Scott proposed on our seventh anniversary. He asked if I’d take our dog for a walk with him, we went on our usual walk along the water, Scott had hidden some champagne in the bushes and we had a glass to celebrate our anniversary. Then he told me he’d bought a new collar for our dog, so I bent down to look at it and embroidered on it was, “Carly, will you marry me?” It was so special because our dog means the world to us, and it was such a simple idea.
It was very important for us to put our personal style into the wedding. We really wanted it to reflect who we are as people. Scott is a helicopter engineer and I’m a photographer and art tutor. We both love good food, good coffee and dancing in the kitchen. We love travelling and just had an amazing two-month honeymoon in Africa, UK and Greece.
I decided to go with a ‘Dutch Still Life’ theme that included large, richly coloured floral arrangements with fruit and imperfections, taxidermy and an array of collected items. I couldn’t find tableware that suited the style so I had family and friends help me hunt through many op-shops for beautiful pottery bowls, jugs, glass bowls and bone-handled cutlery. We had a banquet-style dinner where the food was served on the table. The favours were little medicine bottles we filled with shots of alcohol, each with the name of the guest and their table number.
We both have small families in New Zealand, as most live in Africa and couldn’t make it. Scott’s dad flew over from Zimbabwe and it was the first time he’d met my parents. We knew it might be the only time all our family and friends would be together in one place so we kept the guest list reasonably small and intimate. We had my grandpa and Scott’s poppa as ring bearers and we asked them to walk down the aisle with our grandmas before the bridesmaids. This was so special for us as both sets of grandparents are the perfect example of marriage.
Getting married means we can grow old together, start a family… and have someone to annoy forever! As I always say, never compromise, because then neither party is happy!
Photographer: Danelle Bohane
Dress: Rue de Seine
Suit: Working Style
Shoes: Midas (Carly), Shoe Connection (Scott)
Hair and makeup: Face Me
Rings: Diamonds on Richmond
Bridesmaids: Blak, Country Road, Sass and Bide
Venue: Old Forest School
Flora: On My Hand
Styling: Carly with help from On My Hand and friends for set up
Catering: Food by Design
Cake & Sweets: Nonna’s Homemade Cakes
Celebrant: Wendy Barton
Entertainment: Mike Steffens
