Amy & Finn by Meg Elizabeth - Together Journal

Finn works in professional sailing, and I work in marketing. We both love getting away and heading outdoors. Whether it be camping, skiing or sailing, as long as the day ends with a big bowl of pasta and a bottle of red, we’re happy. We both love being in the kitchen and entertaining family and friends.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Amy – We met at a party, I had a strong gut feeling about Finn from the get-go, however, Finn was wearing a rugby jersey and I had always had a rule that I didn’t date rugby boys (lol), so I only played on that gut feeling years later. A classic cliché of never judging a book by its cover. Years later, I had some Uni classes with Finn’s sister, Chessie, and eventually bumped into Finn one fateful night when we were all hanging out at the Electric Avenue festival.

Finn – My first impression of Amy was that she fitted in with my whole family frighteningly well!! Especially as she was best friends with my sister, Chessie. I noticed straight away that she was a lot of fun, and I’d have my hands full trying to keep up with her.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Amy – I had always had a really strong feeling from the moment we first met. Once we started properly hanging out it became clear to me as I felt incredibly comfortable and safe with Finn. I remember this one roadie we were on pretty early in the relationship, we were driving down the coast back home to Christchurch, and we started talking about our families and what family means to us whilst listening to Lion King (haha, not cool) but that moment really cemented it for me, that there is no better man, or future life partner out there for me, than Finn.

Finn – For me, it was probably a few things that transpired throughout the period when I was involved with the America’s Cup. Amy made some considerable sacrifices to support me through that period and I really noticed that. As time went on, I realised she was “the real McCoy”.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Amy – The proposal to me was a total surprise. I mean, of course, I knew it was in the pipeline I was just
not expecting it at the time but the day could not have been more perfect. We woke up a little hungover on Boxing Day as he was keen to walk the dogs on the beach. I was none the wiser, chucked on some activewear that was lying around and unknowingly went down to the beach with him with unbrushed hair and all! Had not the foggiest idea why Finn’s brother suggested that I change.

We had a quick dip and I turned around to Finn on one knee. I think I almost blacked out at that point but not before I of course said YES, and then we went on to enjoy the rest of the day with rolling bubbly with our nearest and dearest.

Finn – My brother’s partner Ella, was my go-to girl inside info on what I needed to find, she was amazing and helped me navigate the tricky task of designing and buying a ring. I wanted to keep it a surprise for
my sister Chessie as I knew she would be too excited about the whole thing and probably spill the beans. The proposal itself was fairly unplanned, basically, I got the ring on Christmas Eve, had a particularly boozy Christmas Day in Kaikoura with Amy, then we went for a dusty beach walk on Boxing Day and popped the question in front of the family dogs and a few dolphins.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
We were lucky in the way we always knew that we wanted to get married at The Store, it is fifty minutes up the Kaikoura Coast near where Finn grew up and is ruggedly beautiful. We always envisioned a hot day with everyone camping and surfing (but in typical 2023 summer fashion however), and we quickly surrendered to the idea of a wet wedding.

From the beginning of the planning process, it also became clear to us that we wanted to support local vendors and have lots of local Kaimoana on the menu, as well as beers and wines (shout out to Boomtown beers and Black Cottage wines). It was amazing to work with locals and a lot of them knew us or Finn’s family which was super special to see them on the dancefloor at the end of the night.

Above all, we wanted the whole day to be relaxed and have a fun, summer garden party feel. That is why we went with mismatched bridesmaids; a pretty broad floral brief and the table décor were eclectic trinkets that we sourced from various op shops. We also had individual shots of fireball whiskey at each table seating.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Chessie, Finn’s sister and my MOH said to me when we were getting ready in the morning at our Airbnb, “Now don’t panic, but the girls have run out of tablecloths at the venue, so I’ve run upstairs and have grabbed some flat sheets off the beds”. Really rate her quick ingenuity on that one.