When the best man is a groodle
There is something wonderfully romantic about Adele and Brett’s wedding day. Set amongst the rolling countryside of the Macedon Ranges, their celebration was soft, dreamy and full of beautiful details, with dusky blues, soft pastels, lace and ribbons coming together to create a charming provincial feel.
Adele’s vision came to life in the prettiest of ways, from the delicate florals to the carefully considered details throughout the ceremony and reception. And then there was her dress – a stunning lace gown sourced from The Bridal Curator. With lightweight silk dupion, Victorian-style corsetry, delicate lace and bows, it was the perfect combination of whimsical and luxurious.
But, we hate to say it, we think Barkley the dog may have almost stolen the show. As Brett’s best man, he was more than ready for his moment, complete with his very own custom harness and suit – and naturally, a pre-wedding photoshoot of his own!
With so many personal touches woven throughout the weekend, Adele and Brett created a celebration that felt completely theirs – relaxed, romantic, thoughtful and full of the little details that made their love story part of the day.
The meeting.
We met briefly on a “Twelve Pubs of Christmas” pub crawl at the end of 2019, organised by a mutual friend. We got introduced at the fifth pub, a divy bar on Swan St in Richmond. Shortly after our introduction, we realised we were both keen to move on from that venue pretty quickly, so we decided to share a shot of Fireball Whisky and get out of there!
Although we didn’t cross paths until another six months later, we both remembered that shared moment fondly, and the impression we had left on each other. We were reintroduced in June 2020 in the depths of the COVID pandemic and had our first date the night before a four-month lockdown. We had to decide pretty quickly if we were keen to call each other our ‘significant other’!
The one.
Adele – For me at least, there was never really a specific event or ‘aha’ moment where I felt like Brett was the one; it was more about the calm and comfort that came with being around each other. From the beginning, there really never was any doubt about how we felt about each other. Brett came as a package deal, with his dog Barkley (the groodle) always in his presence. Being a vet and absolute dog lover, I found them hard to pass up!
Brett – I feel the same here, there was no exact moment per se, I just think Adele and I have always been really clear in our commitment to one another, and we just started on this trajectory and neither of us has ever wanted to jump off. If there was “a moment” it was when I realised Adele loved Barkley as much as I do.
The proposal.
Brett formed a fairly elaborate plan to take Adele away for the weekend to Kyneton to propose. The township has special meaning to both of us, having visited a few times for weekends away previously.
After managing to coordinate the weekend off work for Adele and organise a sitter for Barkley, Brett surprised Adele when she arrived home from work on a Friday evening in April 2025. Telling Adele to pack a weekender bag and a special outfit to wear out to dinner, she had a little bit of suspicion about where they were going. We had been meaning to visit the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton for a while, and she was right!
Prior to dinner on the Saturday, Brett took a detour to the Kyneton Botanic Gardens, where he proposed.
Brett had an engagement ring designed and made by a local designer in Mont Albert, Montal Jewellers. Drawing inspiration from our relationship, which involved a lot of weekend travel to country Victoria, the ring has three leaf motifs, symbolising Adele, Brett and Barkley, as well as two red rubies on the inside of the ring to symbolise the original Fireball shots!
Planning process.
We had a fairly short turnaround between our engagement and wedding, only ten months, mainly because we found our venue and date quite quickly. We wanted our wedding to be about taking our family and friends away for a weekend to a place we loved and that held meaning for our relationship – the Macedon Ranges in Victoria.
For Adele in particular, the area holds a special significance, with her ancestors establishing the town of Newham and farming the land around Hanging Rock in the 1800s.
When we visited Mount Macedon Winery, it was clear that the venue provided everything and more that we were looking for in a wedding venue. And for Brett, an avid wine lover, it was an easy choice. Nestled on the side of Mount Macedon, with sweeping views across the Black Forest, dotted with vines and Highland cows, the venue was a dream.
With our wedding set for a Saturday, we invited our guests to come and stay in the area for the weekend and organised the use of the function room at the Albion Hotel in Kyneton on the Friday night. It was the perfect slow introduction to the weekend and allowed everyone to mingle before the main event.
With both of our extended families travelling across from Perth, it also gave them more time to catch up, visit and experience the area together.
Style inspiration.
This was probably one of the hardest things to decide on – funnily enough, we only plan to get married once! We knew that we wanted our wedding to be a formal event, but also wanted to find a way to encompass the natural landscape and beauty that would surround us on the day.
Adele did a significant amount of research into the bridesmaid dresses, knowing that the colour and style of these dresses would likely set the tone for the wedding party. They also needed to complement the colours of the landscape and, most importantly, she wanted the bridesmaids to feel beautiful.
The groom’s party went for a more neutral navy with their outfits, with floral ties and pocket squares providing a sense of retro romanticism. Our dog Barkley, being Brett’s best man, was also dressed for the occasion. Brett organised a custom harness from Etsy, which matched both the colours of the groom’s party and Brett’s suit.
Whilst it wasn’t initially intended, the style of our wedding ended up feeling provincial, romantic and dreamy, with soft pastels, lace and ribbon accents. Most of the ceremony and reception décor was organised by Adele.
Pinterest was very useful for bringing together the overall design of the altar, using lace curtains to frame the arbour and the backdrop of the ceremony site, and wicker baskets to hold the flower buckets.
On entering the reception area, guests were able to pick a flower and bud vase to decorate their table and then take home. It took Adele about six months of dropping into every passing op shop to collect enough vases!
The ceremony
Whilst our wedding ceremony was ultimately about formally unifying our relationship, it was also about celebrating and involving the friends and family who have supported us.
Having Brett’s Aunty Cavelle as our celebrant was very special, and she put a huge amount of work into personalising the ceremony for us. Cavelle was very supportive of us including a significant tradition into our ceremony, with us both taking a shot of Fireball after our vows to honour our first meeting!
We also allowed time to individually thank all the members of our bridal party and explain to our guests why we had chosen each of them to stand by us on our big day.
The ceremony concluded with our mothers being chosen to witness our marriage certificate together.
The outfits.
Adele – Given our short engagement, I was under a bit of time pressure to choose a dress. Most makers needed 8–10 months’ notice to create the dress and allow time for alterations. After trying a few different styles, it became clear that I really just wanted to find a dress that made me feel like myself, but dressed for a very special occasion.
Being a fashionista since two years of age (says her mum!), I have never been one to shy away from bold or quirky fashion choices, so it came as a surprise when my wedding dress was a lot simpler than expected. Stocked at the Bridal Curator in Prahran, the Valentine dress by Rue de Seine caught my eye, mainly because it felt whimsical but luxurious. Lightweight silk dupion, Victorian-style corsetry, with touches of lace and bows – it was a fairytale dream to wear. Once I tried it on, it was hard to imagine wearing any other dress on my wedding day.
Brett – The suit search for me was a much more leisurely experience. Oscar Hunt in Prahran has a partnership with the Bridal Curator, where you receive a free shirt with any tailored suit. Mikey from Oscar Hunt reached out, and I eventually got around to going in for a visit. I quickly realised that a custom suit was the way to go.
Armed with the amazing help of my head groomsperson, my sister Stephanie, we went through and picked out every detail of the suit, from the colour and cut to the buttons, lapels and even a cheeky paisley lining. I then got measured up, and they made it in about four weeks.
The suit itself is this great rustic forest green – a bit different, but still formal – and it suited the country backdrop perfectly. Mikey was great, kept me updated the whole way and was always accommodating if I had to change fitting times, so the whole experience was really brilliant.
For the ties and pocket squares, I was panicking a bit, but found an amazing design from OTAA, a Melbourne-based company. They were floral and featured all the same light pastel colours we were going to have in the flowers. I really nailed that decision, if I do say so myself!
Favourite moment.
Adele – it was probably those few first moments of emotion that wash over you as you start to walk down the ceremony aisle. There were a lot of nerves that morning, and after that they sort of melted away.
Brett – Mine was also the ceremony. The weather was gorgeous; we had an amazing country Victoria backdrop, the flowers were bright and colourful, and it just had the most magical, ethereal feel to it. Also, a quick shout out moment was my little photo shoot with Barkley pre-wedding, the photos look like they could adorn the pet version of GQ because he looked so gorgeous!
Meaning of marriage.
Adele – It’s about formally recognising your love for each other, and sharing it with the important people around you. You’re committing to each other a lifetime of love.
Brett – I really love the symbolism behind marriage. The idea that the love and commitment you hold for one person gets enshrined both in law and ceremony, and celebrated in front of everyone who means something special to you, is really significant. As we got closer to the day, and then experienced it, the seriousness and importance of that commitment became clear – in a great, genuine way, not a scary one!
Wedding soundtrack.
Bridesmaids’ entry song – Dawn from Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is one of our favourite films to watch together, Brett wasn’t aware that Adele was going to use this song, so it was a bit of an ode to a shared love.
Bridal entry song – Romantic Flight from How to Train a Dragon, also another favourite
Reception entry song – WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! by Raye, an obvious choice and fun to dance to
First dance song – You Make my Dreams (Come True), by Hall & Oates, it took 5 private dance lessons to learn this one. Shout out to Rohit from Phoenix Dance Studio for your commitment, time and effort with the choreography!
Brett – after the first dance we had a live band – great move! The Nutbush went off!
Funny stories (or near disasters).
One of Adele’s main goals for her wedding day was to get a photo with the famous Highland cows at Mount Macedon Winery. Our photographer Anne and the venue wedding coordinator Steph were kindly able to organise this as part of the day, ensuring that four of their bulls were in a paddock close to the venue during the golden hour. Whilst the photos came out beautifully, the bulls soon became quite inquisitive (and too close for comfort), so Adele and Brett had to quickly scarper out of the paddock in heels and a long train in tow!
Planning surprises.
Whilst it was overall an enjoyable and novel experience to plan a wedding, you can develop decision fatigue. Certainly, having a short engagement meant there was an element of pressure in our decision making, probably a pressure that we put onto ourselves rather than from anything external. It’s easier to say in retrospect, but giving yourself the time and space to enjoy the process will make it overall a better experience.
Words of wisdom.
Make sure that your wedding is ultimately about you and what you want out of the day. Whilst tradition has its place, it can be just as enjoyable and memorable to bring something unique and new.
We loved that so much of our wedding weekend was about showcasing the things we enjoy, with little Easter eggs from our love story woven throughout. We also found that, while the smaller decorative pieces at our wedding may have seemed more trivial amongst the bigger decisions, we ultimately loved having those little touches, such as a personalised lace welcome sign, a custom (and functional!) wishing well built by Adele’s father, and a guest book that allowed guests to take and add a Polaroid of themselves enjoying the event.
Brett and Adele’s Vendors
Ceremony and reception venue: Mount Macedon Winery, Woodend, Victoria. Everything about our venue was even more perfect than we could have imagined. Our first visit solidified to us that it was where we wanted to get married. The winery’s location provided the perfect backdrop for a breathtaking ceremony in the Gardens, and allowed guests to take in the best views of Mount Macedon. All the staff at MMW were amazingly coordinated and hospitable. The reception venue was catered by the in-house bar and restaurant UUMM, with an immaculate and seasonal menu. We opted for the banquet style meal, allowing guests to bond over shared platters, there were no leftovers!
Celebrant: Cavelle Monck (Brett’s Aunt), Sharing Your Journey. Cavelle provided a personalised ceremony for us, that focused on our love story together, our family, our friends, and the things that are important to us. She brought a warmth and charisma that made the day very special, we were very lucky to have her there both as a guest and as our celebrant.
Photography: Anne Scott-Virtue, White Shutter Photography. Anne’s familiarity with MMW and her infamous landscape shots are really what sold us when we came to choosing a photographer. On our wedding day she was both professional and supportive to both us and our bridal party throughout the experience. The photos she produced were emotive, ethereal and intimate, perfectly capturing the feelings of the day.
Videography: Baker Boys Creative. Brendan from Baker Boys Creative was seamless in capturing our ceremony and reception, he provided us with immaculately edited footage that captured all the background events as well as the special moments on the day.
Florist: Fleurs de Lyonville. A local family flower farm, Fleurs de Lyonville provided bucket flowers and bouquets which were fresh, fragrant and wild. They added immensely to the whimsy and beauty of our ceremony and reception, they were so fresh that Adele had lady birds on her bouquet during the ceremony!
Hair: Ash from Ajt Hair. Ash is Adele’s regular hair dresser but also provides bridal/wedding hair. Her relaxed nature, warmth and professionalism meant that she was very easy to work and communicate with and was able to give Adele the fairytale princess hair of her dreams
Make-up: Natasha Sana. Tash is detail-orientated and a great listener, she was able to follow through amazingly with the makeup requests of the bride and bridesmaids. They all felt and looked amazing on the day!
The dress: “Valentine” by Rue De Seine Bridal, purchased from The Bridal Curator, Prahran Victoria. The girls at the Bridal Curator made Adele feel supported and gave plenty of time and space for decision making when choosing the wedding dress.
Veil: “Renata” veil from Ivory & White
Shoes: “Gardenia” heels from Forever Soles
Rings: Montal Jewellers. Chris from Montal Jewellers designed the engagement ring, and both wedding bands. Brett worked closely with him during the decision process for the engagement ring, with Chris bringing Brett’s vision to reality. We were so impressed by his craftsmanship that Montal Jewellers were a sound choice for creating the wedding bands.
Bridesmaid’s dresses” “Isadora” in frosted blue, Meshki
Suits: Groom – Oscar Hunt, Prahran (see Mikey)
Bow ties: Otaa
Favours: Glassware collected from op shops, flowers by Fleurs de Lyonville
Cake / Cake topper: Cake baked by Brett’s mother, Damaris Cox and cake topper was a family heirloom. Damaris spent countless hours developing and testing our three-tiered wedding cake, with particular attention the gorgeous delicate flowers that she created as decoration. The cake topper, a porcelain and gold horse-shoe, was a family heirloom that has been in Brett’s family since 1927. We were fortunate to be the 20th couple to have it atop of our wedding cake!
Stationery / Signage: Vistaprint
Entertainment: Baker Boys Band. The Baker Boys Band really brought the energy and fun to the second half of our wedding, with an enviable dance floor brought on by live music and floor filler classics.
Dance lessons: Phoenix Dance Studio, Richmond (see Rohit)
Transport: Dysons Bus Hire Kyneton. Thankyou for transporting our guests safely to and from the local towns, so that they enjoyed our wedding with a couple of drinks
Honeymoon: TBC – Europe trip coming soon hopefully!
