Melissa and Jake’s Buxton Wedding featuring Dog of Honour, Barnaby!

I truly love it when my clients want to include their pets in their wedding celebrations. Pets are like family to me so I treat them like any other family member you love.  And perhaps it’s no surprise when I tell you that when I started doing professional photography, animals were my first subjects in front of the camera. I was in a marketing role at RSPCA NSW and they needed some good photos for promotion. It was then my love of photography truly grew and I was up for any challenge! Melissa and Jake, however, did not anticipate so many challenges when planning their Buxton wedding.

Before COVID they had to change their venue because the bush fires affected their first venue. Therefore, a wedding in their own backyard seemed like a logical choice. And the more they thought about it the more they loved the idea. They had planned to have about 50 guests originally at their Buxton wedding but that was brought down to 20 due to restrictions. Melissa and Jake are quieter people so perhaps this worked out better for the wedding and then they a party can happen later on.

In saying that, Melissa and Jake truly did what was right for them in 2020 for their Buxton Wedding. They also decided to say their personalised vows later in the day during their couple photos in the local area. It was a very special moment with the gorgeous bridge and water flowing in the background. Quite a romantic location and I kept further back so the moment could be just for the two of them to truly enjoy 🙂

Barnaby – Dog of Honour – that moment!

And the other thing that was right for them was having Barnaby, their two-year-old Golden Retriever as their Dog of Honour! Melissa organised an amazing doggie biscuit cake for him and I think this is the most talked about moment of the day so far! You have to look at how Barnaby so sweetly starts to nibble and lick the cake and then suddenly… GULP! I will let you see the photo of Melissa’s reaction – it’s classic!!  I highly recommend The Good Boy Bakery (for your Good Girls too haha) for your personalised doggie foods.

Buxton Wedding – All the Details

Bride’s dress: ASOS and designer: Needle and Thread  /  Hair Artist: Elly – La Bonz Hair Studio /  Makeup Artist: Lauryn’s Beauty Co.  /  Bouquet and Boutonniere: Danika Bell /  Celebrant: Just Married by Rach  /  Bride’s Engagement and wedding ring: Michael Hill /  Groom’s Wedding Ring:  Epheriell   /  Mobile Wood-fired pizza caterers – Red Belly Pizza  / Groom’s suit: Tarocash  /  Groom’s shoes: Camden Shoes  /  Wedding Cake: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Leanne’s Little Cakery / Wine Barrels: Vintage Events Hire Menangle  /  Doggy ‘I Do Too’ Cake: The Good Boy Bakery

All the decorations were made by Melissa and her lovely Mama. The day before the wedding they walked around the local area gathering silver gum and wattle. The hanging decoration featured during the ceremony was perfect with the silver gum hanging down and reflected their love of the bush.

Wedding dress tip: Melissa’s dress is not specifically a wedding dress so if you like the style then I highly recommend checking out more of Needle and Thread. The only thing to keep in mind is that the sequins will shine all over you and other people when the light hits them on a certain angle. So test the dress in different lighting to make sure you are happy.