Married at the Mall

Organising a wedding is usually expensive. It can be difficult to find a venue and you will probably need to book months ahead. Have you considered getting married at Tea Tree Plaza? One Adelaide couple did! During July 1975 the North East Leader Messenger reported on the ‘Wedding of the Year’ that took place at Tea Tree Plaza.

On page 25 of the edition dated 9 July, 1975 the North East Leader featured the wedding celebration of Marcella Denengelse and Robert Scott. The ceremony took place on Friday 4 July in the mall on the upper level of Tea Tree Plaza. The couple had won the Wedding of the Year competition and all of their expenses were paid for by the shopping centre. Adelaide socialite and television personality Jaye Walton was invited to attend Marcella as her matron of honour and Adelaide journalist Paul Makin acted as Robert’s best man.

The Wedding of the Year competition was essentially a sales promotion, designed to advertise the wares of businesses at Tea Tree Plaza and bring people into the shopping centre. In the week before the wedding on 2 July, Tea Tree Plaza and the North East Leader focused on the local traders who would be donating products and services for Marcella and Robert’s wedding.

A large number of businesses, many of which were situated at Tea Tree Plaza, sponsored the competition.

Adelaide icon Balfours used to have bakeries and tea rooms around Adelaide. Balfours at Tea Tree Plaza supplied the two tier wedding cake, which the public were invited to share after the wedding ceremony.

Orlando wines, from Rowland Flat in the Barossa Valley, provided tastings of the popular sparkling Orlando Starwine. Started by the Gramp family, Orlando Wines is now owned by an international company controlled by Pinot Ricard but it is more commonly known by its brand Jacob’s Creek.

 

Joseph’s Gallery of Beauty dressed the hair of the bride and her attendants. Italian hairdresser Joseph was well known in Adelaide at the time. He owned several salons and had his own regular television segment on Channel 10.

 

Marcella and Robert, their attendants and the Mother of the Bride were outfitted by Katies Vogue, John Cook Suit Hire, Myer and Witchery. Who knew that Katies used to sell formal wear and wedding apparel? Katies has now closed. Zamels, which is still in business at Tea Tree Plaza, donated the wedding rings.

Drumminor restaurant held the wedding reception. The historic building which used to house the Drumminor Restaurant on Golden Grove Road, Ridgehaven is now part the Harrison’s Funerals complex. Built in 1843, it was originally the home of Scottish immigrants Robert and Alison Milne. The Milne family lived at Drumminor up until 1937.

 

 

The couple spent their wedding night at the Town House at 164 Hindley Street. This hotel and conference centre still operates as the Adelaide Rockford. You may not think that it looks particularly glamourous but remember that in 1975 Adelaide did not yet have prestigious hotels such as the Hilton International and the Stamford Plaza.

 

 

Adelaide Rockford, present day

 

This competition proved so popular that Tea Tree Plaza planned to hold it again in 1976. Notice how the advertisement states that the organisers are looking for a young couple. The Equal Opportunity Act of 1984 (SA) would now make it unlawful to publish advertisements that indicate an intention to discriminate according to different criteria, including age http://www.eoc.sa.gov.au/eo-you/what-discrimination/places-discrimination/advertising .

 

 

In more recent times, a British couple decided to get married at their local supermarket where they had visited the in-store café on their first date.

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