Renee and Trent’s rustic Autumn themed wedding in Rockhampton was a celebration of love set against the backdrop of the Australian bush. With a focus on simple, rustic elegance, their day was beautifully documented by Kyla Eliza Photo & Film. From heartfelt vows to candid moments with family and friends, Renee and Trent share their wedding story in their own words (with a little help from their fabulous photographer, Kyla), giving us a glimpse into the details that made their day truly special.

Enjoy our first You feature for our Dopamine Issue and while you’re at it, don’t forget to check out Renee’s beautiful polka dot dress!

We first met at the Cave Bar at the Rocky show through mutual friends. We  bumped into each other again on New Year’s Day 2022 at The Criterion when Trent was playing in a band.

Trent ended up leaving his phone at the Criterion, which caused him to have little sleep, in case he missed a phone call. We both ended up catching up again for dinner, unfortunately, the venue Trent chose was closed, so they headed off to the Criterion again.

Covid then hit and we had to quarantine at Renee’s Aunt’s home. It forced us to get to know each other through long chats, playing pool, swimming, and playing darts.

After a few weeks of having lots of beach and pool days, camping and parties which was wonderful where we met a lot of each other’s awesome friends and families. This is when we both knew each other was “the one.”

On the 5th of March 2023, Trent planned the proposal. Trent and Renee headed off to Rosslyn Bay under the guise of going fishing. He took an empty ring box from his pocket and fumbled it into the water. Trent then took out the real box with the ring and popped the questions. We all know what Renee’s answer was. It was a YES!

For our wedding, we both had our brothers as our best man and man of honour and our three best friends standing beside us.

Kyla our photographer was amazing! She made everyone feel so comfortable and we had a ball working with her. She exceeded our expectations. We are obsessed with the photos and video she took of our day!

So hard to choose our favourite photograph as there are so many beautiful ones! Either the photo of us kissing at the end of the aisle or one walking hand in hand in the alleyway.

In Trent’s wedding party we had Drew (best man), Riley (grooms’ woman), Tas and Mitch (grooms’ man). For Renee it was Trent (man of honour), Zara, Morgan and Maddy (bridesmaids).

Renee had a lucky charm gifted to her from her Mum, Jan that she used at the wedding and an aquamarine pendant attached to the floral bouquet.

My dress was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and was so comfy. The vibe I for at was wanting was just plain and sleek, but when we visited Mason Bridal Boutique, the beautiful daisy polka dot lace caught my eye, and I knew it was what I wanted.

Shopping for my dress was an amazing experience. From the first visit, to the creating process and when I wore It on our day. It fit me like a glove, and I didn’t want to take It off. It was my dream dress.

Our flowers were done by one of my good friends, Sam. To be honest, I told her that she had creative freedom. I showed her my colour theme and mentioned that I just wanted greenery for my bridesmaids. She did such an amazing job. Each one of my bridesmaids had a different foliage bouquet which was incorporated in my bouquet.

For the aisle song, I chose “Beautiful Crazy” by Luke Combs.

For the wedding ceremony, we wanted beautiful warm Autumn tones with Australian-themed decor. The atmosphere was just a lot of genuine love and happiness and a big party vibe.

We chose Mount Archer because it is beautiful and peaceful. We loved the view of Rockhampton surrounded by the Australian bush.

We had Trent’s Aunt as our celebrant which was special.

We wanted our ceremony to be short and sweet, but also to share the love we have for each other. We had our nieces Sunnie and Lulu recite a poem and we shared our own vows.

Trent knew he wanted just classy and simple with his suit. But, he added a bit of his own twist with his bolo tie. Which we loved!

For the reception, we chose the Great Western as we have always loved the vibe there – laid back country vibe with good food and a perfect venue for a party.

Renee’s parents, Jan and David gave us their wedding knife to cut the cake.

In terms of DIY, Renee’s brother and brother-in-law made the table runners and centrepieces and Trent’s Mum, Sharon made the welcome sign, perspex sign and wedding favour shot glasses.

For the first dance it was “Millionaire” by Chris Stapleton.

All our vendors were amazing. Made the whole planning easy.

5 things that made the wedding special were:

1. Making the day about us.
2. Having the closest people in our lives there.
3. Writing our own vows.
4. Having a laid-back reception.
5. Everyone up on the dance floor.

A big thank you to Renee and Trent for sharing their wedding day with us and to Kyla Eliza Photo & Film for capturing it so beautifully.