Dillon and Trent had a distinct vision in mind for their day – a venue where they could invite far-flung family and friends to celebrate, with natural, earthy vibes, a little luxury and glam, and a total party vibe. “We really wanted our day to be a reflection of who we are as individuals and as a couple” explains one of the stars of the show Dillon, who met Trent a couple of days into university at a social gathering for their uni residence.

“We had both moved from our respective homes in Sydney & the Central Coast to Bathurst, NSW. After a week of hanging out, Trent drunkenly got down on one knee in our uni dorm room and asked me to be his girlfriend. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”

The celebration of them? A must-read! From the beautiful photography by the duo of Corinna & Dylan Photography to an unforgettable champagne tower (yes, we roped that one in for The Champagne Issue!) this is a day that is a beautiful example of how to marry with your own personal style, in a way that makes for utter magic.

It was January 2021 that Trent popped the question. “He was planning to do it a few times, but he had visioned it to be outdoors but it had consistently been raining” remembers Dillon. “One Tuesday, the sun had come out and Trent knew he had to make the most of the sunshine. Coincidentally, while I was at work, I had suggested that we go for an afternoon walk when I get home from work and take advantage of the sunshine, so Trent didn’t have to think of an excuse to get me out of the house.

Trent, with help of his sister, organised a secluded picnic, with blankets, pillows, food, drinks and flowers down near the lake to the home we had just bought together. When I arrived home from work, I noticed that Trent was particularly sweaty, I asked him why and he made up some random excuse (now, I know that he was sweaty because he was still setting up the picnic and had to run home as I was on my way home). We went on our usual walking route and he led me down to the picnic, where he got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him.”

Kicking it off with a beautiful wedding film captured by Motion Reel Films .” Honestly I don’t think I could just choose favourite vendor” notes Dillon, “Petrichor Farm, Corinna and Dylan, Ryan David, Laurel and Lace and Motion Reels Film were all instrumental in putting the day together. I can’t thank each of them enough for the incredible work and long hours that they did to put together and capture our wedding day.”


Trent and his groomsmen wore classic black tuxedos from Tarocash, explains Dillon, “We really wanted to have a classic and timeless vibe in our photos. So we decided that black tuxedos, with white shirt and black bowtie, would do the best job at achieving this. We also decided to have the pants tailored slightly shorter than usual to give a more modern take on this look. We loved the idea of having our classic and timeless outfits, mixed in with the earthy and natural vibes of Petrichor Farm.”

Country wedding venue Petrichor Farm had it all for Dillon and Trent! “Trent and I wanted to have a destination wedding as we have friends and family across Australia. Knowing that majority of our guests would be travelling, we wanted a space that could deliver for both the ceremony and the reception – just to make it easier for our guests. We chose Petrichor Farm in Gundaroo to host our day, as they delivered! The team at Petrichor Farm especially Haley, were instrumental in making our day a success. The Petrichor team were so welcoming and helpful with all the planning and organising for our wedding day, Haley and Darren are a literal wealth of knowledge when it comes to weddings as they have been wedding photographers for over 30 years combined. They were pivotal in keeping the day running smooth and just knew how to make the day flow so that we got the most out of our wedding day. Petrichor Farm offered us an all-inclusive style service, where they even helped with styling the venue with items from their styling/props inventory – which was super helpful and ended up saving us money on booking a stylist or someone to set up for us on the day. They also aligned us with other amazing vendors that played a huge part in creating the day we had imagined.

There is an onsite cottage that was available for me to utilise the day before, which allowed me and my bridesmaids to spend some time together the night before the wedding and created a completely stress-free morning as we didn’t need to travel anywhere. Haley even provided breakfast, champagne and delicious rice paper rolls for when we were getting ready.

The grounds, rolling hills, views and sunsets were an incredible drawing point for us. We wanted a venue that was going to be the canvas that we envisioned our wedding photos to be. It was the perfect Australian backdrop. You are spoilt for choice with ceremony spaces, with so many beautiful open spaces on the grounds. Petrichor Farm was definitely the foundation of our wedding day and truly made our experience one to remember. We’re thinking we might go back and do it all again lol.”

The blooms on the day were bright, wild and rustic. The details beautifully styled by Laurel and Lace. “I’m not a super girly girl and I really wanted florals that were a representation of who I am as a person.” says Dillon, “Bright, kinda different and quirky, but humbly beautiful. Haley from Petrichor Farm recommended that I work with Laurel and Lace as our wedding florist and she was absolutely amazing in bringing my vision to life. I know absolutely nothing about flowers, all I knew is that I wanted rust, terracotta, beige and sage tones, and if it was possible to have Australian Natives. Lauren from Laurel and Lace was so knowledgeable and definitely brought my vision to life.”

Dillon’s beautiful gown was custom-made by Sarah Joseph Couture. “I wore a custom-made gown, high neck, t-shirt style bodice with a full circle to the floor skirt with a very long train and a pearl-studded veil. I only went on to try wedding dresses on once and it was honestly a terrible experience. I didn’t particularly like the available styles and on top of that, there wasn’t any size variety and I was needing to try on gowns that were multiple sizes too small.

After that experience, I searched for a seamstress that could bring what I had envisioned in my head to life. I ended up meeting with Sarah Joseph Couture in Terrigal and I discussed with her the vibe I wanted, and styles that I liked. Within seconds she mocked up a drawing of a stunning gown that was everything that I wanted. The experience was amazing, Sarah was so accommodating, professional and knowledgeable. She gave the best advice on styles that would complement my figure and help me be my most confident self. Later in the evening, I changed into a short party/reception dress – I went with a sequined shift style dress from Sheike.”

“One incredible special detail was that Petrichor Farm is pet friendly, which meant that we were able to include our beautiful American Staffy puppy, Billie in our special day. She was involved in the whole day, from getting ready in the morning to dancing the night away – which is another detail that I am forever grateful to the beautiful venue for allowing that to happen.”

“Walking down the aisle was something that I envisioned for my wedding day. My dad is a huge part of my life and I couldn’t have been more honoured to have him walk me down the aisle to the next most important man in my life. We had Ryan David performing acoustically during the ceremony and he played “Hanging by a moment” by Lifehouse.”

The ceremony, officiated by Shannon O’Heir was beautifully relaxed says Dillon.  “We are super chill people and we wanted our ceremony to be a reflection of that. We didn’t want people to sit through the formalities waiting for it to be over so they can crack open a beer lol. We just wanted everyone to have fun, enjoy and learn more about the love that we have for each other.

Our celebrant Shannon O’Heir was amazing in writing up a ceremony that was a complete reflection of us, it had the perfect amount of jokes mixed in with the seriousness of the commitment we were making to each other. Trent and I decided to write our short vows, that were completely ‘us’.”

 

Trent’s memories of the day? “I mostly remember the day just going super fast. It really is over before you know it… I remember it being forecast to rain all day… and the only time it rained was briefly after the ceremony; it was a swift reminder, that you just need to go with the flow and that the day is what you make of it and just need to take it all in and appreciate it.”

“I’m a super organised person, so my favourite part was probably checking things off and adding into the wedding spreadsheet that I created lol” laughs Dillon. “But other than that – I think the coolest part of the planning process was being a part of designing my dress – because it’s something that I’ve never done before, and it was really cool seeing a gown specifically made for me get put together in stages over the months leading up to the wedding.”

We often tell you, dear reader, to figure out what is most important to you when it comes to planning your day. For Dillon and Trent photography topped their list! “To me, photos and video are the most important part of the day because that’s the only tangible thing of each moment that you can take away and keep forever,” explains Dillon.

“Corinna and Dylan are our vibes! From our first meeting on zoom, we just clicked. Trent and I knew we could trust them in capturing our wedding day. On the day, they just felt like guests with their fancy cameras, they were on our level and made us completely comfortable. I didn’t really want too many posed photos and I just wanted them to capture the day as it was, and who we are as people and a couple.

It was really cool having a husband and wife team as photographers on the wedding day, not only did you have the benefit/option of two shooters, but two shooters that love being together and bounce off each other to make us all laugh and be present in the moment, without being too focused on trying to look good for the camera. They celebrated us all just being ourselves and captured some amazing candid moments. Our photos are incredible and definitely encompass what we wanted. I really love film and I provided Corinna and Dylan with a disposable camera for the day as well, and the photos that were taken on film were amazing, some of my favourite shots were on film which was a super cool touch as well.”

 

“We’re not too fussed about tradition or anything like that – but it was really important to us to have a space for photos of loved ones that had passed away. The staff at Petrichor Farm lovingly set up these photos near our wishing well.”

Dillon has endless raves about the food the venue served up on the night. “The hospitality at Petrichor Farm is 10/10. Every single staff member onsite was extremely approachable, friendly and really added to the experience of the day. Throughout the day, the whole wedding party was never without a drink in hand, and we had staff going above and beyond to make sure that we were taken care of. We selected to go with the feasting option at Petrichor Farm. I can’t begin to describe the food, we lost count throughout the night of how many of our guests commented on how amazing the food was and comments like ‘that’s the best wedding food I’ve ever had’. Honestly, it’s just one of those places where you need to go and try the food for yourselves.”

The couple made their dance floor debut to Matt Corby’s ‘Resolution’. “We learnt some basic choreography steps to our first danceonly a day or two before the wedding, so we were really fresh in the steps but after a few drinks we just did our thing.”

A moment with her dad, was Dillon’s very favourite memory. “My favourite detail of the day was the father-daughter dance. It’s truly a moment and memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Petrichor Farm has the most incredible outdoor dance floor, dotted with festoon lighting and completely under the stars. We danced to “Hold My Girl” by George Ezra, and we got some pretty spectacular photos of this moment.”

And the night only kicked on from there! “We had planned to stay in the cottage at Petrichor Farm once the night was over, but we just had sooo much fun and didn’t want the night to end, so we ended up jumping on the bus back to Canberra CBD with our guests and ended up partying into the early hours of the morning.”

The biggest of congratulations Dillon and Trent. What a magical day and story we are so honoured to share. Thank you both and thank you to Corinna & Dylan Photography for sharing today’s beautiful celebration!