You may have noticed we like to do things a little differently when it comes to the desert table and we think this could be our most unique yet. If traditional cake is not your thing why not try sophisticated adult jellies in delightfully delicate flavours like champagne & raspberry, coconut water & lavender, espresso martini or gin & elder flower just to name a few...
We first met briefly in high school at a friend’s Sweet 16 party. During our college years we reconnected at a mutual friend’s house party. Our first exchange of conversation was during a silly card game when I caught Chris’s attention by naming a category ‘Lunch Meats’.
Our wedding day really was a dream come true. The venue was a completely DIY location - a large undertaking when planning from another state. All the organising and crafting that went into the day made it that much more magical when it all came together.
This bouquet was seriously heavy, once it was bound and tied with the elegant silk and willow ribbon
I panicked for 5 minutes "essshhhh it's too big" then I remembered that generally all my brides request a massive explosion of flowers, which is what always wants aim to create.
Tell us about your design background and how you came to launch a bridal boutique/dressmaking business?
I was always interested in fashion and from a young age I was making my own clothes and drawing up designs. Once I finished school I studied fashion at University and found that all I really wanted to design was beautiful dresses. I then got married myself after I had finished my study and made my own wedding dress. I started getting asked by friends and friends of friends to make their dresses. I really loved the process of working with a bride to create their dream dress, so decided that this is what I wanted to do with my life. I then designed my own range and it went from there.
"Seasonal flowers are at the heart of all of my designs. Being a flower grower I always want to reflect what is happening in the field.
Autumn has to be one of my favourite seasons, the last hurrah before the bite of winter sets in. The garden puts on its final display, with cooler days and mornings giving a warm richness to the field.
We went traveling for a year in 2013, after being together for seven years. I think we both knew at that point we wanted to get married, and when New Zealand passed the marriage bill it consolidated that! I proposed to Liv on the Amalfi Coast, we were staying in a little apartment overlooking the water and because it was only a one-bedroom place I made her take a bath while I prepared a surprise (or not so surprise) dinner... Four hours later she came out wrinkled as a prune, I proposed, she said yes. Then about eight weeks later when we were in Paros in Greece, we took our scooter to a secluded beach, climbed up a mountain and Liv asked me to marry her.
Our advice to couples getting married - don't be pregnant, completely gut and renovate a house and plan a wedding at the same time! Make the day is about what you love, and invite who you want to invite not who you think you should invite. People will always understand. Make sure you have good food and good entertainment. It makes the night! Don't worry about the little things. People won't notice. But they will notice if you’re not relaxed and enjoying the day. Steal some time away at the end of the night. We went and sat amongst the grapevines and looked at the stars and watched our guests dance from afar - a moment we’ll never forget.
I have been growing zinnias in the garden this year, with the intention of using them as pretty details in my bridal bouquets. But once they were in full bloom, thriving and showing off in the garden I had an extremely hard time cutting them, which resulted in me still ordering bunches as I loved my garden too much. A slight fail in some ways but a huge success in the satisfaction department.
We wanted to have a wedding day unique to us and one that encompassed places and spaces we knew well. We decided to say our vows in a little park across the street from our apartment on Douglas Street in Ponsonby, Auckland, then the after-party at Good One cafe just up the road. We didn’t think you could get much better than getting ready together at home, walking across the road to get married and then walking a bit further to party.
Flora Fashion Editorial. Photography - Garth Badger | Location - Thievery Studio | Stylist Ashlee Blackwell | Hair - Danny Pato D&M | Makeup - Kiekie for M.A.C | Flowers - Lu Diamond | Models - Danika and Jess for Red Eleven, Bernie for Unique Model Management | Editorial from Issue Two - available from our web-shop
