Claire + Harry by Keryn Sweeney

We really wanted all the elements to be quite timeless.

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

Harry and I are based in Wellington and love being close to our friends and family. We spend a lot of time with them and love to get together around food – Harry is an amazing cook, and I just make the coffee. Living near the beach, we spend a lot of time walking along the waterfront and swimming in the warmer months. Harry loves sport, and I love being creative. Harry is a residential builder, and I am a Project Manager in commercial construction. Marrying a builder is the best decision I ever made – not a day goes by that I’m not annoying him with ideas for our house.

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

We met just over 4 years ago on a night out in town – we hit it off instantly. I thought Harry was funny, and I couldn’t believe how well we got along. It felt like I had known him my whole life. This was similar for Harry – he liked my humour and thought we had similar values, which we do. We later discovered our families were very similar, which made it all that much easier! We have been inseparable ever since. We bought a house together after 6 months of dating, which was probably crazy at the time, but felt so right!

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).

We really wanted all the elements to be quite timeless, so for our colour palette we opted for whites and greens, which were complemented with silverware, crystal-style glasses and vintage candelabras. This suited the 1900s house well. Harry also made a custom bar that was in keeping with the house.

We wanted personal touches – I love pottery so we hand made all the ceramic place names, including hand writing everyones names on them, this gave everyone a little keepsake to take home. My aunt handmade individual boxes with homemade chocolate truffles that were also placed at each place setting. Both these elements went down a treat!

Obviously, having a good time was also top of our list! We had quite a few different cocktails and shots at cake-cutting time! Most of our guests stayed on site in glamping tents for two nights. This added a whole other level of fun as no one had to worry about getting home, and it worked well for the day two festivities.

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 beauty of having the wedding at my parents’ house was the game-changer for us. The house has well-established gardens and an amazing giant hydrangea bush, which was our pride and joy. We loved the grandness of the large conifer trees down the back of the property so it made sense to have bridal party photos down there. We borrowed my grandparents’ white cast iron table and chairs for the signing of our papers, which were so nice amongst the garden.

We were so happy with how the marquee, tables and chairs all blended so well into the landscape. The hydrangeas also played a huge part. Many weekends were spent tending to them, only for it to rain quite heavily in Jan/Feb, so they weren’t looking their best, but we love how they looked in the photos. Our signage also played a part in the vibe we wanted to create. Our friend who did all the stationery design customised the shield shape for our welcome sign and bar menu.

It was funny – we were so worried about people getting too hot that we hired more umbrellas and filled the place with them, only for it to rain and everyone ducked for cover during cocktail hour!

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

I personally loved every second of it! But this is probably because I am a project manager, so I plan things for a living. My advice is once you are engaged, have a quick turnaround! This means less time to ponder decisions as you have to lock things in quickly. We got engaged in May and had our wedding in February.

My other advice is to have a look around you – we had so many friends and family come together to help us in the lead up and on the day. For example, instead of hiring multiple couches for cocktail hour, we utilised what was already at the house and borrowed some from friends. It didn’t matter that they weren’t matching, and this saved us a lot in furniture hire.

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

We didn’t get a stylist or planner as such, and I was so nervous about making sure everything was cohesive on the day, so we reached out to Jas from Ortons, who helped us along the way. She did up a mood board and was key in decision-making. She also helped us with key styling items such as crystal water dispensers, tea lights and candelabras – she even hand-delivered them from Hawkes Bay. She was amazing and kept me in line when I would suggest some random things that were definitely not on theme.

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

For me I knew straight away the style I wanted. I happened to be in Auckland the weekend after we got engaged and went straight to Alice at Hayes Bridal. Going custom was a no-brainer, and I loved Alice’s simple yet modern designs. She absolutely nailed it, and I felt amazing on the day. For my second outfit, I wanted something fun and not white. I found the perfect pink sequin dress, which went down a treat.

Harry’s suit was custom-made from Mandatory in Wellington and fit like a glove! Harry is not a suit-wearing type of guy, so it was important he felt comfortable.

Things got a bit out of hand later in the night – I actually switched dresses with Harry’s mum, and Harry ended up wearing a t-shirt for the rest of the night.

Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.

Harry actually proposed at my 30th birthday party in front of all my friends and family. My mum had given him my grandmother’s ring, which we remodelled with an old friend, also called Harry, at Orsini in Auckland. We melted down the original gold and added some more diamonds. My wedding band is plain gold, the same thickness as the engagement ring – I love how simple it is against the engagement ring.

Harry wanted something a bit different, so with the help of Harry from Orsini, he opted for a signet-style ring with a small diamond that was left over from my grandmother’s ring.

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?).

The first person we booked was our photographer – having Keryn was non-negotiable for us! I had been following her for years and she can do no wrong. The other important element was food and drink, and having plenty of it to go around. We spent quite a bit having multiple cocktails on offer and carrying these into our day two pool party.

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

When we entered the marquee for dinner, the energy was unbeatable! We entered to Praise You – Fat Boy Slim. I remember turning to Harry and my bridesmaids once we sat down and saying, ‘This is so much fun, I never want it to end. ’ We couldn’t stop smiling. Day two was also amazing! It actually rained on the wedding day, and we had to make quite a few quick decisions during the night to move some things around, but the sun came out for day two, which was perfect, as we had a pool party / DJ, and with everyone staying on site, the fun never really stopped.