Claire + Anton by Jonny Scott - Together Journal

I have always wanted to wear a classical, timeless wedding dress. When I first put on my dress at Hera Couture, I knew it was the one. It felt like something I would love for the rest of my life.

Claire ——Anton works in real estate and I work in the sales team for a property developer. Anton is more of a homebody and I’m more outgoing. I love that balance in our relationship. We both love to try new restaurants or go to the movies together. And most importantly, we love spending time with our beautiful French bulldog Albie, who we are utterly obsessed with. We love taking him for walks or cuddling with him on the couch (his preference, he’s not the most energetic dog.)

2015 was the year that Anton slid into my DMs on Instagram. We met up at a bar one Friday night and instantly hit it off. We both knew very early on in our relationship that we had found ‘the one’. We could talk about everything and anything and never fail to find reasons to be on the floor laughing.

We got engaged while taking a walk down Pauanui beach, where I have a family bach. Anton caught me completely off guard when he got down on one knee. We’d talked about getting engaged but I never would’ve thought it would happen at that point in time. I burst out crying with happiness and couldn’t catch my breath and that is why the footage will never be shown publicly. Little Albie almost spoiled the moment by rushing for a baby dotterel, so right after I said “yes”, Anton had to sprint after him so he didn’t attack the endangered bird.

I have always wanted to wear a classical, timeless wedding dress. When I first put on my dress at Hera Couture, I knew it was the one. It felt like something I would love for the rest of my life. I went with a traditional two-tiered veil. I loved when my dad lifted it off me at the end of the aisle. Anton wears a suit to work so we wanted him to wear something different and special and went with a classic tuxedo from Working Style.

Our venue was stunning in itself so we just wanted to complement the Tuscan feel. Astrid and I chose soft linens and a fresh, neutral palette.

I wanted to add a pop of colour with the bridesmaids’ dresses and found the perfect sage silk halterneck dresses from One Fell Swoop, an Australian designer.

Having Albie be our ringbearer was one of the hardest tasks to organise, as we were all staying on Waiheke and he wasn’t able to share our accommodation. It was almost put in the too-hard basket as it was tricky to ask someone to bring him over for his time to shine. But a friend and fellow Frenchie lover pulled through, and Albie being part of the ceremony was the best thing ever. He completely nailed it, even giving his grandparents a lick on the hand as he walked past them.