Trent & Paige

When entering their wedding planning process, most couples will start with a handful of agreed-upon 'non-negotiables' for their special day. While these can vary anywhere from specifics around the time of the year to the time of night guests leave the dancefloor, Trent and Paige's absolute 'must haves' were outstanding food, great wine and fantastic service!

After a surprise romantic proposal from Trent, complete with a personalised compendium of their favourite memories, the couple gave themselves a six-month timeline to plan the wedding of their dreams.

' Even after dropping hints for a while, Trent still managed to surprise me! I had been out on a spa day with a friend and arrived home to the first bunch of flowers he'd ever bought me! Trent had" The Book of Paige & Trent " made, full of photos from our favourite memories with cute captions. The final page had a blank spot for a photo with the caption, ‘The day with got engaged, hopefully’. It was perfect being at home, felt very intimate, and our puppy Millie started chewing the ring box, haha!'

A detailed online search for venues led to a viewing of Gabbinbar Homestead, which perfectly captured the aesthetic they were hoping for.

' We chose Gabbinbar after trawling the internet looking at venues. We were looking for a beautiful location with an undercover ceremony location. We actually had a viewing at a different venue booked in and a tentative date locked in. A few days before that inspection, I found Gabbinbar online, and we cancelled our other viewing straight away - we had a good feeling! Gabbinbar was the first and last viewing. We knew straight away that it was perfect! It was a foggy, rainy day, but we loved the breathtaking gardens, the ceremony location, the team and the package. Even in less than ideal weather, the grounds were stunning! It's impossible to describe how beautiful the homestead is without visiting yourself. It feels like you're in a fairytale!'

While Paige found deciding on the venue easy, the rest of the decision-making proved a little more challenging.

' Trent & I only had 6 months between our engagement and wedding date. I think many women have an idea of what their wedding day would look like, but when it was time to make decisions, it was difficult to lock them in! It was a reason we loved Gabbinbar. The wedding planning team are professionals and amazing at their role. We felt at ease in trusting the process! We locked in key vendors as soon as possible and then worked on all the finer details from there!'

Choosing incredible vendors was crucial for Paige and Trent to successfully execute their vision. With a shorter planning timeline than most Paige immediately moved to find the perfect dress, with the team at White Lily Couture working their magic to ensure it was ready for the day.

' I wore Neveah ( Heaven spelt backwards ) from Enzoni at White Lily Couture. I had tried on dozens of dresses and thought I had a clear image of what style of dress I wanted, but I tried on countless dresses and just wasn't having that " moment " other brides speak of. I'd nearly given up when my maid of honour pulled one off the rack, completely different from everything else I'd already tried on. I put it on and just started crying, I finally felt like a bride, and I never looked back or stopped loving the dress! The team at White Lily Couture went above and beyond to get the dress in time, I'd fallen in love with a style that would take 9-12 months, and we were 6 months from the big day!'

To complete her elegant look, Paige chose a 2-tier chapel length veil. Then, with comfort in mind, for her wedding shoes she opted for simple white block heels from Wittner. On the day, Trent gifted Paige a pair of BrownHaus diamond earrings. The same jewellers had fashioned her engagement ring and their wedding bands. Continuing an important family tradition, Paige wore her grandfather's Kartush (an Egyptian pendant) which she hung off her great, great grandmother's brooch - something which all the brides in her family had worn.

With one of her bridesmaids pregnant, Paige wanted to ensure they both felt beautiful and comfortable on the day. So she chose black, full-length one-shoulder dresses by Pilgram with a front split and bow details on the shoulder. Partnered handsomely were Trent and the groomsmen, who wore MJ Bales black tuxedos with bow ties. In addition, Trent wore a differing boutonniere from the groomsmen, a belt and shoes from Aquilla, and his newly gifted Tag Heuer watch - a wedding day present from Paige.

Choosing to host their wedding in late March, Paige and Trent played on their ceremony and reception space and the natural and architectural beauty both locations offered, deciding to pair back their styling and colour palette:

'It was the perfect temperature in March! It wasn't too hot or cold! The gardens were also stunning with gorgeous seasonal blooms. We wanted to keep our day very simple and understated. Gabbinbar was spectacular by itself, so we didn't have to do much! I initially said to our florist Amy " I just want lots of white! "She was able to decipher exactly what I had envisioned and created beautiful florals! I was aiming for simple, timeless & beautiful!'

Amy from Daisy & Co brought Paige's vision to life by fashioning bouquets from an array of white blooms, textural greens and hints of blush pink to match the tulle in her dress. Embracing the Pavilion's elegant indoor/outdoor feel, Paige chose to have large floral arrangements festooned from the pillars framing the end of the aisle. To style the reception tables, Paige chose dark glossy greens garlands with touches of white alongside white pillar candles, tealight candles and a backdrop of spectacular fairy lights.

After their ceremony, Paige and Trent stole 10 minutes alone together after some sage advice was given to them in the lead-up to their wedding day:

' The best advice we were given was; the day goes by so quickly... so be sure to take some time with your now husband/wife after the ceremony to sit down together, away from everyone and just take in all the magic and what has happened so far! We sat alone in the garden for about 10 minutes between finishing the photos and before joining our guests. It was a very special moment!'

Following this, Paige, Trent and guests enjoyed their afternoon garden party, followed by their reception and the food and service that was so important to them on the wedding day:

' The food was sensational! It was a non-negotiable for us to have lots of amazing food served! Our garden party had arancini, lamb kofta meatballs & calamari. The crowd pleaser pulled pork bao buns - ALL delicious, and the guests all commented that it just kept coming! We also had entrees, serving butternut risotto & crackle pork belly. For mains, we chose an alternative drop of chicken breast & eye fillet. Honestly, it was all outstanding. It's impossible to pick a favourite dish. It's very rare to go to a wedding and for the food experience to be as impressive as it was.'

An unexpected highlight of the day for Trent and Paige was their entry into the reception, with 'Sweet Lovin' by Sigala setting the tone, followed by an unforgettable champagne tower moment.

'One of our favourite moments of the day was our grand entrance into our reception! The energy in the room was amazing, and such a vibe! It really started the night off with a bang! The Gabbinbar team set our champagne tower up in the conservatory to do when we did the grand entrance into the reception! Wow, what a moment! Truly unforgettable!'

Beautifully capturing the unforgettable moments of the day was the talented team from Mitch Birchall Studios. When planning, it was essential to Paige that their wedding day portraits felt effortless and that all the photos could be captured at their venue to avoid having to travel between multiple locations:

' Mitch & Chelsea, our photographer and videographer on the day, felt like friends! They knew Gabbinbar and the grounds like the back of their hands and never made us feel like we were stuck in front of the camera! We'll cherish the photos & film as precious memories that perfectly captured the beauty and essence of our big day!

Setting out to plan and host a 'relaxed, romantic and fun wedding', Paige and Trent are now looking forward to 'enjoying some quiet time as a couple and seeing what the future holds for us.'