Anna & Luke by Meredith Lord Photography

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

We met in our hometown Hawkes Bay in our mid twenties before leaving NZ for the obligatory OE, settling in Devon where Luke played cricket for a local club.

Three years of living in Exeter, the Hague and then Abu Dhabi provided excitement, romance and its fair share of trepidation. It was through these experiences, encounters and influences that proved not only did we enjoy the journey, we couldn’t imagine not making it together. We have now settled firmly back into sunny Hawke’s Bay with our little ginger tabby Boris where Anna works as a lawyer and Luke is in Banking. Luke still loves cricket and Anna loves making the most of the Hawkes Bay weather in the garden or wineries. 

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 ended up having two separate locations – one for our ceremony and the other for the reception. They are both part of Black Barn but our ceremony location was across the river in the spectacular Tuki Tuki Valley. We had had our eye on The River Rooms since Luke proposed at a near-by winery in the Tuki Tuki Valley. We wanted to keep a little something up our sleeve for our guests so when they arrived at the Bistro they were ushered on to buses and driven through the valley to our ceremony. As I said it’s a spectacular spot so we really didn’t need to do much but we hired a triangular arch from Miss Frou Frou and Toni from Magdalen Hill dressed it with gorgeous florals. We had a very loose idea of how we wanted the wedding to be styled and wanting to incorporate lots of florals and greenery but our amazing florist Toni from Magdalen Hill built on this and styled the reception with flower towers for the long tables in the Bistro – a simple but stylish and eye catching concept. Toni’s floral arrangements blew us away (as well as our guests!), together with our beautiful cake from Jacinda at Pretty Little Details with the finishing touches being supplied by Miss Frou Frou – the gold cake stand and cutlery finished off the look perfectly! All of this tied in so seamlessly with our wedding stationery created by Rose from Paper Rose Stationery

Tell us about your main outfits:

Anna – my dress was chosen from Katie Yeung’s Daisy collection. The dress was so comfortable and easy to wear – a huge bonus given how long you are in your dress on the day! I chose the design as I wanted something simple and elegant and this dress was both of those and incorporated the unique lace detailing adding a little something special. Also, with the help of Kirsty from Etcetera Bridal and Katie Yeung the design was customised to fit with what I had in mind which was fantastic. Kirsty also supplied a fine, soft veil which was prefect against the dress’ lace. My shoes were from Nine West, I wanted something comfortable that would work in with the pallet we’d chosen for the day so went with a pair of nude strappy sandals that also had a touch of shine with their rose gold soles.

Luke – the suit I chose was from Barkers and was navy with a light check through it. My guys were in navy and so often you see the groom and the groomsmen wearing the same Fragrance: Miss Dior Eau de Parfum www.dior.com/en_int @dior Bridesmaid + Groomsmen attire (if applicable): Bridesmaids – dresses and accessories from Kilt Groomsmen – Barkers, Hallensteins and Thompson Suits https:// www.kiltonline.co.nz/ www.barkersonline.co.nz http:// www.thomsonssuits.co.nz/ www.hallensteins.com @kiltclothing @kiltbridesmaids @barkersclothing @thomsonssuits @hallensteinbrothers Verified thing and I wanted to stand out from them so decided on a similar but slightly different suit which I think worked really well on the day! I’m a keen fan of cricket and Anna had given to me a set of cricket cufflinks which I wore with pride on the day and to finish off the look I wore a floral tie. 

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

The day goes so quickly and you’re having so much fun it’s hard to single out any one particular moment, but the one thing that was extremely special to us was spending our day with our amazing guests who are such a huge part of our lives. We were so lucky to enjoy time with our family and friends who had travelled from across New Zealand and all the way from the other side of the world for our wedding – we were so incredibly lucky! And I LOVED the confetti cannons that went off at the end of our ceremony – so much fun and a great way to start the celebrations! 

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

Always make time for each other and ensure you regularly spend time together doing something you both enjoy, it seems obvious but it is so easy to slip into routines with busy lives. Plan the odd weekend away and holiday together. Laugh together and support each other, but also keep each other in line! Appreciate and be proud of what you have achieved together. 

Photography: Meredith Lord Photography | Ceremony location: Black Barn River Rooms | Reception location: Black Barn Bistro | Celebrant: Fiona Cleary | Bride’s gown: Daisy Brides by Katie Yeung | Groom’s outfit: Barkers | Rings: Grieve Diamond Jeweller | Bride’s shoes: Nine West | Groom’s shoes: Barkers | Veil: Etcetera Bridal | Jewellery: Mizpah brooch – family heirloom | Makeup: Josie Brenstrum | Hair: Abby Schofield | Fragrance: Miss Dior Eau de Parfum | Bridesmaid’s dresses and accessories: Kilt | Groomsmen’s suits: Barkers, Hallensteins and Thompson Suits | Entertainment: Ceremony; Confetti Reception; Ben Wright DJ | Styling: Magdalen Hill | Hire: Miss Frou Frou + Lucy Chase | Flora: Magdalen Hill | Catering and Beverages: Ceremony; Terry Lowe Catering Reception; Black Barn Bistro | Cake: Pretty Little Details | Stationery: Paper Rose Stationery | Tan: Te Mata Tanz