Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
With David growing up in Wellington and myself in Oamaru, it was quite fortuitous that we met in our first year of University in Dunedin, 2008.
David studied Marketing and now works in Advertising, and I studied Social Work and now work at Starship Hospital. He loves fishing, and I get seasick at the thought of a boat trip. Worlds apart in many ways, but ten years later we’re still together, so we must be doing something right.
Being together since meeting at University has been so special for a number of reasons, but none more than the people we met, and the fortunate position we are now in having so many shared friends. So much so that our bridesmaids and groomsmen really could have stood on either side of the bridal party.
We both share a love of travelling, and have taken some amazing trips together over the years – Australia, America, Central America, and South East Asia. Though as much as we love travelling overseas we also take every opportunity to explore our own backyard, camping all through-out New Zealand – Usually somewhere by the beach!
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…
Matarangi Beach is a special beach for us. We have spent many summers there together, staying with good friends who have a holiday house there. It is one of our favourite places in the world so it was an easy choice when we were deciding where our wedding would be.
Because people had gone to a lot of effort to travel to our wedding we wanted it to feel more special than just another day at the beach, slightly more formal than shorts and jandals.
We did this by keeping the styling modern yet minimal. Assembly suggested doing this by using their amazing wooden trestle tables, filled the tent with greenery and we kept the table décor simple and balanced.
So many of our friends contributed to our wedding, which really added to the vibe of the day and truly made us feel loved. Shout out to my beautiful best friends and bridesmaids who completely took over my ‘to do’ lists the days before the wedding and ensured that everything that needed to get done, got done.
I was so thankful to have one of my best friends from Uni, Sophie, there to do the make-up for my bridesmaids, my Mum and myself. She was such a calming influence on the morning of and it was so special to have her with us.
By the same token my best friend from school, Anika (Fibre Folk), made a macrame wrap for my bouquet which I absolutely loved. As it’s so gorgeous, it now hangs on my wall above my bed.
David also received so much help to pull the day together. Two weeks before we got married, him and 3 friends drove down to the Coromandel for the day from Auckland and went out diving for scallops. One of the groomsman also brought paua that he dived for in Blenheim. Another one of his groomsman built the bar and a beautiful wooden backdrop, and if that wasn’t enough he drove it down all the way from Whangarei. And then in the days leading up, him and 3 others spent two full days mowing lawns at the reception venue!
Tell us about your main outfits:
Unlike many brides, I was lucky enough to find my wedding dress on the first day looking! There were a few small changes required, but I loved it the minute I tried it on.
The style I was looking for was natural, whimsical and understated. I wanted to feel relaxed and sexy, and as we were getting married near the beach, I wanted a flowy silk that would blow in the wind.
For David’s outfit we decided to go for a light blue suit and open collar white shirt. Again, we wanted him to be dressed up, but not in a traditional dark colour. His groomsman all wore the same shirt and jacket, but swapped out the suit pants for a pair of chinos to give him a slight point of difference.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
With rain forecast for all the days leading up to and around the wedding, it was an amazing feeling to wake up to an absolute scorcher of a day in Matarangi. The boys spent the morning swimming, the clouds blew over almost on cue to ensure no one overheated and the formalities really went off without a hitch.
We thought we were all over every detail until just before we joined everyone back at the reception, we were asked to wait behind the house while everyone took their seat. Strange we thought, but did as we were told until the bar ladies told us to join everyone else. A bit confused, we walked around the corner to be confronted with 30 of the boys (and 1 girl, my sister) ready to perform a haka, led by my dad.
It was such a surprise and an amazingly emotional experience for all of us. Those who performed the haka are from all over NZ so in the weeks leading up to the wedding all had to learn it by themselves, cumulating in a secret group practise the day before we got married.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
- Learn to work together! There are strengths, weaknesses and differences in every relationship but learning to manage them together is what will make you a stronger couple.
- Tell each other you love them before you leave for work every day and before you go to sleep every night.
- Trust each other ☺
Photographer: Brijana Cato | Ceremony location: Matarangi Beach | Reception location: Private Property, Matarangi Beach | Celebrant: Tony Dudley (Bride’s Dad) | Styling: Assembly, Peninsula Party Hire & Royal Laboratorie | Flora: Arrow & Co | Catering: Pipers Cafe plus family/friends | Cake: Bluebells Cakery | Bride’s dress: Rue De Seine from Secret Lace Bridal | Groom & Groomsmen’s attire: Hallensteins | Rings: Naveya & Sloane | Bride’s shoes: Country Road | Groom’s shoes: RM Williams | Earrings: Samantha Wills | Macrame bouquet wrap: Fibre Folk | Hair: Mint Whitianga | Bridesmaids: Liam dresses from Ruby
