April + Richard by Coralee Stone - Together Journal

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

I (April) work in the design department for a fashion company and Richard is an engineering geologist.

We both grew up in the countryside, Richard on a 330-acre farm and me on a much smaller 5-acre block! Naturally, we both love the outdoors and planning fun adventures from summer through to winter.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

A: We had met each other once or twice through our parents, enough to recognise each other on the train! At the time I was catching the train into town for work and Richard was too. One day we spotted each other and the next day he sat next to me. We would chat about all the tramping and adventures we had done and all of the trips we would love to do. I would take up two seats on the train just to ensure that by the time Richard hopped on the seat beside me was free! My first impression of Richard was that he was one smooth guy! He had every date under control, I just had to turn up and have fun!

R: I first spotted April at a Christmas carol service. She had a stunning smile, awesome curly hair, and was wearing a red chequered dress which she had made. Nine months later I certainly hadn’t forgotten her when I got on the train at Greenlane. There she was, sitting at the back of the train carriage wearing a bright red scarf, and looking as beautiful as she did the previous Christmas. I sat beside April the next day…and then sat next to her on the train every day after that! My first impression of April was that she was a fun and happy person who was up for any adventure!

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

Richard, being the smooth guy, I knew he was, took me over to Great Barrier Island to propose! We took a very early morning flight to the island on a perfectly sunny day. We were walking along Medlands beach when he popped the question at the end of the beach. Afterwards we enjoyed exploring the island, having picnics on the beach, and going for walks and swims. It was dreamy! When we arrived back in Auckland, we went to see our families who had all come together and made a little celebration for us. It was a truly special moment that we will never forget!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…

I had so many ideas for the day, but I knew that I wanted it to be a little bit classy and a little bit chic. I made lots of mood boards on Pinterest and that really helped bring the dream to life! We had beautiful deep pink shades of orchids, proteas and manuka in the bouquets with some ivory roses and achillea. We also collected manuka and other flowers before the wedding that we dried and used to decorate the tables, the church, and the hall where we celebrated with cake and prosecco after the ceremony. I was lucky to have my cousin Steph design all the stationary for the wedding. We went minimal but elegant with a simple black-on-white print of a flower Steph had hand drawn.

I am also half Italian and proud of it! My dad was the real Italian but sadly he passed away, so it was important to me to bring a taste of Italy to our wedding day. We had two little fiat 500’s for wedding cars, an awesome Italian playlist and of course some Italian vino!

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

Everybody tells you when you are planning a wedding that it will go by quickly and it certainly did! We wanted to make sure we enjoyed our wedding with our guests and not be worrying about things that might distract us from taking in the moment. We worked tirelessly before the wedding to be as organised as possible and then the evening beforehand we surrendered with the saying ‘Che sarà sarà’ whatever will be will be! It was the best day of our lives and we made sure to savour every moment and didn’t worry about a thing!

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

I have always wanted to design my own wedding dress that was unique to me and true to who I am. I wanted to feel like myself on our special day. I worked with Megan at Kenny and Harlow to design the dress. The whole process from design to fittings to taking my dress home was such a wonderful experience! My dress was a 100% silk bias cut dress with a cowl back and some delicate lace that cascaded from the shoulders of the dress. I also used my mother’s veil which we added some of the lace onto to tie it all in. It really was the dream dress I had always wanted!

Richard wore a dark navy suit with a black tie, he had sleek black shoes and a white pocket square which made for a very clean, smart look!

My cousin Campbell made our wedding bands which were pretty special too! I have a plain gold band that compliments my engagement ring perfectly and Richard has a wider gold band to match.