Elizabeth + Edward by Lucy Li Photography - Together Journal

Neither of us really have a creative bone in our bodies, but we loved what the wedding became!

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

We live in London, where we have been based for the last 6-7 years. Elizabeth is a lawyer and Ed works in public affairs. We love sitting in our local pub trying to beat each other at backgammon, and finding hand-pulled noodles in foreign cities. Ed loves trying to convince Elizabeth that cards are a fun way to pass the time, and Elizabeth loves forcing Ed to do Pilates with her (but then gets annoyed that he is far more flexible than she is…). Ed will not miss an opportunity to sing Anatasia at karaoke, but give Elizabeth a tambourine and she’ll be right there with the percussive backing.

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

We were first introduced at a pub in Grey Lynn, where upon introduction, Ed spun Elizabeth around the dancefloor telling everyone who’d listen ‘this is my girlfriend’…an embarrassed Elizabeth ran away, but our story wasn’t due to end there. We were reintroduced a few months later at a mutual friend’s house, got to talking and the rest is history. Elizabeth loves Ed’s exuberance, energy and humour, while Ed was taken with Elizabeth’s intelligence and understated charm.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

The start of our relationship was complicated a bit by distance and travel, but we persevered because it always seemed like there was something special between us. Before too long we were back in the same place and the rest is history.

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

Neither of us really have a creative bone in our bodies, but we loved what the wedding became! I was initially stressed by the prospect of not having a strong vision for each element of the wedding, but we found it easier to plan what we didn’t want, and work backwards from there. We also tried to keep a common thread throughout the colour scheme which helped tie everything together. Instagram is an amazing resource and our vendors were very happy for me to send them screenshots of what we did and didn’t like, to help guide choices.

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).

We were lucky enough to have our ceremony in the Monte Cecilia Park in front of Pah Homestead—a tranquil, leafy space which did not require much additional decoration. Our florist (@Handsinthedirt_) was fantastic at guiding two people who knew nothing at all about flowers to something quite spectacular which added to, and didn’t distract from, the natural beauty of the park. We gave Aila very little to work with, other than listing flowers and colours we didn’t want (!), but she managed to whittle this into the most stunning arrangements. We wanted the flowers to do the work on our tables, so went with plain white tablecloths, with a subtle pop of colour from our linen napkins. Ed’s sister is a very talented graphic designer, and hand-drew our wedding menus and placecards, to tie in perfectly with our colour scheme. Ed’s groomsman, Ben, also drew a stunning illustration of Pah Homestead and complementary images to decorate the signage and invitations. Elizabeth’s good friend, Claudia, decorated the wedding cake with flowers she grew herself. Pah Homestead itself is an art gallery – we loved the sculptures in the garden and inside the Homestead itself. These provided the perfect backdrop for our photos.

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

We aimed to make the planning process as fun as possible. Without a wedding planner, planning from the other side of the world posed some challenges at times, particularly as we had a few vendors unexpectedly pull out at the last minute. We tried to plan time during the weeks leading up to the date where we would focus on planning to ensure we were productive, didn’t burn out, and to avoid letting wedding planning take over our lives! Our favourite way to plan was to take our laptops or a notepad to a local pub, sit down with a pint and make an activity out of planning. This seemed much more fun than planning in our living room! We also delegated tasks between us – this made us each responsible for certain activities and meant there was an even spread of work between us. We could also work at our own pace – Ed is a lot more of an advanced planner, while Elizabeth prefers a last-minute rush!

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

Elizabeth was originally planning to find a British designer for her dress, with the thinking that it’d be a nice nod to our lives in the UK. However, it wasn’t to be, as she found her dress by an Australian designer in a beautiful mother-daughter owned bridal store just out of Bristol in the UK. The day she went to collect the dress, the heavens opened and so the lovely Becky from Lace & Grace dropped her at the train station so Elizabeth and the dress could be safely transported back to London! Elizabeth’s local seamstress in Islington in London was able to tailor the dress, and make some alterations to the original design – the sleeves from the dress were removed and replaced with tulle sleeves (also by Kyha), and some alterations were made to the bodice. We then carefully transported it back to NZ for the wedding! Coincidentally, Ed also ended up with an Australian designer – his suit was made by P Johnson, made to measure in the brand’s London showroom. Elizabeth’s ‘something borrowed’ was a beautiful pair of earrings from her cousin, Olivia.

What was 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?).

Each element of a wedding is so important, but we were keen to ensure we had great food and music to ensure our guests had a fun evening. After our original caterer pulled out in the few months before the wedding, Tara from The Dairy stepped in and saved the day. We unfortunately didn’t have a chance to try her food before the wedding as we are based overseas, but we trusted the process and she pulled off a beautiful menu. We wanted people to dance, so we couldn’t look past the Beat Council, who we’d previously seen live and knew they would get the dance floor going. Photography was also key – we wanted beautiful photos to look back on and capture moments that we may not have been part of ourselves on the day, and Lucy had photographed a good friend’s wedding, so we knew she’d do an amazing job.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

Our wedding was full of surprises which (we hope!) made our day memorable for our guests. Two of our good friends MC’d the evening, to the theme of the Graham Norton show. There was an impromptu speech from one of our guests in the ‘red chair’ which brought the house down. We had told our parents that we weren’t doing a first dance (the truth), so both sets of parents worked together with a choreographer to learn a first dance which the four of them performed together, as a complete surprise to us! However, we had our own surprise in store—we weren’t doing a first dance, but we instead performed a ‘first song’ with the band, Ed singing and Elizabeth playing the piano (which neither of us can do – at all). This still somehow got the dance-floor going, and the guests danced into the night. However, the party didn’t end there, with a surprise after-party – we had a bus pull up as the venue closed, and took game guests to a secret location, where pizza was served and the dance floor continued. The day after, we hosted a BBQ at Elizabeth’s parents’ home. The rain came on-and-off, but this didn’t stop the guests from jumping into the ocean.