Chloe & Rob – Photography by Wild & Grace

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

We met at University about 8 years ago living in the same hostel, two doors down from one another so we developed a friendship pretty quick and our relationship took off from there!

We went from seeing each other every day to doing long distance for about a year after Uni and then making the move to Christchurch where we now live with our beautiful puppy Archie. From the day we met we’ve always been the best of friends and genuinely love spending time with each other. We both love food and spending time with family and friends, so give us a weekend of that and we will be super happy!

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…

Our wedding day will forever be one of the best days of our lives, everything seemed to go without hitch (apart from Chloe being 30 minutes late thanks to Auckland traffic!). We absolutely fell in love with Kauri Bay Boomrock as soon as we saw the venue, and wanted all our family and friends to love it as much as we did. We didn’t have any specific ideas for styling, just something that we knew we would love now and in 20 years time, so we looked for amazing vendors to let their creative spirits roam free! Naomi from Leaf and Honey transformed the venue with incredible florals. Knowing we loved the Kauri Bay view, she created the most jaw- dropping floral archway that our friends and family still talk about today. Walking down the aisle towards Rob I was just in awe of how beautiful it looked. Her floral arrangements for the table, along with her little touches transformed the space. She made it so intimate and the colours were incredible!

Tell us about your main outfits:

We wanted our outfits to be reflective of us and also relatively timeless. I was looking for a dress that was classic, elegant yet also comfortable and made me feel like me. As soon as I walked into Anna Schimmel’s I knew this would be where I found my dress. All of her dresses have an incredible cut that fit perfectly to your figure. I found my dress on the third try, I loved the capped sleeves and the full skirt but the touch of the beading on the back went the extra mile and made me feel like a princess! And of course, my incredible veil with french lace topped off the look.

The boys kept it simple and classic with a dark navy suit from Barkers, with a white shirt and navy bow ties. My beautiful bridesmaids looked incredible in a deep pink wrap dress from Amber Whitecliffe which tied in beautifully with the colours of our florals.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

Walking down the aisle to see Rob was my highlight. I thought I would end up crying as emotions were running high but when I saw him all the nerves melted away and I just had the biggest smile on my face. The ceremony was extremely memorable as Justine our celebrant was amazing and made the ceremony so personal. We had separately written 5 things we loved about each other separately and she read them out for the first time during the ceremony. Safe to say there was not a dry eye in the house! The sunset photos were another highlight as it was break away for the two of us from the chaos of the day. After that we got to boogie the night away with the amazing band and after 12 months of planning, that was the perfect way to end the best day! But that wasn’t quite the end. Once we’d seen all the guests off at the end of the night, we realised we hadn’t organised our own transport! We were frantically trying to organise a taxi to the middle of nowhere when the lovely folk from the White Tree Band offered us a ride home, squashed in with their instruments in the back. We thought we’d been saved, however things quickly turned around again when we got dropped off at the end of a long driveway, in the pitch black, to realise it was the wrong house. Fortunately, after climbing a couple of gates, getting shocked by a ditch, we managed to find the right house.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

Don’t sweat the small stuff!! Neither of us are the most organised of people and planning a wedding can seem daunting but at the end of the day, everything works out and even if some things don’t go to plan it’s only you who knows! We loved everything about our wedding day but for us it is only the start of our amazing journey through life together. Our advice would be don’t take life too seriously, make each other laugh and enjoy every moment you have together.

Photography: Wild & Grace | Ceremony and Reception location: Kauri Bay Boomrock | Celebrant: Justine Russell-Cowan | Bride’s gown: Anna Schimmel | Groom’s suit: Barkers | Rings: Naveya & Sloane | Shoes: Barkers | Makeup: Kate Solley | Hair: Hare & Hunter | Bridesmaid’s: Amber Whitecliffe | Groomsmen: Barkers | Entertainment: The White Tree | Flora: Leaf and Honey | Cake: Bluebells | Stationery: Harlan Creative