I never thought that I would wear an A-Line wedding dress, but loved every minute being in my dress.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Marcus and I have somehow aligned our careers and interests in the construction world. I am a interior designer and Marcus is a builder. We bought our first house in 2018 and renovated an old 80’s inspired home into a calm, minimalist, modern home. With 2 other home renovations under our belt, many joke that we should be on The Block or start up our own venture, however, going at our own pace and being our own clients works for us. If we are not DIYing, we are out travelling or exploring local trails and tracks. On one of our recent trips to Fiji, we spent the entire day snorkelling the coral reefs, the water was warm and we both burnt our backs being in the water snorkelling all day.
Marcus and I are very competitive and enjoy a ‘friendly’ games night with our friends. We have made little traditions in-house and have homemade pizzas for dinner every Sunday night.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met at checkout 4 and Countdown supermarket. Marcus was my supervisor on my first shift, he was impressed that I already knew how to use a till below with my experience in hospo. Marcus says now that when he first saw me he knew he wanted to marry me one day. I guess it was the bright green of the countdown uniforms that sealed the deal.
We I first met Marcus I thought he was young, too young for me anyway and put him in the friend zone straight away. Over time his sarcastic sense of humour and kindness that he doesn’t share with just anyone made me see a different side to him and change my feelings towards him.
Our first kiss was a big build-up. We used to go to the gym together and Marcus would pick me up and drop me off at home. There was always that tension when we sat in the car in my parent’s driveway. One night I went for it and leaned forward and kissed him. I think he was a little taken by surprise and i said ‘is that it’s because there was so much build-up. From then on we kissed goodnight after Marcus dropped me off from the gym.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Marcus booked a lovely weekend away to a little beach house in Waikawa Beach. It was right on the beach and could hear the waves crashing at night. I knew that the proposal was going to happen sometime soon when I discovered a confirmation email from Airbnb in the email subject on Marcus’ open laptop. It took all my self-control not to open and look at the email so I never knew when the proposal was, until the Friday before ANZAC weekend 2022 Marcus texted me to say ‘pack a bag’ because we were going away for the weekend. I messaged my girlfriends straight away and said/wrote ‘IT’S HAPPENING!!’
The day of the proposal we went for a walk along the beach, it was quite hot but Marcus insisted on wearing his hoodie to keep the ring in his pocket out of sight from me.
We walked to a sand dune and Marcus wanted to me stand looking out towards the ocean to get a photo of me, I didn’t really want the photo so it took some convincing from Marcus. I stood there looking at the ocean and when I turned around Marcus was on one knee.
We took our time walking back to the beach house soaking it all in, and waited a few hours before telling people to let it sink in and be together in our own bubble.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
I wanted a timeless, minimalist style for our wedding. I adored some of the bright, colourful wedding trends that were around when planning for our wedding but did not want to regret not being my true minimalist self for a trend. I love that our wedding photos will never date. I chose classic white ‘fluffy’ florals for our ceremony and bud flowers, again in white for the reception tables. The bridesmaids wore black satin dress and our stationary was in black and white. I think really I was very non-committal to selecting a colour for the wedding, I couldn’t make up my mind and as a result, went with minimalist neutral tones.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
The helicopter for sure! That was the only thing Marcus requested for the wedding, he was so easy going and happy to do whatever else, he just really wanted to arrive in a helicopter. On the day of the wedding the weather took and turn and it was touch and go as to whether we would be able to fly to the venue. Lucky for us there was a break in the wind/rain and made it to the venue. It was something we and our guests will never forget.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Marcus wore his Grandfather’s watch who is no longer with us and a way to connect him with the wedding and to Marcus that day. Marcus opted for a white bowtie over black with his suit to ‘stand out’ from his groomsmen, not to also mention that Marcus is 6ft 3 tall and stood out regardless.
I never thought that I would wear an A-Line wedding dress, but loved every minute being in my dress. My second dress was a bit more fun and enjoyed dancing the night away in it. I wore little sliver ‘G’ earrings in honour of my new surname Griffin, our guests loved these when they spotted them and Marcus was chuffed when we saw them too.
LOCATION Boomrock Wellington, @boomrocklodge / PHOTOGRAPHER Auburn Photography, @auburn.photography / VIDEOGRAPHER Traveller, @traveller.video / ENTERTAINMENT DJ Anthem / STYLING Bride / FLORA Foliage and Florals, @foliageandflorals / CAKE Em and Skye, @emandskye / STATIONERY Designed by Bride, @caroline_andcompany / HIRE The Bride and Groom built the Styling Elements – @caroline_andcompany & @marcusgriffinmg / BRIDE’S ATTIRE Paperswan Bride, @paperswanbride; Hera Couture, @heracouture / GROOM’S SUIT Rembrandt, @rembrandt1946 / EARRINGS & RINGS Michael Hill, @michaelhillj / SHOES Number One Shoes / ‘G’ STUD EARRINGS Sophie Store, @sophie_store / MAKEUP Kristy Leigh Makeup, @kristyleighmakeup / HAIR Styled by Nicky, @styledbynicky_o
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