Alice + Jake by Fin Stokes Photography - Together Journal

Jake actually never asked me to be his girlfriend officially. I think as time went on we both just knew we wanted to be together. We moved in together quite quickly, then moved down to Christchurch and then moved overseas. We lived in Europe and the UK while Jake was playing rugby for three and a half years–we both just knew it was something we would always do together.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

We are both from NZ – I’m from the North Island and Jake is from the South Island and moved to Christchurch in 2016. I’m a Nurse – I work in the Neonatal ICU at the local women’s hospital and Jake is a Dairy Farmer. We both work crappy hours and survive off coffee. I love cooking and spending time in the kitchen and gardening. We own a large section in North Canterbury so we are always outside doing something. Jake is really active – is a retired professional rugby player but if he’s not working on the farm, he’s normally out hunting with our dog Roy.

Together we love diving into a good TV series – we have watched Yellowstone more times than a normal person should – or any excuse to go to the pub with friends for a pint and burger we will always take it.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…

It probably sounds lame to some people but I love this story, it’s very us. I found the engagement ring in the back of the cupboard when we moved house – I said to Jake I had found it. A YEAR later I came home from working on a Sunday night after working three 12 hour shifts. I was tired and grumpy – we had dumplings for dinner which is my favourite. We were going to bed early and when I walked into the bedroom, the box was on the heat pump. I thought he was joking to start with and was just annoying me by leaving it out but he just said casually “yeah you can have it now”

No way in hell was I letting him hold onto the ring for a year and not asking the official question. So I made him say will you marry me. We had a good laugh and always laugh when we tell people the story. People who know us well, always say that is so you and Jake – making any special moment super casual. I wouldn’t of had it any other way.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Not particularly. The boys arrived 10 minutes early thanks to a good friend whose job was to drive them to the venue. She is the most organised person so I knew she would have that under control. My friends always laughed at me throughout the wedding planning process because every time I was asked a question, like what my bridesmaids were to wear or what their hair and make-up was to look like, even when it came to what the boys wore – my response was always “I don’t care, you choose.” I always felt so relaxed and calm about the day.

Even though I wouldn’t change it, I found our gender reveal super over whelming at the time – plus having that moment in front of everybody. We’re having a special little boy, but I was so adamant it was a girl that I was in pure shock when the blue bubbles filled the glasses. For about an hour or so after the wedding, I felt like I was going to burst into tears at any second.

I don’t know if it was getting married or finding out baby was a boy or both mixed in together – I just felt super emotional. I really could of done with a strong G&T or a bottle of bubbles for myself.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?

I always knew that Lulu was going to be the perfect person to understand the simplicity I wanted for my dress. When I started looking at styles I loved seeing a simple slip dress with a blazer so I wanted to incorporate one for the reception. On our first meeting Lulu designed a main concept, which I fell in love with – the Audrey Hepburn neck line with the low back. Then she came up with four additional concepts to add to the main concept to make the dress a little different. I loved the shawl idea – it made the dress even more elegant and different

The pearls were a last minute addition that I think just took the dress to a whole different level – I was obsessed with how they looked on the skin. A special addition, Lulu added in a small cross to the inside of my dress which my granny wore on her wedding day, and my mum also wore on hers. Such a nice family tradition to continue with. Initially I had white shoes to wear with my dress but hated how uncomfortable they were. I was out shopping with my mum one day and went to Mi Piaci – we found my baby blue shoes which were beyond perfect and beyond comfortable… How could I not buy them right…

Jake wanted to keep his outfit simple, clean and didn’t want to be hot and uncomfortable throughout the day. He felt chinos and a white shirt were the way he wanted to go and in keeping with the relaxed vibe of the wedding. He wore chinos from Rodd and Gunn and a white shirt with wooden buttons from Barkers.