We first met in 2003 during our first year at the University of Auckland. I was dating someone else at the time. Nothing happened until two years later, when I saw Josh at a birthday party and he sent a friend over to ask if I was single. Fortuitously, this time I was.
While Josh and I have been together for over 10 years, three and a half of those could be described as ‘intricate’ as both of us embarked on our OEs, separately. During that time, we Skyped, emailed, and even went old-school and wrote letters. Something in the universe wanted us to be together because despite the distance, we somehow made it work. Josh proposed on my birthday in Pauanui which is one of our favourite places. We normally give each other gifts in the morning, but this time he didn’t. By about 5pm, I was actually getting a bit annoyed! Later that evening, he brought out a beautiful bottle of champagne and we went outside to watch the sunset by the beach. Just before we went back inside, he pulled a ring box from his jacket and proposed. I was shocked, speechless in fact, but so unbelievably happy. Our wedding was on the most beautiful winter’s day and we were able to have our ceremony outdoors, which meant our guests could enjoy the incredible view from Kauri Bay. We wanted to emulate a cosy, family-style dinner party as opposed to a formal three-course meal, so we had three long tables and no formal bridal table. We chose an aged pecorino cheese wheel from Hawke’s Bay as our wedding “cake”, and served it to our guests with honey made from the bees at Orphans Kitchen (which Josh co-owns), fig chutney, wafer crackers and fruit. We took the photos before the ceremony and it was one of the best decisions we made. I loved seeing Josh for the first time. I’ll never forget that moment when he turned around and saw me at the Boomrock jetty. It was very special and made me incredibly relaxed before the ceremony. Although Josh and I have been together for a while now, I feel closer to him than I did before. We are best friends and we just have so much fun together. We are still the same people but now we talk about awesome life plans and things we want to do together, including our dream of living on Waiheke.
Photographer—Anna Kidman | Groom’s attire—Saint Laurent velvet blazer, Working Style shirt, Doran & Doran Pants | Venue—Kauri Bay Boomrock | Bride’s dress—Rue De Seine | Styling—Claire Donaldson, One Lovely Day | Veil—Jane Yeh | Bridesmaids’ dresses—Miss Crabb | Rings—Zoe and Morgan | Food—Miss Moonshines & Kauri Bay Boomrock | Hair—Nina at Dry and Tea | Flora—Lucy Houghton, Lu Diamond Flowers
