Paige Kylie
How did you meet?
We had met a few times through friends during our school years, but years later we bumped into each other at Uni Games on the Gold Coast. I was playing beach volleyball and he was on the AFL team. After our game we met with mutual friends for cocktails, clubbing and dancing, it was lots of fun! Soon after Uni Games, he asked me to go to the Sydney Agriculture Ball with him.
How was the proposal?
It was right before lockdown so it didn’t go as his plan. But on this day he kept asking me if I wanted to go on a picnic with him to watch the sunset, I was preoccupied at the time playing with my one week old niece. As the sun started to set I thought why not, we quickly ran out the door grabbing some wine and chocolate. We were on my family’s farm, I brought my dog Nala with us, we sat overlooking the dam and sunsetting behind the hills, I set a video up to capture it all (as i do). He got up, and I was playing with Nala and when I turned around he was on his knee. It was so nice just having us surrounded by nature.
Where was the wedding?
We held our wedding at Mona Farms, in a little country town called Braidwood. The ceremony was at St Bedes Catholic Church which was a 2min drive into town. We chose the country for a breath of fresh air on our big day, since both our families have properties and we have been brought up on farms, it felt like home.
Tell us about your wedding day
We look back on our wedding day and wouldn’t change it for the world, even the fact that it rained all day. Mona Farms had breathtaking gardens and modern arty houses for us to stay in. We had our friends style our wedding just the way we imagined it. When all the formalities were done we surprised everyone with fireworks to start the dance floor. It was insanely beautiful, but what meant the most to us was the people who were there for us, we felt so much energy and love from everyone. I loved how our families got to stay on the property and have dinner the night before and breakfast the day after. I also paid special attention to my grandparents who stayed just a walk away. I included my grandmas to get ready with my bridal party, they both had their makeup done for the first time, sipping on an espresso martini and having brunch while they watched the excitement in the household. It touched my heart when they told me later they felt like a princess going to the ball, they had never felt so beautiful and apart of a bridal party before. Luke & I wanted an intimate wedding, so having 160 people was super hard for us to cut numbers when we could’ve easily had 300+ people. We wanted to be able to talk to most of our guests and have a decent conversation rather than a quick exhausting hi and bye, so we achieved this, everything felt effortless and natural. It was meant to be.
What was the inspiration behind the design and was the colour theme of your wedding?
Our wedding theme was a formal garden wedding, we encouraged guests to dress formally in colour/garden theme. We wanted to keep it traditional with the ceremony even though the gardens are stunning at Mona Farms we chose to get married in St Bedes Catholic Church. The colour palette for the church was simply green & white florals with numerous candles to complement the church. The bridal party had small bouquets, each having a different flower. My bridesmaids wore Lilac, one of Luke’s favourite colours. I liked their dresses because they were something different to silk and they stood out. The colour palette for the reception was to add a lot more pastel colours into the green and white florals to give a party, garden vibe with fairy lights covering the roof. It did rain so we did have to change the post-ceremony drinks to inside the Woolshed, otherwise the plan was to be out in the gardens during spring overlooking the lake. Luckily our guests still got canapés and cocktails, and had quite a party.
Why did you choose to wear Liz Martinez on your wedding day and why did you choose this specific dress?
It was the fifth dress I tried on, the first of Liz Martinez. When I was getting dressed into it, I just kept smiling, I felt beautiful even with no makeup and hair done! It was lightweight (which was a must) and flowy but yet complimented my body shape. It was comfortable to do anything in. There was perfect amount of detail on the dress, it wasn’t overdone but yet it was something more than just silk (which my wedding guests could wear). I walked out of the change room to show my mum and sisters, at that moment my mum said: “Oh my, that is so you!”. I still continued trying on bridal dresses at two more boutiques as it was fun and a day out with my mum and sisters. I was so quick when trying on the other dress. I knew my heart was set on the Valentina, nothing compared and my mum and sisters thought so too. On the wedding day, when I revealed the dress to the bridal party my niece/flowergirl came straight up to me and was obsessed especially with the little flowers around my waist and said “pretty” at such a young age, so I know that was purely honest haha.
Thanks for listening to our story
Boutique: The Ivory Room, Sydney
Photographer: M