{"id":193819,"date":"2014-07-12T14:00:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-12T04:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/au\/real-weddings\/skip-to-the-big-day-couple-surprise-guests-at-country-wedding\/"},"modified":"2022-03-16T16:09:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T05:09:26","slug":"skip-to-the-big-day-couple-surprise-guests-at-country-wedding","status":"publish","type":"au-real-wedding","link":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/real-weddings\/skip-to-the-big-day-couple-surprise-guests-at-country-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Skip to the big day: Couple surprise guests at country wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">&#8220;Surprise! Paul and Gabrielle are getting married!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That was the sign guests were welcomed\u00a0with when they attended what they thought was Gabrielle Lavars and Paul Jones\u2019 engagement party in Buninyong, Victoria.<\/p>\n<p>The pair set their sights on a surprise country wedding after Paul had spent some time away over in the USA. \u201cIn the space of two months we planned, countries apart, for a ceremony and reception to take place,\u201d explains Gabrielle, 28. \u201cWhile Paul focused on his sporting career, I worked furiously to plan and execute our dream wedding!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But there almost wasn\u2019t a wedding at all \u2013 Paul was due to return to Australia a week before the wedding, but bad weather threw a spanner in the works. \u201cHe finally found a flight that would have him back the Friday before the wedding,\u201d says Gabrielle.<\/p>\n<p>The bride took on the responsibility of organising the wedding d\u00e9cor. \u201cI, with the help of my bridal party, dressed the tables with bird cages, jars, bottles and tins decorated in pastel adornments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The January 11, 2014 wedding was what Gabrielle describes as her \u201cfairy tale ending\u201d. \u201cIt was a wonderful surprise for all, we couldn&#8217;t have asked for a more perfect start to their marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56046 alignleft\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_004\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_004.jpg\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56093 alignright\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_051\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_051.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56097 alignleft\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_055\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_055.jpg\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56099 alignright\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_057\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_0571.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56002\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_023\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_023.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56037\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_059\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_059-scaled.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56000\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_021\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_021.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55998\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_019\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_019.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Bike championships were taking place in Buninyong the same weekend as the pair&#8217;s wedding. &#8220;All staff at the gardens and town hall were very accommodating and helpful, to ensure their day ran as smoothly as possible!&#8221; says Gabrielle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56016\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_037\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_037.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56020\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_041\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_041.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55996\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_017\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_017-scaled.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Gabrielle sourced her accessories from Forever New.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-55979 alignleft\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_059\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_059.jpg\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56088 alignright\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_046\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_046.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56072 alignleft\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_030\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_030.jpg\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-56073 alignright\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_031\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_SBS_031.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56015\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_036\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_036.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56023\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_044\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_044.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-56026\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_047\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_047.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55994\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_015\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_015.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Gabrielle, a teacher, worked hard to craft her own event.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55985\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_006\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_006.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55969\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_003\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_003.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-55990\" alt=\"Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_011\" src=\"https:\/\/content.easyweddings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Gabrielle_Paul_Country-Wedding_011.jpg\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Our wedding was perfect despite all obstacles, especially the potential disaster of not having the groom in the country!&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Photos courtesy of Chris Murgatroyd and Sharon Lapkin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":101800,"parent":0,"template":"","au_real_wedding_category":[6852],"au_real_wedding_tag":[6948,7145,7157,7164,7190],"au_real_wedding_style":[],"au_real_wedding_location":[],"au_real_wedding_setting":[],"au_real_wedding_colour":[],"au_real_wedding_competition":[],"class_list":["post-193819","au-real-wedding","type-au-real-wedding","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","au_real_wedding_category-6852","au_real_wedding_tag-country-wedding-2","au_real_wedding_tag-real-weddings","au_real_wedding_tag-romantic-wedding-2","au_real_wedding_tag-rustic-wedding-2","au_real_wedding_tag-surprise-wedding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-real-wedding\/193819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-real-wedding"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/au-real-wedding"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au-real-wedding\/193819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_category?post=193819"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_tag?post=193819"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_style","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_style?post=193819"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_location?post=193819"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_setting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_setting?post=193819"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_colour","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_colour?post=193819"},{"taxonomy":"au_real_wedding_competition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easyweddings.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/au_real_wedding_competition?post=193819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}