Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Jase is a farmer and manages the sheep and beef station we live on here in the beautiful Wairarapa. I’m a chronic university student (I say chronic because it’s been 5 years and I’m yet to escape) exploring agriculture and environmental science.
We have a huge, combined passion for New Zealand’s agriculture industry and the things we love most are our horses, dogs and tramping in the mountains together. We were lucky enough to be able to feature these aspects within our wedding day.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
EDC – Its hard for a farmer to meet anyone when they live out the back of Raupunga (google for reference). So, we met down in Wellington when Jase was down visiting family. We both grew up in Wellington but at different ends and never crossed paths. I was usually found riding horses in Ohariu Valley and Jase took himself into the Tararua Ranges to go hunting at every opportunity (including during school hours). As a young girl, I had always dreamt of meeting a guy who could ride horses with me. So, when this horse loving shepherd showed up in cowboy boots, I was immediately intrigued.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
EDC – for us it was sitting out the back of a farm Jase was working on under an orange tree while he was repairing some rails in the sheep yards. It sounds weird and specific, but it was such an important moment that one of my bridesmaids mentioned it in a poem she wrote for us on our wedding day.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
EDC – Jase proposed on March 7th, 2020 – just squeezing in before the first lockdown. We do a lot of tramping together and we’d planned to do a day trip up to Mt Holdsworth Trig in the Tararua Ranges. I’d been tracking the weather, which was looking pretty average, but Jase was adamant that we still go up (he would climb 1470 m elevation without the promise of an awesome view – I am not so easily convinced). Jase coaxed me using how much my dog Kody would enjoy the adventure, the promise of bringing our beloved huntaway Kate (to be our ring bearer) and some reverse psychology (“you won’t do it”), so we went. We reached the trig to blue skies and not a breath of wind. If you know the Tararua’s then you know how special this was. Jase sent up the camera to what I thought was a self-timer and recorded the proposal.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
EDC – We just wanted to keep things simple and natural. Our vision was more of a blurry idea but when you work with amazing vendors (like our venue and florist) they don’t let you down! We also wanted to be environmentally conscious and support local as much as possible. We used all local vendors (with no one coming further from the Manawatu).
Our décor was mostly things borrowed from family and friends or utilised from farm resources (antlers, flower confetti, seedheads and foliage). By taking this approach, the style took care of itself. Finally, we just wanted our guests to have fun and to show our appreciation to them for all their years of love and support. We wanted to create an event where they could feel relaxed and enjoy themselves and we hope that that was the vibe!
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
EDC – Jase and I had decided that the venue, photographer and videographer were non-negotiables and were happy to spend accordingly. I had wanted to be married at Rose & Smith since I was a little girl attending the January race meet every year with my family. The grounds were perfect, and Paula was so accommodating. It was essential that we were able to have our dogs and horses at the wedding and these grounds couldn’t have suited that more. We knew the footage from the day was going to become the lasting memories to be able to look back on and share with our kids. The effort and end result that Dave and Ben delivered was far beyond our expectations and I could not recommend these two highly enough.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
EDC – our day ran unnaturally smooth, so we were very lucky. The helicopter ride was probably the most stressful part for me because I’m afraid of heights and had never been in one before. Jase has flown in them many times for hunting trips and so was looking over the ranges for deer the entire way. He was trying to point them out and I just had to look straight ahead and say “yes, very nice”. I don’t even think he noticed that I wasn’t looking.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
EDC – the only specification that both outfits had to fit was that we needed to be able to get on our horses in them. For me, this meant no mermaid style dresses! For Jase, this meant bringing an extra pair of pants (you may notice in some of the photos that he’s wearing moleskins instead of his dress pants). We did our bridal photos before the ceremony, so no one wanted to show up with ripped clothing as we said our “I do’s”.
Ceremony + Reception location: Rose And Smith | Videographer: Sink or Surface | Photographer: David Le | Celebrant: Wendy Morrison | Entertainment: Renee Coffey | Planner: Rose and Smith | Flora: Bloomwood | Catering + Beverages: Rose and Smith | Cake: Baby Cakes | Brides Attire: Sally Eagle | Grooms + Groomsmen Attire: Barkers , Hallensteins | Ring/s: Michael Hill , Stewart Dawson | Shoes: RM Williams | Accessories: Within , Akubra | Makeup: Makeup by Tori Tamariki | Hair: La Cutting Crew | Fragrance: Hugo Boss , Jean Paul Gaultier | Bridesmaid Attire: Evolution Bridesmaids
