Marysia and Brenton’s Australian Barn Wedding

Marysia and Brenton

It started with a broken toilet seat, it ended with a festive barn celebration, guests sheltering from the rain – and continued the Polish traditions, plenty of food and you bet there was dancing. This Australian barn wedding is just what I love about Australian weddings – personalities, cultures and life coming together to becoming one big melting pot of wedding glory all captured by Pixie Rouge Photography.

Their story is rather epic and goes a little like this. “It was a weird and wonderful night that Marysia broke Brenton’s toilet seat. Who would of ever thought such a random act would turn in to such a beautiful love story. This story continued at a very respectable day at Dunkeld Cup where Brenton, in all his splendor and courage, asked Marysia a very simple question “are we going out or what?”.

Now I know what all you girls and guys are thinking…. What a romantic, charismatic and smooth way to ask his future fiancee for her hand! Needless to say Marysia could not say no to Brenton and that is what started a love story that will rival no other. It was only 12 months later when an innocent shopping trip for jeans at Chadstone would change their lives forever.

This was the day that a black, energetic and super excitable labradoodle named Rubi was welcomed to the family. Who would of thought that Rubi would take on so much of Marysia’s personality in such short time; cute, fun and so very very needy. After countless trips back and forth from Melbourne to Geelong and a few cheeky mid week dates in Williamstown, it was time to live in sin and so Marysia, Brenton and Rubi moved in together. This would be a great test to them, as the little quirks and idiosyncrasies would make themselves known. Marysia struggled with Brenton’s need to clean up the dishes as she was still eating and Brenton would cringe with Marysia’s want to leave them until the morning. Brenton would also would struggle with all the new rules on how to sort the washing, this is something they still struggle with today.

It continued with many adventures including a six week trip through Europe where Brenton met all of Marysia’s relatives and put on some “love kilograms” (some being 10). Now lads and lasses, I know you’re thinking how can he put on so much love? Well it’s easy when you have the most exquisite woman in the world. It definitely had nothing to do with over indulging in food and wine.

This epic tale struck a momentous occasion when Brenton decided to make the best decision of his life, got down on one knee with much glee (that’s right – got to have a token poem in here somewhere) to ask Marysia to share the rest of their lives together..”

The day started with heartfelt gifts for one another, Marysia remembering, “Brenton and I early on decided that we will not do gifts for one another before the wedding but rather make it more personal and sentimental. Around Valentines Day I was flicking through the paper and came across Romance Outsourced – a duo that write and record personalised songs. I was intrigued, did some research and once I enquired, the service I received from them was just invaluable. After filling out a questionnaire about Brenton, a few days later I received a song and it was absolutely perfect! It was cheeky, funny and romantic – which sums Brenton up in a nutshell. On the morning of the wedding, I had my bridesmaid deliver the song to him and although I wasn’t there to see the reaction, the photos speak for themselves.

On the morning of the wedding, I received a letter and DVD from Brenton. The effort he had gone to literally blew my breath away. Brenton had organised for all my family in Poland and Germany to send messages – some of whom I haven’t seen in years! It was such an amazing gift to receive and it was the perfect way to start what was the best day of my life.”

Marysia designed her wedding dress with her mother who made it, sewing every stitch. She recalls, “It was such an honour that my mother, with help along the way, made my wedding dress. I will never forget standing on her dining room table for 3 hours straight in my heels, slowly turning in a circle as mum delicately cut the silk and tulle.

It was better than I ever imagined it could be and spending all those hours with mum designing the dress, choosing the materials and ultimately making it was such a special experience. Most of all, what I loved was how our friends and family came together to help us – it was such a combined effort and this just made planning so much more enjoyable!”

“Of course my father cannot go unmentioned. I always knew seeing my dad in my wedding dress would be emotional, but I had no idea what came over me. As soon as I knew he was coming in, the tears started and I couldn’t wait to see him! It is so easy to get wrapped up in the wedding plans, that you forget how emotional this time can be for your parents. Even thinking about it now gives me goosebumps – it is such a beautiful moment that I know I will cherish forever.”

Marysia and Brenton married in the cosy Holy Family Catholic Church Barwon Heads .

“Looking back on our day, there were so many things that made our day special! We had family and friends travel from interstate and my aunty and uncle (who is my godfather) came from Poland for the wedding which was simply the best! We were fortunate enough to have my uncle be a witness for our wedding certificate as well as my sister in law, which made the wedding ceremony that much more special.”

For the processional, Marysia chose something traditional played by The Baker Boys . She says, “The song we chose was Pachelbel’s Canon in D, the Baker Boys version. Ever since I was a little girl, I remember watching the Little Mermaid and thinking to myself “that is the song I want to walk down the aisle to”.“

Marysia and Brenton chose a ceremony format that reflected their relationship, telling, “Our ceremony was very “us”. It was emotional however at the same time relaxed, funny and engaging – our priest was light hearted and joked continuously which was so refreshing, not to mention calmed our nerves too!”

Marysia and Brenton describe the wedding as, ” DIY eclectic but simple, our wedding was an intimate reflection encompassing everything that we are and everything that we will become; filled with family, friends, lots of laughter and a rocking dance floor “.

The Barn Wallington provided the beautiful backdrop for an evening of fun. Marysia remembering, “The Barn Wallington had it all really. Such an inviting space with so much room to move. We were really wanting to have a vintage boho vibe to our day.”

Of their photographer, the newlyweds tell, “The first thing that draws you to Anna is her down to earth nature. We first met Anna when she photographed our engagement in February of last year and we fell in love with her instantly. We felt so comfortable with her and didn’t even have to think twice whether or not we wanted her to photograph our wedding – it was a must, we had to have her! Anna is not just a photographer, she is an artist and her eye for detail as well as finding those quirky one off shots is amazing. Sean, Anna’s partner in crime and also fiancé, took beautiful candid shots which only added to the amazing experience we had with “Pixie Rouge”.

The wedding decor was a long process, says Marysia. “From the very beginning, Brenton and I wanted a very hands on DIY wedding. The Barn, Wallington is a breathtaking venue as well as an empty canvas which is hard to come by these days. Our wedding was so special because of all the effort we put towards making it come together, which ultimately paid off, was so gratifying and made it that much more special. For a year I collected mismatched vintage plates and our family collected copious amounts of jars for us. I was very fortunate to have an amazing bridal party and we spent a whole day decorating jars with lace, burlap and twine.”

Adrian Millman – Nomadic Chef 03 5221 4136  catered the dinner while Beer Gypsies sorted the alcohol and Coastal Weddings coordinated it all. Marysia explaining “We organised everything including wine glasses, cutlery, napkins, the bar (Beer Gypsies were incredible!), hand made the food menus and wedding booklets, designed the invitations, set up the venue (with help from Coastal Weddings) and last but definitely not least – I designed Brenton’s surprise wedding band and of course my wedding dress!”

Polish weddings mean bread and salt and plenty of vodka! Both of which the couple happily partook in.

The first dance, while impromptu was a hit! Marysia telling “Our first dance was actually quite impromptu and a coincidence. Throughout our relationship, “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz has always been “our” song and we danced to it at our engagement party with the idea of doing an upbeat song for the wedding dance. After the band introduced us, they played an acoustic set and started playing this very song. So of course, Brenton grabbed me for a dance and it became our unofficial first dance! For our official dance, we chose “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen. We really wanted something bubbly and dancing with Brenton is always full of surprises – air guitar, jumping, dipping and almost falling – I reiterate almost!” The Baker Boys  kept  guests dancing all night long.

Don’t think the celebrations stopped there, they continued into the following days, Marysia explaining, “An old Polish tradition is to have an after party the next day – otherwise known as “Poprawiny”. The custom of Poprawiny originated from the days when the bride’s parents purchased all the food for the caterer and so “owned” it, eaten and uneaten. Poprawiny was a means of making sure leftover wedding food wouldn’t go to waste.

Our chef, Adrian Millman of Nomadic Chef, is honestly one in a million! He was incredible and designed a beautiful rustic menu where all our food was on shared platters and guests could choose what they wanted. Adrian put all the left-over food aside for us and so the morning after the wedding, we collected all the food, left over wine, beer and vodka and another celebration began! It was almost bigger than the wedding itself; everyone literally let their hair down and danced the day away with the surprise addition of one of our friends playing classic Polish gypsy music on his accordion.”

Marysia and Brendan, congratulations on your marriage! Thank you so much for sharing your wedding story with us! Thank you also to Pixie Rouge Photography for sharing today’s images!