond ring from Australian designer, Canturi.

Joshua recited words from Jessie Ware’s ‘You & I Forever’ as part of the proposal. It’s a song that holds significant sentimental meaning for the couple:

I don’t wanna try alone

We could dream it all

Don’t wanna stop the thought

With you and I forever

Forever

I only wanna team with you

We could dream it all

Don’t wanna stop the thought

With you and I forever

Forever

‘ Thank the Holy Madonna Veronica Louise Ciccone he said, “Yes!” ‘

I mean, who wouldn’t?! This sounds like the most beautiful proposal EVER!

In case it’s not already apparent, this is a love story on an epic scale! ! The lengthy engagement was down to a number of hurdles, a BIG ONE being that the couple had to wait until gay marriage was legalised in Australia. It already feels so archaic to be writing that! Should’ve been all plain sailing after that, right?! But then Joshua had to get some back surgery out of the way… all good to go?

Nah.

Here is just one of the World’s 2020 weddings that had to be postponed due to Covid 19. Adam & Joshua were due to get hitched on 26th March 2020 which would have been their 15 year anniversary! Sadly, the 2 grooms had no choice but to cancel their plans with only 11 days to go. The couple had been planning for a cocktail party wedding with one of Australia’s best DJ’s playing but alas, Australia’s social distancing rules at the time stated that no weddings were allowed to take place.

But there was still one monumental hurdle that ensued, the worst of all.

In August 2020, Adam was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This devastating curveball served as a catalyst for the couple to take the power back and not allow anything else to get in the way of what’s important - to finally get to take their vows. The couple put in a call to Jo Kalivas Events to see if she could rise to the challenge of turning this epic wedding around in just 3 weeks! Jo rose to the challenge like a boss so that Adam & Joshua could have their special and long-awaited day, 3 days before Adam’s cancer surgery. The couple made the decision to go-ahead because neither of them knew what Adam’s post-surgery recovery was going to look like.

Before we go on, I can tell you right now that Adam’s surgery was a success and the newlyweds are able to start looking forward to things again and having a break in 2021!

Having to cut their original 100 strong guest list to 20, forgoing the DJ and hosting the wedding in their backyard, the couple were also able to cut their original 75,000 AUD budget to 36,000 AUD. This covered everything from the rings to the champagne which was free-flowing for the guests alongside delicious cocktails and an exquisite food menu.

Both grooms played to their strengths - Joshua wanted to create the right mood with the styling, and Adam wanted to ensure the food and drink was plentiful and delicious. They let their event stylist Jo Kalivas take the reigns to deliver a technicolor marvel, and Luisa and Bren from The Grazing Co recreate their original menus from their cancelled wedding to bring all the magic to life. Meanwhile, the photographer Anna Murray was stealthily capturing all the special moments unnoticed.

Joshua aka Molli Sparkles creates the most incredible quilts as a passionate hobby. These became an instrumental feature throughout the styling with his most recent technicolor creation making the most spectacular ceremonial backdrop for the couple!

How special is that?!

Joshua and Adam both have an extensive art collection and they chose a piece by Kerry Darlington to aid the color story for the wedding - tonal, metallic rainbow, combined with touches of gold were used throughout the styling.

With such minimal planning, the most important thing became ‘them’ and this is exactly how it ought to be. Their love was the centre point, and all other decisions about guest lists, seating, DJs, styling, food, etc, all became secondary. The original date being cancelled due to Covid was frustrating but it allowed them the space to refocus, making it more about them and their love.

In true UN-WEDDING style, the couple chose to bin most of the outdated traditions and decided to make their own! Instead of the usual ‘cutting of the cake’, Adam and Josh invited their guests to CYOC - ‘cut your own cake’ which was enjoyed with Golden Gay Time ice creams!

The asked their 2 children to do them the honour of signing their marriage certificate and made sure the entire ceremony was live-streamed to their family and friends around the world who couldn’t be there and also to Joshua’s quilt making buddies - the Glitterati!

This wedding is so special for so many reasons but the thing that strikes me most is that nothing seems to be lacking in spite of Covid19 restrictions, ill health and a very swift turnaround! If anything, Adam, Josh, and wedding planner Jo managed to pull off something epic and showstopping even on a small backyard wedding scale. All it took was love, determination and a shit load of Molli Sparkles and his technicolor dream quilts!

I asked Joshua what their favourite part of the day was?

‘The apex of the celebrant announcing us as Australia’s newest married couple, standing in front of a quilt, in the backyard of Adam’s childhood home, in front of our closest family and friends. That’s when I knew the dream I’d had since I was a kid, was finally a reality.’

See the full gallery below along with a list of the incredible suppliers that helped make Adam & Joshua’s dream come true with their beautiful backyard wedding!