We met when we were 13 years old at Massey High School and spent the next 10 years negotiating our friendship during awkward teenage years, until we finally plucked up the courage to go on our first date.
Because we have known each other for so long, we have become great friends and we can make the other laugh with very little effort. On the day of the proposal, I realised that something was going on. Rob started acting out of character, bumbling and meandering around the city, seemingly without purpose. When the proposal finally happened, I broke into dance on a park bench – forgetting for a moment to say yes – and bystanders clapped and cheered. A couple of months later, I decided to return the favour at Sentinel Beach in Auckland by popping a custom-made ring on Rob’s finger. While looking for my wedding dress, I came across a 40 year-old lace two-piece in a vintage store and was immediately drawn to it, despite it being three sizes too big. A couple of months later, after looking at all of my options, I knew the lace two-piece was the one. By that point, the shop had closed permanently, but I tracked down the owner and by chance she still had the dress in her home. I had dressmaker Kate Tomson take on the challenge of restructuring it to fit perfectly. We were married in St George’s Anglican Church but we wanted to forego the religious traditions and instead do it on our own terms. We made it personal by having my father as our celebrant and Luke Oram rearranging the Talking Heads’ song ‘This Must Be The Place’ for me to walk in to. Rob was in charge of printing our vows but he made the mistake of printing his own vows twice, so I decided to read it as it was: “I Rob, take you Katie…” and it was pure comic genius. After the ceremony, Rob and I shared cake and coffee and went away to have photos before joining our friends and family for a relaxed reception with a live band, plenty of food and booze, and dancing long into the night. So far, marriage has been about both of us maintaining our independence and creating a third interdependent relationship which we are both a part of. It’s been both amazing and hard, and our advice would be to drown out all of the advice and just stick to your guns.
Photography, Heather Liddell | Bride’s dress, Vintage two-piece, reconstructed by Kate Tomson | Groom’s accessories, Vintage Grouse Foot kilt pin and sporrin gifted by parents | Groom’s attire, Campbell ancient tartan kilt, Our Legacy shirt | Groom’s ring, Alexandra Dodds Groom’s shoes, Saturdays NYC | Bride’s ring, Anna Sheffield | Bride’s shoes, RAFA | Ceremony location, St George’s Anglican Church, Epsom | Reception venue, By George! Kingsland | Flora, Helen Byrne | Bridesmaids, Penny Sage & Miss Crabb | Bride’s jewellery—Earrings by Charlotte Penman, vintage topaz ring bought in India, mothers gold chain | Catering, Cook at Home Paella, Rocket Kitchen | Hair & makeup, Karenina Jackson and Heidi Kauta
