Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship …We met at uni five years ago through mutual friends and quickly discovered we have a lot in common.
We moved to Dunedin two years ago and brought our first house together. Briar works as a horticultural apprentice and works at the Dunedin Botanical Gardens. Conor is a possum hunter (pest control field operator) we spend heaps of time outdoors and really value nature. Which was part of the attraction getting married in the middle of nowhere we also wanted to bring our guests to somewhere they had probably never been or thought of going.
When we’re not working we’re often tramping with our Labrador Daisy. Conor is a keen hunter and Briar is passionate about native plants. We are also renovating our house and slowly landscaping our Garden.
We are definitely not the average couple and their early 20s and some of our friends wondered why we would get married at such a young age but it just felt right. We got engaged at lovers leap which is a cliff on the Otago Peninsula only 10 minutes drive from where we were living at the time.
Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details … There wasn’t really a theme but I guess the style was kind of rustic. When we planned it we just pick things based on what we like rather than choosing a theme which ended up working out pretty well! We loved the feel that the lodge had. We both spent time there before on skiing holidays and always had a great time with good food!
We also liked that everyone would be staying the night so we got time to talk to everyone. And people could go to bed when they were ready and we could see them at breakfast.
Tell us about your main outfits: Briar – I had admired the wedding dresses on the Miss Crabb website long before I meet Conor. I love the shapes in the thick drapey silk. So I got my wedding dress made pretty quickly after I got engaged. My mum came with me to the fitting in Auckland and she told me not to get my hopes up in case it didn’t suit me. But once I had the dress on she was in total agreeance that it was the one!!
The wrap was made from local wool by a couple in Oamaru. I had seen an article about them in the paper years before about their historic loom and emailed them, because I felt so inspired by what they were doing, they replied and invited me to visit them for a weekend to have a play on the looms. I had always hoped I would have an occasion I could buy one.
Conor – We wanted the waiting to be relaxed and a bit informal, after trying on several plain coloured shirts we opted for a yellow which looked great on the day.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day? The weather wasn’t on our side, my dad decided to make the call on whether we would have the ceremony inside or out, one hour before we had a moment when the drizzle stopped. But the southerly wind was still going nuts. We had fire pits at the ceremony and a big open fire at the reception which we huddled around when we got back from our photos. We both agree, looking back that it would not have been as nice if we had a fine day.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together? Go on adventures!! After our wedding, we went tramping for two nights in the valley we got married in. We stayed in cosy two-person hut and had time to just enjoy each other’s company. It was just what we needed after a year of wedding planning.
Venue, Styling & Catering: Ohau Lodge | Photographer: Rachel Wybrow | Celebrant: Robyn Pannett | Flora: Blooming Marvellous | Cake: Vudu café and Larder | Bride’s outfit: Miss Crabb, & Mclean & Co Weavers | Ring/s: Meadowlark Jewellery | Shoes: Intentionally blank | Makeup & Hair: B’s Beauty Hub | Groom’s Outfit: Barkers | Bridesmaids Outfit: Belle Bird Boutique
