Beth and Anthony

A splendid country winter wedding for you today – at one of the most amazing regional eateries in Victoria! I love the bride and groom’s style which weaves it’s way through the photographs and the elements of their day – a feather bolero? A lovingly restored car? Lots of laughter and love? That’s the formula for the beauty of today’s wedding!

Beth recalls how she and Anthony met. “We met 8 years ago, working in a cafe in Geelong and were good friends for many years. We fell in love and have now owned our own cafe in North Melbourne for nearly five years. We live together, work together and still are each other’s favourite person!”

Photographs today are by Louisa Bailey, I love Louisa’s fun, candid way of capturing a wedding. There are always images of candid laughter and plenty of style and romance.

Beth wore pale pink Sandler shoes and carried a bouquet styled by Denise Robinson from The Lake House.

Of their photographers, Beth remarks ” Louisa (and her assistant Erinna) took the most amazing photographs, exactly what we had hoped for. All very natural, not contrived at all or posed, made everyone feel very relaxed and managed to capture the day perfectly. Her relaxed manner was so reassuring, and calming.  She understood how important it was to us to capture images of our families and friends all enjoying themselves, and their personalities really shine through. The photographs taken during the morning are particularly special to my family as it is the first time we have all been together for five years (brothers live in the UK).”

Beth wore a champagne coloured gown Charlie Brown dress with an ostrich feather bolero from Linda Gorringe.

Beth remarks “We designed and printed our own invitations, took a LONG time, but they were beautiful and worth it in the end. We used a 70’s designed sheeting set as inspiration, featuring a woody tree line, which now makes a beautiful wall hanging in our sunny dining room.”

Beth arrived to the ceremony in a very special car. She explains “I was driven in Dad’s very newly restored Morris Minor, Gladys. He had spent many years restoring it to all it’s glory and the wedding day was her maiden voyage. She  performed beautifully, and was a real hit.”

Beth and Anthony married at Lake House, Daylesford. Beth remarks “Beautiful old country hotel, renowned for it’s amazing hospitality and award winning restaurant. It is a special place for us, we have visited several times for weekend getaways, and wanted to share it with family and friends.”

Beth remarks “It was an 11am ceremony followed immediately by a finger food luncheon. All wrapped up by 4pm.”

Beth describes the wedding as “A relaxed winter wedding in the country surrounded by everyone we love, with amazing food and wine.”


In  lieu of a traditional wedding cake, Beth and Anthony chose a Croquembouche with vanilla creme patisserie, spun sugar and flowers to match Beth’s bouquet.

Beth and Anthony not only handmade the stationery, but also the favors for their guests. Beth explains “We made little jars of either homemade tomato relish or homemade fruit compote, along with a little pouch of seeds collected from Anthony’s grandmothers, for guests to plant in their own gardens, and be reminded annually of our wedding. The seeds are “Snow on the Mountain Top” and they are a family favourite, that we thought we would like to share with everyone.” Guests were entertained throughout the afternoon by Carneval Strings

Beth accessorised her gown with “Several strings of pearls, all miss-matched, some new, some borrowed from my Mother and a vintage style pearl brooch to secure my ivory sash from Linda Gorringe”


And the most splendid part of the story? Well, this is Beth and Anthony’s story after all so perhaps I’ll let Berth tell it. “The most wonderful part of our wedding in June is that now we are expecting a honeymoon baby! Not only did we share our wedding celebrations with our all our loved ones, we also started our own family at this very special time. Couldn’t be more perfect!”

Congratulations on the next stage of your life together Beth and Anthony! Thankful to you both for sharing it with us today on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Louisa Bailey for sharing today’s images.