“On a quiet path overlooking the pond, I used the time-tested line that ‘I needed to tie my shoe laces’ and got down on one knee. The first person to congratulate us was a dog walker who had seen the proposal and kindly took some photos for us; we then went to one of the hotels that line Hyde Park for bubbles to celebrate.”
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
C: Mat grew up on a dairy farm, and is a huge fan of the outdoors and anything sports-related (he went for a waterski on the morning of the wedding). I’m more of a city girl, and love food and cooking. Mat works in finance, while I originally trained as a doctor, but am now involved in pharmaceuticals. We’ve always loved travelling, and 3 years ago decided the time was right to make the move to London. Despite a few COVID hiccups, we’ve had the most wonderful time exploring the UK and Europe, and have been fortunate to squeeze in plenty of travel between lockdowns.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
C: We met in the halls, on the first weekend of O Week in our first year at Otago University. Mum and I had dropped my bags in my room and gone to take a look around campus. When we got back, we realised my armchair was missing. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I discovered the boy across the hallway had let himself into my room and taken it – that boy was Mat. Over the next few months we became great friends, and mid way through first year decided to rekindle the initial O week romance. Although we were very young, I always knew Mat was someone pretty special.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
C: In our second semester of first year, I became very unwell and ended up in the ICU. Mat cancelled his trip back home for mid-semester break, and along with our friends, spent hours in the ICU keeping me company, despite me not being able to communicate much back. We had quickly become inseparable, and leaving him to go back home to recover was devastating for us both.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
M: Chel had a significant birthday coming up and I thought this would give me the opportunity to regain the element of surprise for a proposal. Our friends were conveniently hosting a black tie murder mystery dinner that evening, which made the perfect cover story to get Chel dressed up for a surprise lunch at Dinner by Heston. Chel had been desperate to visit one of Heston’s restaurants, so assumed this was the surprise present I’d been planning, and was none the wiser that there was an even bigger one in store. The restaurant borders Hyde Park, so I suggested a walk to kill some time before dinner. On a quiet path overlooking the pond, I used the time-tested line that ‘I needed to tie my shoe laces’ and got down on one knee. The first person to congratulate us was a dog walker who had seen the proposal and kindly took some photos for us; we then went to one of the hotels that line Hyde Park for bubbles to celebrate. As it was peak COVID, alcohol could only be served if food was also purchased, so despite having just had an enormous lunch and being about to head to dinner, we each got a bowl of soup to go with our champagne.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
C: As we live overseas, the wedding presented the perfect opportunity for us to catch up with friends and family we hadn’t seen in a while. To capitalise on this, we organised drinks at a local pub the night before, and a post-match brunch at the lodge where Mat’s family were staying.
For the wedding day itself, we really wanted a relaxed, fun day; not too formal but still a little bit fancy. We knew we wanted the reception to feel like a big dinner party, so opted for no head table and family-style mains. My mum and nana spent many months drying flowers for us to use as decorations and for the petal toss, which was really special.
The fairy lights were the main styling feature of the indoor space, and created an amazing ambience. We didn’t have to do much with the outdoor area as the view over the lake is stunning and we wanted this to shine. A champagne pyramid post-ceremony was the perfect way to round off the formalities and kick start the celebrations, and Pimm’s and elderflower spritzes helped to bring a little bit of London to the afternoon grazing session.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
C: Photography! We wanted our photos to be relaxed, not too staged or posed, and a beautiful keepsake of the day. We also knew we would be spending a lot of time with our photographer, so were looking for someone we clicked with. We booked Jesse immediately after our first Zoom call! He captured the day perfectly and brought such a positive energy; it was quite amazing how well he fit in and all the little moments he was able to record for us.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
C: The wedding day itself went remarkably smoothly, however we did have a challenging trip back to NZ. We flew out on Mat’s birthday along with one of Mat’s groomsmen and his partner, and while it started with a very leisurely birthday breakfast at Heathrow, 15 mins before boarding we were informed there was a broken pipe in the engine. 8hrs later we had finally departed but had missed our connecting flight in Singapore. The next flight wasn’t for another 36hrs, and due to Covid we weren’t allowed to leave the airport and there were no hotel rooms available. To top it off, our suitcase was stuffed with 400 Lindt balls for the wedding; we were very nervous about what kind of chocolatey mess we would discover after a day and a half of them sitting in the hot Singaporean sun. We did have some laughs in the massage chairs at the Changi Airport lounge, and if anything, it only made it sweeter to finally touch down on NZ soil!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
C: I had been to a couple of bridal stores when visiting NZ as I wanted the experience of wedding dress shopping with Mum, however nothing was quite right. When I got back to the UK, I had another couple of appointments and while I was trying on dresses, an organza jacket caught my eye. I put it on and immediately fell in love – it was so much fun to wear! Unfortunately it was well out of budget, but I sent photos to Mum and she thought she could create something similar. She designed a mock-up and posted it across to London; it only required a couple of tweaks to be perfect. The task was then to find a dress to wear under the jacket. I tried on some Lola Varma pieces and loved how simple and clean they were. In the end, I had a skirt and top altered into a dress, picking it up from alterations the day before we flew out. It was amazing to get back to NZ, and out of quarantine, and finally try the dress and jacket on together!
Mat’s main priority was to have a well-fitting suit. After trying a few options, he decided to get it custom made by a tailor in London. I had very little input into what he chose, and it was a lovely surprise to find he’d had our names embroidered on the inside, and the lining fabric featured swans to reflect the Hyde Park proposal.
Ceremony + Reception location: The Black Barn / Photographer: Jesse and Jessie / Celebrant: Married by Kelsey / Entertainment: The Wing Men + Looking For Alaska / Hire: Vases/cutlery/champagne coupes from The Pretty Prop Shop , Signing table: Event Rent, Lawn games: The Top Table / Flora: Ruth Fiona Floral / Catering + Beverages: Terrace Kitchen / Doughnuts: Baked With Love / Stationery: Paper Darling / Brides Attire: Dress by Lola Varma , purchased from The Fall Bride – London, Silk organza jacket designed and made by Chelsea’s mum / Grooms Attire: Custom suit by Zebel Bespoke / Ring/s: Kind Jewellery / Shoes: Django and Juliette / Earrings: Dior / Makeup + Makeup: Sita Engling / Fragrance: Nectarine blossom and honey by Jo Malone / Bridesmaids Attire: Shona Joy /Groomsmen Attire: Barkers Clothing
