Jess & Clayton's Earthy Romantic Mountainside Wedding

Scrolling through Jess & Clayton’s earthy romantic mountainside wedding you can almost feel the spring breeze and hear the chattering of birds it has been THAT stunningly captured by Liss Hillam. A dreamy day surrounded by their nearest and dearest, we’ve fallen head of heels for their wedding. And so will you. Jess remembers how she and Clayton met, and how their day came together…

Clayton and I went to high school together! We began dating and have been together ever since. I suppose you would say we’re old-fashioned high school sweethearts.

Our wedding felt like it was different, unique, and laidback, and we were surrounded by a small amount of our closest family and friends. The whole day was relaxed. Not at one point did I feel stressed or anxious. I reminded myself that my wedding day will not come again and that for me to make the most out of it I needed to relax and enjoy every ounce that I could.

Our wedding was held in November 2020, and the ceremony was on our small block of land that we were very lucky to inherit from our family. This is a block of land that Clayton’s dad had played and worked on as a kid; a block of land we found ourselves also doing the same. We are the fourth generation, so it was a simple decision choosing it to be the backdrop for our ceremony, underneath the trees and surrounded by our loved ones. I walked down the aisle to “My Side of the Fence” by Dan & Shay.

How we got our flowers is quite an interesting story! I had struggled to find a florist that could do what I wanted without the insane price tag. Therefore I decided that we were going to order the flowers from the Melbourne market – Slinky’s Fruit and Veg. The day before the wedding, we thought it would be okay for myself and my bridesmaids to arrange the flowers together ourselves. WHAT A NIGHTMARE! We had no idea what we were doing, and had totally forgotten that the roses did in fact still had their thorns attached! The concept of the night before DIY flower arranging looked very dim and damned.

My bridesmaids decided to get some dinner before we started, and they happened to run into a lovely family friend of ours Emma, who owns Bikes and Blooms, a garden/bike center. She knew about our flowers coming from Melbourne and asked the bridesmaids how it was all going. Just the reaction on their faces was enough for her to offer her assistance. I immediately had a phone call with Emma telling me she would be up ASAP, and she was a godsend.

Emma is one of the most artistic people I have ever known. At the last minute, she was able to arrange the flowers the night before, and she did an amazing job! A highly stressful situation, but thanks to Emma it all came together perfectly.

Our photographer was the wonderful Liss Hillam. She took the time to meet up with us before the wedding, and we discussed what kind of wedding we were aiming for and the particular photos we were after. We were so happy with the whole process, and she was lovely every step of the way. We were super excited to see the photos once they were all finished and were stoked to see the finished results. She is someone I would 100% recommend.

I wore an A-line wedding dress from Shona Joy which had a mix of cotton and french lace, creating a unique, linear design. I did have the design altered to add shoulder pleated straps, which made the dress more my style.

Clayton wore a dapper grey sports jacket with black pants, a white shirt, and a black bow tie from Brides of Wagga.

Our reception was held at Kearsley’s just outside Tumbarumba NSW, which has a beautiful setting and outstanding service. We loved our reception venue, and I loved organising the colours and themes for our wedding day style!

As the sun was going down, surrounded by family and friends, we shared our first dance as husband and wife to “Speechless” by Dan + Shay.

Our advice to other couples would be, let it truly be your day. It goes so quickly, so don’t get caught up trying to make it “the perfect day”. Enjoy every bit, and try to take a moment with your partner to actually take it all in. Remember what the day is really about and make it special for you both.