Chelsea + George by Emily Adamson

We wanted considered, modern, yet timeless styling

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

I’m Chelsea, and my HUSBAND is George! 

We are both originally from Southland, New Zealand. After high school, we ventured off to university, then onto our first jobs, all while dating each other across these years. George got an opportunity to move to Sydney for his career; it wasn’t long after he arrived there that he asked me if I would be interested in joining him in Sydney and making a real go of our relationship. We spent 5 years there together and have since moved to Singapore to continue our adventures.

I’m an Event Producer, so you can imagine I was in my element planning our wedding. Creating something special for this life milestone of ours was something I really enjoyed. Being in the events industry, I naturally love hosting and creating experiences for people to enjoy and look back fondly on; it was truly something special being able to do that for our family and friends through the celebration of our love.

George is in Finance in the alcohol industry; it was on him to make sure we had a great beverage selection, and naturally, he kept a close eye on the budget!

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

We first met at George’s 17th birthday party! 

My friend who lived just five doors down from me was heading along to the party; despite me not being much of a socialite at the time, she managed to convince me to come along. Turned out that George’s house was only a block away from mine; our paths hadn’t crossed before, as we went to different high schools, but safe to say it was convenient when we started to see more of each other.  

That 17th birthday party was a long time ago, so details escape me, but I do remember George being very charismatic. He knew how to entertain the room; he was confident and had everyone laughing. He even put his face in the birthday cake that night we met!

George tells me that he remembers thinking, who is this stunner that I haven’t met who’s shown up! He’s sure he was showing off a bit (which I can confirm he was). He knew that he wanted to get to know me more, then heard that I only lived a block away, so he reached out the next day!”

What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee, etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).

The property/venue – Queenstown is a very special place to both of our families and us; despite us living in Singapore, it felt only right to get married there. Queenstown is undeniably stunning, but we didn’t want to be on the top of the mountains; we wanted to feel hugged by them. Our venue, Oakwood Estate, was the perfect backdrop, quintessentially Queenstown, but our surroundings of the beautiful orchard trees and rolling hills helped make the experience feel intimate.

It was also important to me that there was a considered guest flow; Oakwood Estate allowed us to create a journey for the guests all within the property, each component offering a new purpose, feeling and outlook.

The property did so much of the heavy lifting in terms of the look and feel of the day; from here, we wanted considered, modern, yet timeless styling through our colour palette and furniture selections that complemented the beauty of the grounds rather than compete against it.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

Creating something for us and our people was what we enjoyed the most. It was also fun being the client and the end decision being with us, which mixed things up from what I was used to in my line of work! I also really loved sharing all my ideas with my bridesmaids; it was like a little committee, and it was amazing that they were excited as I was!

Tips: Decision fatigue is certainly a thing, as you get closer these decisions compound. I love a list, so I found it helpful to write down every upcoming decision I could think of (yes, this may be an overwhelming large list to begin with), but then this allowed me to loop back to the list if I felt like I had capacity to action something. It also allowed me time and space to consider things before they became time-critical, so it didn’t feel like all the decisions were happening at once.

We adopted ‘Wedmin (wedding admin) Wednesdays’, which we found helpful to ensure not all of our conversations every day of the week were centred around wedding planning. It also set the expectation that we were going to dedicate time to planning on a Wednesday evening so neither one of us felt like wedding convos were ‘sprung’ on them. It also helped us see the progress we were making, even if only small items were ticked off; it all contributes!

Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?

Our vendors were all amazing, and all operated like one cohesive unit, which meant the day rolled seamlessly. I honestly could speak highly of everyone involved in making the day what it was, all the vendors were experts in their field and we were so grateful for them all! 

Special mention to our glam team, both Kirsty and Vic were relaxed, joyous, and extremely talented. We had an amazingly calm morning, and all loved our looks. Our photographer, Emily, and content creator, Libby, were absolute dreams. We could be ourselves, with the right amount of guidance, but it all felt natural and effortless. They seemed to be everywhere and capturing everything, which we only noticed when we got the files – somehow on the day they just discreetly made it all happen.

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

I have always loved Australian designers and Kyha was the first bridal showroom we went to. The Winton gown was the third dress I tried on. Not a style I had initially envisaged for myself, but when I put it on it changed the game. We went on to three more bridal showrooms that day, but many dresses later, I was still thinking about the Winton, and I ultimately chose her, and I’m so glad I did!

My investment was in my wedding gown, but I did want to mix things up later in the evening. For our first dance I still wanted to be in a long dress but I was after something with a little more movement and mobility.

And yes, I then had a third dress which was a mini. My friends and I love a dance floor, and there was no way I wanted to be restricted by a dress. When the mini came out, my bridesmaids also changed into minis so we could dance the night away!

All three looks followed the same corset-style bodice, which I liked as an evolution throughout the night.

George had a custom tux made in Singapore; it was a cool experience and will hold sentimental value for this time of our lives. It was a way for us to bring Singapore into our day. The craftsmanship was great, and he even got the wedding date embroidered onto the inside of the jacket.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

I helped design my engagement ring, and I’m still in awe of it! It’s an elongated cushion cut diamond with white platinum claws and a simple yellow gold rounded edge band. My wedding ring is a diamond band which sits beautifully under my engagement ring. Both rings were from jewellers in Sydney.

George’s wedding ring is platinum and from a jeweller in Queenstown. It has polished edges and a buffed centre band.

What were one or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).

Venue – Our venue made our vision possible. It was magic.

Beverage – We wanted to ensure there was something for everyone! Nothing worse than being at an event and you don’t enjoy anything on the beverage list!

Band – To have the dance floor heaving was important to us; something about grooving on the dance floor and singing your heart out with your favourite people!

Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?

When our wedding planner texted me mid-morning on the wedding day and said, ‘all go for alfresco’. Dining alfresco was a dream of mine; the weather was looking a little suspicious in the lead-up, but on the day it all cleared. When I got this message, I knew this was going to make things that little bit extra special.

Walking down the aisle was also another favourite moment; I know it sounds cliché, but when I turned down the aisle and saw George, I was consumed with happiness. I was so proud to be walking towards him and beyond excited for this new chapter together.

Another special moment was after sunset photos, walking back down toward the guests. We were slightly elevated coming down a slope, and we had a panoramic view of our guests dining at dusk with the amazing landscape as a backdrop. It felt surreal, and it was a moment in time we will cherish forever.

What does being married mean to you, and are there any special rituals you have that you would like to share?

To me it means choosing each other time and time again. It means listening, understanding, supporting and championing each other. It means building a life together with a shared vision, built on trust, loyalty and love. It means I’ve locked in my best friend for life, my person to laugh and to cry with. It’s not about perfection but about commitment to ourselves and our partnership no matter the hurdles or hills. It means we have each other as much as we do now, forever and always.

George was also asked this question as part of our ceremony planning, and he said: “It’s a commitment to each other that our love is built to last, and lets us really start planning out the rest of our lives together.”