Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
We live on the Kaikoura coast on James’ family farm, where James is a fifth generation sheep and beef farmer. I run the admin side of the farm and look after our 2 year old daughter.
We originally met at a party when I was 16 and James was 19. It was a bit of a love at first sight moment but we went our separate ways until a chance meeting at a local bar 4 years later. We were married 10 years later – to the very day!
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…
We were originally meant to get married and have the reception in our neighbour’s beautiful garden on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But plans changed two days prior when Cyclone Fehi turned up and brought with her 150km per hour winds! Option B was to put the marquee up on our sheltered tennis court at home. Our garden was in no shape for a wedding and I was desperately trying to convince everyone to let us postpone!
The wedding was already somewhat disorganised and the last minute change of plan turned things to utter chaos. However, by breakfast time on the morning before the wedding, about thirty friends, family and neighbours had trickled in and embarked upon an epic garden makeover in the pouring rain! It was heart-warming to say the least and it put a totally different spin on things. The emphasis was now on togetherness and it had a flow on effect that I think was felt throughout the wedding, without the dramas in the lead up that may not have been so apparent.
The marquee styling and finer details went out the window a little, as we only had a day to pull everything together so we had to focus more on the bigger picture but amazingly it all came together, just in a different way and different location than we had originally envisaged.
Tell us about your main outfits:
My outfit, which was actually a skirt and a top, came from Lola Varma who are based in Perth. I fell in love with the simplicity of it when I saw it in an issue of Together Journal but there were no stockists in New Zealand so I didn’t really think of it as an option. But after trying on other dresses, which just weren’t me at all, I took the plunge and ordered online. I was so pleased I did, I loved wearing it and loved that I felt like myself in it.
James wore a custom jacket made by Working Style which he decided to pair with a white shirt, white chinos and R.M Williams boots, we weren’t sure if he was going to pull it off but he nailed it! He was supposed to wear a wooden bow tie but he couldn’t find it on the day!
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Nothing going to plan! Aside from the weather bomb, a number of things went wrong on the day. The getting ready stage was chaos– our two-year-old was being bathed by our waitresses while one of the groomsmen was showering! We hired a bus for our guests and I got the pick-up time wrong leaving everyone waiting on the side of the road. We forgot the marriage licence. The catering oven that we hired for our swiss chefs broke and they had to do a lot of the cooking using our fire in the house! There were a lot of impromptu speeches, and James, who loves speaking most of all, ran out of time to do his one – though he hijacked mine and got a few words in. The band, who we basically planned the wedding around, got stuck behind a road block and almost didn’t make it.
But aside from all of that the most memorable moment was taking some time out to look around at all of our friends and family at the same party and being amazed that we pulled it all off! It went by in such a blur so it is so special to have the memories captured so well by our dear photographer friend Francine Boer.
Photography: Francine Boer | Ceremony location: Ellerton, Kekerengu Malborough | Reception location: East Lane, Kekerengu Malborough | Celebrant: Felix Ellis | Flora: Verve Flowers | Entertainment: The Eastern | Cake: Ange’s Homestead Cakes | Bride’s Top & Skirt: Lola Varma | Bridesmaids: Revolve Clothing | Groom & Groomsmen attire: Working Style | Rings: Family rings | Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell & R M Williams | Earrings: Grace Loves Lace | Makeup: Lucy Campbell Makeup | Hair: Transform Occasion Hair
