He managed to buy a ‘ring in’ ring from a market in Peru and popped the question in the most epic place ever – at the end of our 4 day hiking the Inca Trail, at Machu Pichu. I was a bit delirious after the long hike and didn’t know what was going on until hundreds of people around us started clapping and cheering.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
CC – We live in beautiful Queenstown with our 2 year old daughter Ivy, our fur baby Issy, and we’re expecting our 2nd child later this year – exciting! Sam runs a building company and is busy on weekends building our dream family home. I’m a wedding/elopement photographer and have been photographing loved up couples in Queenstown for about 7 years and I own a Photo Booth business too. We’re both kept busy running our business’s but what we love most is being parents and our favourite thing is just hanging out with our cheeky daughter Ivy. As a family we love to get out to explore our stunning backyard by walking the dog, boating, or snowboarding.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
CC – Sam got the engagement ring made in Melbourne due to arrive before our holiday to South America so he could propose before we left. Sam followed up on the whereabouts of the ring days before the trip, explaining that the package contains an engagement ring and it was urgent. Soon after, the courier company found the missing package, opened, and the ring stolen. Sam then waited for the perfect opportunity to propose without the ring on holiday, but his plans fell through with bad weather and food poisoning. He managed to buy a ‘ring in’ ring from a market in Peru and popped the question in the most epic place ever – at the end of our 4 day hiking the Inca Trail, at Machu Pichu. I was a bit delirious after the long hike and didn’t know what was going on until hundreds of people around us started clapping and cheering.
When we arrived back in NZ we got a new ring designed and 6 weeks later Sam flew to Melbourne to pick it up. He stayed up all night to catch his flight back to NZ 12 hours later, only to fall asleep at the boarding gate and missed the flight home. So he purchased a very expensive flight 3 hours later and made it back with the ring! FINALLY!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
CC – I wanted to get married near Queenstown because it’s where I grew up and we love snowy mountains. Although I didn’t want to have the wedding at a venue I had previously photographed and it had to be dog friendly. Back in our 1st year of dating we walked the Routeburn track, and stayed in 1 of the ancient huts at Paradise trust. We were drunk and joked that it would be an epic place to get married so that’s where we had our ceremony. The reception was at Camp Glenorchy because we loved that our guests could have accommodation onsite with us, we could celebrate for 3 days together at 1 location and it would be a mini holiday for our guests, 45 mins down the road from Queenstown.
The mood was all about food, drinks and music. We wanted to include our daughter and dog in the ceremony because marriage was about entering this new chapter as a family. I walked in holding our daughter and Sam (along with our dog) met me at the start of the isle and we all walked down it together. For the style, I gave my amazing florist Steph from Orange Blossom creative freedom with my colour palette – burnt orange/autumn, no pinks and she nailed it!
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
CC – Of course, photography was on the top of my vendor list. I wanted the love, the fun and the wild party captured in its purest way so I wanted a photographer that we could act ourselves around and that could fit in for the party too – Sophie Isabella and her husband Cam captured it perfectly. We were so relaxed and had the best time on our helicopter adventure taking photos, it was a really fun memorable part of the day.
For another gorgeous wedding shot by Sophie Isabella, click HERE.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
CC – Because I’m in the wedding industry I planned to be super organised and not go into work mode on the day. Turns out I was too chill because I forgot to take my vows to the ceremony so when it was time to read them I just went completely blank and couldn’t think of the reasons I loved Sam. Luckily I got a 2nd chance at the reception to redeem myself, with abit too much sass, ending it with a mic drop.
Ceremony location: Paradise Trust, @paradise_trust_nz / Reception location: The Headwaters Eco Lodge at Camp Glenorchy, @the_headwaters_eco_lodge / Photographer + Videographer: Sophie Isabella, @sophieisabellaphoto; Cam Henderson (Videographer) / Celebrant: Hamish MacPherson, @hamish.the.celebrant / Entertainment: Mojo Band Queenstown, @mojobandqueenstown / Photo Booth: The Photo Booth, @thephotobooth_nz / Napkins: Tble.Linen, @tble.linen.hire / Flora: Orange Blossom Designs, @orange_blossom_floral_design / Catering: In2Food, @in2foodcateringnz / Bride’s Attire: RITUAL by Brooke Tyson, @brooketysonritual / Groom’s Attire: Barkers Clothing, @barkersclothing / Ring/s: Cushla Whiting, @cushlawhitingjewellery / Shoes: Mi Piaci, @mi_piaci / Bride’s earrings: A.B. Ellie, @a.b.ellie / Makeup: @jetmakeupartist / Hair: Pure Hair Studio, @purehair.studio
