Real Wedding: Daniel and Doss

Posted on 19 June, 2018

Doss and Daniel were both new to Canberra but didn’t realise they were neighbours in the same apartment complex until a mutual friend introduced them. 

GETTING READY

Doss got ready at home, in the same apartment complex we met in. Daniel got ready at the Burberry – it was all going well until one of his groomsmen set of the fire alarm while blow drying his hair, causing the building to be evacuated and the firemen to turn up…

THE DRESS

Doss couldn’t pick between two wedding dresses – Annabel’s Bridal in Kingston helped combine them both into one by adding lace sleeves to a strapless dress from Nicolina.

CEREMONY + RECEPTION

We wanted to make it easier for guests by having our ceremony and reception at the same place. We knew we wanted an outdoor ceremony and love the bush scenery around Canberra – Gold Creek Station was everything we wanted.

Craig, the owner, was really easy to deal with throughout the whole process and did everything he could to make sure our wedding was just how we wanted it to be.

We wanted a relaxed day where all our friends and family had time to socialise and have fun – we didn’t want too many formalities. And we wanted lots of cake! Doss used the wedding as an excuse to do mass baking and try a bunch of new recipes. Our styling was fairly minimalist – we went with Australian native flowers to match the bush setting.

We visited the venue two weeks before the wedding and noticed there was a wheel covered with eucalyptus up in the main room as a chandelier – we loved it and asked Craig if he’d keep it there for us, and he agreed.

HIGHLIGHTS

Our photographers (Anton and Raya) were one of the first things we booked after getting engaged and were definitely one of the best decisions we made.

We haven’t had professional photos taken of us since high school picture days, so were a bit nervous about how stiff we’d be in front of the camera. But Anton and Raya were so relaxed it was more like hanging out with friends – Anton even taught Doss how to walk in her dress!

We absolutely loved all the photos we got. We also asked them to take candid shots of our guests, and our friends were super excited to see all the action shots. Many of the pictures are now up on friends’ fridges around the country.

We were initially worried a photo session would use up valuable time we could have been spending with our guests – but it was actually a really good chance to spend some time together as a couple immediately after the ceremony.

People loved the speeches – we were initially worried that we had too many and that people would get bored, but they were the highlight of the day! And our guests were big fans of Gold Creek Station’s rustic setting – so many Insta-worthy spots.

ADVICE TO FUTURE COUPLES

We did a lot of DIY – we were incredibly lucky to have talented friends and family to help. Doss’s brother built the arch we got married under, and subsequently had a role in breaking the arch during the reception when a group of friends decided to use it as a chin-up bar.

Our friend Jordan, who was also our MC, is amazing with flowers, so we sent her off to a flower farm and she put together all the arrangements for our tables. Daniel’s talented mum, Fabienne, did bridesmaids’ hair. We baked the cake and a variety of other baked goods for the dessert table, dyed about 20m of cheesecloth blue for the table runners, and painted the welcome sign ourselves.

We also baked 140 cookies, covered them in fondant, stamped names on them, and packaged them individually to use as place cards – and vastly underestimated the huge amount of work involved in this. It took a full day for both of us!

Our family were also a huge help in pulling together a breakfast BBQ the day after the wedding for everyone – we were so focused on the wedding we hadn’t thought through all the logistics of the day-after event. And Craig from Gold Creek Station gave us a giant crate of eggs to use for it! Our tip for future married couples would be not to underestimate the time and cost of DIYing – while it can be cheaper, it’s also much more stressful. It’s probably better to pick one thing to focus your DIY efforts on.

ANYTHING YOU’D DO DIFFERENTLY?

Doss forgot to look at Daniel until she was most of the way down the aisle – there were so many people and so much to look at, and she was so concerned with her walking speed that she didn’t think to look up until the last minute!

FAVOURITE PART OF THE DAY

Calming each other’s nerves during the ceremony was our favourite part of the day – closely followed by eating leftover pizza in bed after it was all done and dusted and we were home.

HONEYMOON

We went to France, Spain and Morocco with the goal of eating as much cheese as possible while there.

THE LITTLE DETAILS

PHOTOGRAPHY Anton Kross from Across the Forest

CELEBRANT Lorraine Bird

BRIDE’S DRESS Nicolina

BRIDGE’S SHOES Wittner

BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES ASOS

GROOM’S SUIT L&K Tailor

GROOMSMEN’S GIFTS Bekvambox

BRIDES’ HAIR Bond Hair Religion Kingston

MAKEUP Amy Capeda

FLOWERS Arch flowers and bouquet were Out of the Bloom Florist

CATERER Gold Creek Station 

CAKE Bride

STATIONERY Pixels and Print design