Real Wedding - Bess & Paxton, Daylesford VIC

April 3, 2020 In Church, Peach, Pink, Real Weddings, Rustic By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding – Bess & Paxton, Daylesford VIC

It truly does take a village to make a family property wedding work and lucky for Bess and Paxton, they have the best village going around.

This darling duo simply couldn’t wait to be hitched and in just under one year they created private property perfection.

We loved that they wanted their wedding celebration to feel like ‘them’ at every turn. A touch of Melbourne-cool combined with country hospitality and a common thread of good fun.

Kicking off the day with a chapel ceremony, before making their way to a big reception and then dancing all night long, Tribe talent Georgia Verrell’s was the superstar photographer behind the lens.

In their words…

The meeting.

We are the classic Tinder tale… swiping right on the Easter weekend of 2016 sealed our fate. We met for coffee on Easter Monday. Bess, rather hungover and Paxton in fine form. We drank coffees and hugged goodbye, both certain the other wouldn’t be interested in a second date.

The ‘one’.

Bess – I have been quoted declaring I would marry Paxton after our third date… But I’m pretty sure when I saw my mum getting gooey over how lovely Paxton was, I was on to a good thing.

The proposal.

We organised an impromptu weekend with friends to the farm in Yandoit. It was the perfect weekend and beautiful day. At golden hour, we were drinking red wine and enjoying a big cheese platter together when we decided to go for a walk. As all good proposal stories, the future-bride started getting frustrated at everyone being strange and difficult to keep the plan. Paxton wouldn’t hand over his jacket (where the ring was being stowed), despite some pleading and insisted we start the walk alone (cue berating of Paxton “don’t be rudeeee!”). We walked up and over the hill to overlook the property (glasses of wine still in hand) when Paxton started shakily putting his jacket around my shoulders muttering “You know how I love you so much.. and you’re the best thing that ever happened to me..?” and the next thing I knew, Paxton was on one knee with the most beautiful ring in the world… heaven.

The process.

We both love Autumn and agreed we’d love a March wedding on the farm where we were engaged. We thought 11 months wasn’t enough time, with a two month holiday already planned in the middle but we couldn’t wait two years to be married… so we got to work pulling together the wedding. We were new to the logistics of planning a wedding and wanted to have a Chapel wedding and a big reception. The operations side was very tricky but the result was definitely worth the work.

Style inspiration.

We wanted the wedding to feel like us at every turn. We wanted a touch of Melbourne cool, with country hospitality a mix of both our worlds with the common thread of good fun.

The look.

Bess – I knew long before we got married that I would be a One Day bride!

Paxton – I’ve always loved Navy and wanted to wear an Akubra.. to be honest the suit only came together a few weeks before! Haha!

Favourite moments.

After the ceremony, the bridal party drove back to the reception and had our photos before everyone arrived. Then we had a quiet moment up in one of the houses before we were announced to the party. It was so special to have some time together to enjoy finally arriving at the moment together.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage isn’t about promising the world or expecting to be a perfect version of yourself for each other.. It’s a faith that no matter what life has in store, no matter how you grow and change, you’ve found the person you want to celebrate and commiserate with for the rest of your days.

Wedding soundtrack.

Aisle: Days Like This by Van Morrison

Signing: Forever You and Me by The Teskey Brothers

Recessional: This Could Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole

Reception entry: Hypnotize by Biggie Smalls

First dance: Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker

Funny stories (or near disasters).

Hahaha.. Where to start. Funnily enough, we put the wrong church name on the invite and didn’t pick it up until the week of the wedding. The best is that cool fridge was left on a hill on an angle and stopped working on chilling the drinks over night. Luckily our families wouldn’t stand for warm drinks and this was fixed in no time by buying cold booze from the local while the rest cooled down.

Planning surprises.

It takes a village to make a family property wedding work. We were so blown away by our bridal party, friends and family and how they pulled through to make it spectacular.

Words of wisdom.

The best advice we were given was to make a Pinterest board that reflected who we are, our relationship and what we love. It’s so easy to get carried away with other people’s weddings, but the best weddings look and feel like the couple. Use it as your North Star.

Go on your honeymoon straight after the wedding – there is nothing better than the post wedding-bliss – make it last as long as you can!

Use an online service like Paperless Post for your “Save The Date” if you’re sending a paper invitation. That way, if you need to update your guests, you can send them an email directly or try making a website. Include information like accommodation, transport, logistics – it will ease your guests if they can revisit the details online at any time, any where.

Last words.

Our families and bridal party were unbelievable during the entire process and we love you all so much!

If your dream day have been impacted by COVID-19, we are sorry, but we wanted to lend a helping hand with some handy hints when it comes to rescheduling your wedding.

BESS & PAXTON’S TRIBE

Ceremony venue / location: St Peter’s Church, Daylesford

Reception venue / location: Tog’s Farm, Yandoit

Photography: Georgia Verrells

Styling and florals: Amalfi Floral Design

Hair and make-up: Studio 2

The Dress(es): Chosen by One Day Bridal and Dion Lee

Veil / headwear: Handmade by my grandma and mum

Shoes: Nine West

Rings: Lacy Jewellery

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Assorted – Bec and Bridge, Shona Joy, Forever New

Groomsmen’s suits: Wolf Kanat