Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique aboutyou and your relationship…
We are both writers but work on “opposite sides of the fence”: Abe is a journalist, and I work in marketing and communications.
We’ve had many conversations about how Abe thinks communications people are hopeless at getting back to inquiries on time, and why I reckon journalists are a pain in the butt sometimes! It’s fun having a shared passion though, because we really understand each other’s work and have a shared appreciation for a good story or cleverly-written movie.
We grew up in Gisborne, which is how we met, but it was quite a few years later that weended up together. I don’t remember meeting Abe and his first impression of me is that he didn’t like me! We eventually became friends and Abe fell for me after seeing what he describes as a cute a photo of me on Facebook. After a lot of hard work, Abe convinced me to go on a date and the rest, as they say, is history! For the first few years of our relationship we lived together in Wellington which is a city we still both love. We now live in New Plymouth with our fluffy cat Louie.
We love traveling; we like holidays where we can get up early and go swimming, have delicious coffee, try local beer and make new friends. We’re very social people and one of our best memories is a holiday in Venice Beach where we befriended the local skateboarders and played beer pong with them. We’re also really into music. We’ve been to some great concerts together and are slowly building our record collection! The next concert lined up is Metallica which Abe’s groomsmen bought us tickets to as a wedding gift (mostly for Abe’s benefit!). Something special about our relationship is that because we grew up in Gisborne, we have a shared friend group which makes us all very tight knit. It made the wedding day a lot of fun, because we had our closest mates in our wedding party which led to so many laughs! Something we also bond over is our mutual dislike of things: we cringe at the same movies and roll our eyes at the same ads on TV.
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…
The venue was actually the very first venue we viewed after we got engaged. We were both drawn to it because our parents are both gardeners and their gardening style felt similar to Lake Farm Garden. It was also exactly what we needed in a venue. Not being local to New Plymouth, every guest (apart from two) were coming from out of town, so we wanted the ceremony and reception to be all-in-one to keep it simple. We also wanted our bridal party and closest friends to be able to stay on-site so we could party together and hang out the next day. We hired caravans which a number of our friends stayed in on the night, and there was a separate cabin for us on the other side of the lake. There was even a big cabin for both of our parents to stay in, too.
I’m a visual and artistic person and wanted to style and theme the wedding myself. I wanted everything to feel effortless and not overly styled, so I took inspiration from the natural beauty of the venue which was set beside a lake in a well-established garden. I painted water-coloured flowers and leaves for our invitation in autumnal colours which spent all summer cutting from our garden then hanging and drying in our garage. Our “archway” was also sourced from items at the venue: toetoe cut from the farm and old, rustic milk cans. The confetti our guests threw after the ceremony was also dried hydrangea and lavender I cut from our garden.
Having an outdoor venue was lovely because there was so much natural beauty! I remember arriving at the venue and seeing mist hovering over the lake (it was early morning) and it was a very magical moment. Later in the day right before our first look, I watched two swans swim by together which Abe later told me he saw too. Moments like those are so special and wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t chosen Lake Farm Garden as our venue. We were able to set the venue up a few days before the wedding which not only removed a lot of stress, it also created fun memories because our families helped us bring my vision to life. The weather in the lead-up was beautiful too so I just remember sunshine, warmth, and everyone working together to transform the shed into something gorgeous.
Tell us about your main outfits:
The colour choice was inspired by the time of year, which was autumn. I wanted my bridesmaids to wear something that they felt awesome in, so I gave them a colour palette and let them choose a dress they loved. And the dresses came together beautifully! On the wedding journey we learned how good it is to trust that some things will come together just right. Their earrings were also handmade by a talented colleague of mine. I selected a different colour for each girl based on her style and dress colour, then my workmate made them for me.
Abe is into fashion and didn’t want a standard black or blue suit. We spent ages searching for green suits online before we found the perfect dark olive suit that he wore on the day. And it matched so perfectly with my ivory dress and the colours the bridesmaids wore! To keep things classic and help Abe stand out, we dressed the groomsmen in black suits with bowties. I knew I wanted a modern and elegant wedding dress. I went for a Miss Crabb dress because her dresses are so effortlessly chic and have such beautiful cuts and fabric. I loved my dress because it was such a flattering fit, and had a perfect mix between elegant with the neckline and sleeves, classic with the long train, and edgy with the wrap style. To add a touch of softness and romance, I wore a lace veil that was almost floor-length. I bought my shoes at a shop in New Plymouth. I spotted them in the window and tried them on but decided to wait before I bought them in case I found something else.
A few months later I visited the shop with Mum and – without ever seeing them before – she made a beeline or the shoes! I decided that was a sign, so I bought them that day. The earrings were a classic and beautiful vintage style that I knew would pair perfectly with the dress. I wore a garnet ring which Mum bought for herself with her first pay cheque, and Abe’s mum Lynda also bought me a beautiful gold bracelet for the day. It was such a nice touch! Something else that was neat is our mums both ended up finding their outfits at the same shop in New Plymouth!
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Being into music, we made our own Spotify playlist for the dancefloor and it was so much fun to go from the slow first dance song straight into Rock the Casbah by The Clash. We spent a lot of time deciding which songs would get the crowd going and put some requests in that we got from our guests. It made dancing great because Abe and I had put so much of ourselves into the songs. And now we’ve got a playlist we can put on and reminisce about the wedding! We had so much fun on the dancefloor, one of the best moments was when my bridesmaid Phillipa played me like a guitar in the solo of Bohemian Rhapsody. You just can’t go wrong with a bit of Queen. Phillipa was also our MC and she’s a natural entertainer which made the whole evening laidback and entertaining for everyone.
Something that was important to us was to have all of our family members incorporated in the ceremony. My Dad walked me down the aisle, our mums signed our wedding certificate, and my older brother was a groomsman and did a reading. I’ll never forget just before Dad and I walked down the aisle we shared a fist bump, it was a neat moment and the smile on his face in the photos makes me so happy.
A funny moment during the ceremony was when we realised the similarities in our vows. We each wrote our own vows separately yet we both mentioned the fact Abe loves mowing the lawns, and how Abe is sports-mad and always tries to discuss games with me even though he knows I’m not interested! The moment my flowers arrived was really memorable. I had been pretty loose with what I when I saw them because the colours and textures were just divine. My best friend and maid of honour Kamaea was there too and she also got emotional, it was a touching moment. Another amazing detail was that my other bestie (and other maid of honour!) Ellie baked our wedding cakes. She flew over from London for the wedding and then found time to whip up two completely different cakes. There was a super-moist vegan chocolate cake and a stunning vanilla cake with caramel. Everyone was raving about how good they looked and tasted.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
The most important thing is to be yourself and be honest. Remember why you fell in love with one another, and keep finding more reasons to love them every day! We always have fun with each other and know how to laugh at ourselves. We also communicate very openly which is essential for a healthy, trusting relationship.
Photography: Natalie Waugh | Videography: Ryan Polei Photography | Ceremony and Reception location: Lake Farm Garden | Celebrant: Rose Haskell | Bride’s dress: Miss Crabb | Groom’s suit: Aquila | Groom’s shirt, bowtie & cufflinks: Rembrandt | Rings: Dalgleish Diamonds | Bride’s shoes: Missfit | Groom’s shoes: 3 Wise Men | Veil: Hera Couture | Earrings: The Hexad | Makeup and Hair: Paula Coutts Holistic Stylist | Bride’s fragrance: dōTERRA Whisper | Hire: Dobsons Hire | Flora: Petal and Prickle | Catering and Beverages: Backyard Catering
