Real Wedding - Dean & Britt, Trawool VIC

March 17, 2024 In Classic, Country, Latest Posts, Luxe, Outdoor, Real Weddings, White By Natalie Drum

Real Wedding – Dean & Britt, Trawool VIC

With eight months from engagement to the wedding day, Britt and Dean took a simple and straightforward approach to planning. But a low-key lead-up did not take from the amped-up energy and epic style of this dreamy day.

Britt and Dean carefully curated a wedding day team that included some of the best in the business. This meant the details unfolded seamlessly, while the overall effect was equal parts blissed-out emotion, fun, and effortlessly fresh aesthetics.

Begining with a gorgeous ceremony by celebrant superstar Tegan of Panache and Co, the vibes were high as the new Mr and Mrs returned down the aisle. Dean nailed the minimalist chic look in a soft sand blazer by MJ Bale, while Britt elevated her breathtaking Kyha gown with soft gossamer sleeves.

The celebration continued to unfold against the perfect backdrop of The Trawool Estate. With endless bushland views and timeless, sleek architecture, the venue adds a perfectly understated imprint to the visual vibrancy of this day.

In Britt and Dean’s words, nothing is more perfect than saying yes to your soul mate – the rest is just noise. We wholeheartedly agree – but the noise in their case is blissfully beautiful, captured in visual poetry by the talented Chloe May.

The meeting.

We met just over four years ago. We had a few mutual friends, went to the same gym and Dean had actually struck up a pretty cute friendship with my Dad. We both had our eye on each other a little while before officially meeting, and after bumping into each other a couple of times on nights out, a Tinder match and a Thai date later we were both very smitten.

The one.

While not a defining moment, very early on in our relationship it was beyond doubt how aligned we were. Before meeting, I was planning on moving aboard to New York that year, and cancelled my plans a couple of months before Dean and I sparked up our relationship. Little did I know, he had just booked a trip to the US at roughly the same time I was looking at leaving, so – although a short three months into our relationship, I tagged along with him to the States and we spent a few weeks in our bubble getting to know so much about each other, and both knowing without doubt that we had found our person.

The proposal.

After having the ring hidden in his underwear drawer for four weeks, combined with finally having plans to head out to the family farm, Dean notes “it was go time”. The ring was rolled up into his flannelette fox PJ pants and he waited impatiently for me to finish work. The plan goes that we were to drive into the hills at his family farm overlooking the lake, for a romantic sunset proposal. This vision started to fade when I was called back into work and we didn’t pull up at the farm until 15 minutes from dark. Plans were slightly altered with an attempt of spelling out “WILL YOU MARRY ME” on the Scrabble board – but as usual, I dominate at Scrabble and Dean was left defeated. The ring was rolled back up into the PJ pants and we headed home. The next day, however, we had a typical “us” day. Coffee in the morning, the Swan’s cementing 2nd spot for finals (Deans add in, not mine), a home cooked meal and a World War II doco to finish our day, the ring was hidden under the bed whilst we went about our ordinary night routine and after a few cuddles and lighthearted chat, I was asked to spend forever with him. I can’t decide if it was the ring of my absolute dreams, the look in his eyes or the flannelette fox pyjamas that he was wearing, but yes to forever came as naturally as everything else did that day.

Planning process.

I’m a spread sheeter at heart and love a good planning challenge. On the contrary, Dean loves a beer and to not think too hard on anything, so our planning process went a little like… “are you happy with that”, “yep”, “done”. We had a short engagement, just over eight months from the question pop to the big day so it was a time crunch when it came to getting it all sorted. In true us style, things were simple and straightforward – we knew what we wanted and most things happened naturally.

Style inspiration.

Minimalist and earthy! Our venue was in the most stunning landscape in the Victorian countryside, an absolute gem surrounded by nature. We used this as our style inspiration and allowed the venue to speak for itself, with little elements of us to add some personality! We had a very classic colour palette and focused on lines and textures to style our wedding.

The ceremony.

We both always wanted to get married outdoors, surrounded by nature, sunshine and the people we love most. The backdrop of our ceremony was so picturesque – a minimal white pillar-style arbour that popped off the background of gum trees and stunning bushland. I loved that the location of our ceremony meant guests and our bridal party had to walk up to the location – it just felt somewhat unique and added to the excitement that our ceremony was elevated.

The outfits.

My dress was not at all what I thought I would go for, and actually ended up being the fourth dress I just happened to add to my fitting booking with KHYA, but really felt I wouldn’t like. It was the first dress I ever tried on, and the only dress I fell in love with.

While he’s really simple at heart, Dean can sometimes be more picky than I am – so I thought we’d likely be in for a battle trying to find his suit jacket. He always knew he wanted a classic suit look but something a little fancy with the jacket, but again, one trip to MJ Bale and the first one he tried on happened to be the one.

Favourite moments.

Our favourite moment was actually this tiny pocket of time we found between our ceremony and our bridal party photos where it was just us. We were able to walk from our ceremony location back to the Trawool Estate hand in hand and it was by far the most beautiful five minutes of the day.

Meaning of marriage.

Marriage doesn’t and hasn’t changed the way we feel about each other, nor has it altered how we go about our life. Marriage to us simply solidified what we already knew and felt – the absolution of “I’m yours”, and the beginning of our own family.

Wedding soundtrack.

Ceremony: Walk You Home, Custom cover of Horrorshow by Dalli, Steer by Missy Higgins
Reception entry: Levels by Avicii
First dance: Custom cover of Tiny Dancer by Elton John (Dalli)

Planning surprises.

I guess most people prepare for planning a wedding to be stressful and overwhelming, though we can’t help but feel our wedding planning process brought us closer together. There are so many things that I don’t feel you can prepare to work through, but the elements of planning that pop up can really push you to work more solidly as a team and communicate openly on a new level. I can’t say I ever thought our wedding planning would go beyond the wedding day itself, but we’ve certainly carried what our wedding planning gave us forward into our marriage in such a positive way.

Words of wisdom.

Let it happen, let it be, remember that you’re in it together and that while you want to have a nothing less than perfect day, there is nothing more perfect than saying yes to your soul mate – the rest is just noise.

It’s so important to close the chapter of your wedding having experienced every moment yourself, so try not to get caught up in the things you can’t control and just be present. When you remind yourself that your day is simply about you and securing the love you have together, it somewhat helps to just bring you back to earth at times!

Want to follow in Britt and Dean’s footsteps, for both a relaxed planning experience and a dreamily fabulous wedding day? Check out our directory for vendors diverse in offerings but all equally incredible in talent and skill. Oh, and they’re a bunch of super lovely humans too! Get booking, here.

BRITT & DEAN’S VENDORS

I individually researched each and everyone of our suppliers – some through word of mouth, some through Instagram and most through already knowing the suppliers/vendors I loved and wanted to have for our day.

Ceremony & reception venue: The Trawool Estate

Celebrant: Teagan Dole

Photography: Chloe May

Videography: John Kurt

Florist: Eloise Maddox

Hair: Stef Williams at Carla Lawson

Make-up: Isabella Quinn

The dress & veil: KYHA Studios

Rings: Sarah & Sebastian, Leil & Michael Hill

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy

Suits : MJ Bale (Dean),Oxford (Groomsmen)

Catering & bar: The Trawool Estate