A rustic country wedding in Dargo in the Victorian High Country that was thrown together in 3 days between lockdowns? That’s exactly what Mikayla & Jye achieved with the help of some of their nearest and dearest, and amazing team of vendors. Here to share the dream that was their wedding day, Mikayla recalls their love story and tells us about their “I Do’s”, shot so beautifully by Weddings Captured by Peta… 

“The whole day was such a special story! From calling it off due to lockdown to organising a wedding in 3 days when regional Victoria was let out of lockdown early. That’s one for the memory books!” says Mikayla. “Our vendors and wedding party – everyone stepped up to the plate in such a short space of time and made sure everything was perfect. Couldn’t have asked for a better crew to make our day as perfect as it was!”

Jye and I met via a mutual friend. After a few drinks and an unlocked phone, Jye was added to my social media and after a few weeks of getting to know me he invited me on a date and the rest is history! Jye proposed on my 29th birthday at Lake Eppalock. He had some friends set up this beautiful picnic with all of my favourite things!

I wore my mum’s garter from 35 years beforehand and my bouquet was also super special to me. I had my great Grandma’s ring (we shared a birthday), a locket from my other Grandma containing a photo of my great grandparents, and a handkerchief with a blue wren on it from my Nana tied together with a piece of tartan from my Great Nana Campbell. It was so special to have something from all of them there with me even though they couldn’t be with me on the day.

We chose Dargo because it’s such a beautiful place and we love it there. Being winter we were hoping for snow, but you can’t predict the weather and we got a sunny 20-degree day which was perfect. We got married down by the river and the reception was at the Dargo Hotel. Helen and her team at the Dargo pub were next level terrific! They made sure our day ran smoothly, nothing was too much work for them and they were so accommodating to us. Cannot thank them enough!

I walked down the aisle with my dad to “Better Together” by Luke Combs. We wanted a fun ceremony filled with laughs and some really intimate moments. I was told about A Stand Up Celebrant who has a buddy program so we were actually married by our good mate Walshy. It was so special and something we will treasure forever. Gina Brakey came and signed off all of our legal stuff but the ceremony was conducted by our friend which made for such a good time.

I had my flowers made by The Eternal Vase. She specialises in artificial flowers, and I wanted something I could keep forever. I wanted lots of natives and bold colours to compliment my bridesmaid dresses and our colour palette for the day.

For my wedding dress, I knew I wanted something simple, elegant, and timeless. I’d tried on a few dresses at a few different places that were nice but didn’t work for me. My best friend and I went down to Miss Gowns in Pakenham and I tried on a few dresses but again nothing was a wow moment until the 3rd dress I tried on. A stunning Stella York number that I had previously sent to my mum to see if she approved. It fit me like a glove and I was overcome with emotion. I knew it was the one when I couldn’t stop thinking about it and each time I thought about it that same emotion washed over me

For Jye and his groomsmen, we wanted something classic and timeless so we opted for black suits from Connor. The girls’ dresses were from For Her and For Him as well as the boys’ matching ties.

Our photographer Peta has become a good friend of ours. We originally booked her to take my birth photography however COVID changed those plans and she ended up doing newborn photos for us. She then did our engagement session. She really got our vibe and we couldn’t have found a better fit for our wedding photographer.

One of our favourite things from our wedding day was just standing back and watching. Watching what we had created and everyone coming together to celebrate us in the middle of a pandemic. We were honestly SO lucky we got to get married despite not all of our loved ones being there. It was smack bang in between 2 lockdowns and that in itself was pretty special. We made sure to include a memorial plaque with a candle for all of those who couldn’t be with us on the day. My Maid of Honour also wrote us a song which was so special.

Our first dance was to “Forever After All” by Luke Combs. Ever since the song came out Jye would always grab me for a dance when it came on so it just felt right for it to be our first dance

Our advice for other couples planning their day would be to don’t sweat the small stuff, not everything will go to plan and that’s ok. It’ll all work out for the best I promise!! Take a step back and soak it up, honestly take 5 minutes because your day goes so fast. I remember saying to Jye while we were dancing, “Look at this, look at what we have created! All these people are here to celebrate us and that’s pretty fantastic!”

Brenton from BGS Productions really stepped up at the last minute (by last minute I mean 2 days before kinda last minute!) after our videographer was in Metro Melbourne and couldn’t make it due to lockdown. He nailed capturing us for who we are on the day. We couldn’t be more grateful for everything he did! (Note: wedding video to come shortly!)

Thank you to Mikayla & Jye for sharing their gorgeous day with us! And to Weddings Captured by Peta for the beautiful images.