It’s always just been so easy between us, none of the issues or insecurities either of us had experiences in previous relationships, just love, respect and open communication.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
I am an Environmental Advisor, and Kaleb is a builder and business owner. We both grew up in Taranaki, myself in rural Taranaki and Kaleb in New Plymouth. We have two very special dogs, Fred and Mabel, who we love to pieces. We have brought and lovingly renovated our early 1900s villa together and are in the process of building our next home together. Life is busy between our jobs and running the business, so our downtime together is often cheese and crackers on the couch together, talking about our day, or a nice dinner and a movie. Kaleb is golf-obsessed; I am dog-obsessed. In between working on our properties, we love to fill our weekends with activities with the dogs, catching up with friends and, of course, golf.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Despite growing up and going to school in the same town, we never met until I returned from travelling and working overseas in 2020. Partway through the year, we met at the gym. My first impression was that Kaleb was tall, tattooed, and easy on the eyes but had a terrible haircut (he looked like a mushroom); Kaleb’s first impression was that I was the best thing he’d ever seen since sliced bread, and apparently, he just knew that I was the one. After weeks of not-so-subtle eye contact and no words exchanged, Kaleb finally worked up the courage to slide into my IG’s and ask me out for a drink. I said yes, and after a top-notch first date, we were smitten. It was highly entertaining for me to meet Kaleb’s friends in the coming weeks and hear, “Oh, I’ve heard about you, the girl from the gym”. Safe to say the bad haircut was remedied within two weeks….
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Kaleb thinks he knew when he saw me at the gym… I think that there wasn’t really a defining moment, it has always just been there. We skipped the whole dancing around each other for months dating phase and were pretty much all in right from the beginning, I think we moved in together unofficially after a couple of months and brought a house together after maybe 9-10 months? It’s always just been so easy between us, none of the issues or insecurities either of us had experiences in previous relationships, just love, respect and open communication. And we make a heck of a team with the business!
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Bit of a long story, but to keep it brief, we went to Bali for New Year 2022/2023 and had a heck of a time getting there in between flights getting delayed, cancelled and turned around. It ended up taking us over two days to get there and it was a close call after waking up to a monsoon in Darwin after getting stuck there for the night. Poor Kaleb was sweating bullets with a ring burning a hole in his bag, so as soon as we got to our accommodation in Bali, he whipped it out and dropped a knee, “I’ve got something for you”. We then went and celebrated at a raging New Year gig! Unbeknownst to Kaleb, I had secretly known he was going to propose after Mum accidentally told me over the phone… She had thought the call was disconnected and was talking to her boss, I had been talking on Bluetooth headphones… oops but at least I had had my nails done! I kept that secret from EVERYONE for 14 months to be able to tell it at our wedding, and it was golden!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.
When we first got engaged, we spoke about the things that mattered most to us about our wedding-to-be. The most important thing we concluded was that we wanted our day to be relaxed, stress-free, authentic, and just a big ol party with our closest friends and family to celebrate our love. After we booked our date and venue, I got to work with our wedding planner, curating how I wanted our day to look, right down to the finer details. The vibe I wanted to create was a soft romantic feel with pops of colour. I went for mismatched bridesmaid dresses, bright florals and linens and soft white paper lanterns. We also decided on family-style dining and some fun activities for our guests. Funny enough, a lot of my inspiration was from Together Journal and also Lucys Hire (who provided our marquee and furniture)…Our florist, Lu Diamond, created the most stunning colourful florals, and our wedding planner, Victoria Jayne, went above and beyond to bring my vision to life. It was everything we dreamed of and just an absolutely bloody good time! The photos illustrate just how incredible our day was, captured perfectly by Rachel. It’s an absolute wonder what she managed to capture, considering we were all in absolute stitches during the entire bridal party shoot.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
I mean, I feel like Kaleb would say everything… But we did sit down at the beginning and decide on the things most important to each of us, with the venue being the top, followed by photography. Food and alcohol were also at the top of the list for Kaleb, and the dress and florals for me. It was definitely a balancing act to keep the budget under control, where we splurged on certain things and cut back on others, such as just using Spotify for all our music.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
It started raining about half an hour before the guests were meant to arrive as I was getting my dress on with the girls. I had a minor meltdown that we would have to get married in the marquee, and all my carefully laid plans would go down the toilet. The girls were luckily on hand to calm me down and prevent any makeup from being ruined. Magically, as the guests were arriving, the rain cleared, and the wind dropped off. The weather ended up being absolutely perfect for the ceremony and photos and the whole day was just such an amazing time that I barely think of that part. The whole day went like a blur, we wish it never had to end!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
After seeing a review from a family friend and her beautiful wedding photos, I immediately decided that when I got married, I would be getting Lulu Jackson to make my dress; I had already decided that I wanted something unique and made especially for me. So, within a few months of getting engaged, I contacted Lulu, and we set up our first consultation. I cannot rave about her and the design process enough. I took her a bunch of different images to pull together into exactly what I wanted, along with changing my mind several times along the way, and she pulled it all together to create the most beautiful dress with two different looks. The most STUNNING removable sleeves for the ceremony and a super cute cape for the reception. We had multiple fittings to make sure everything was fitting perfectly, and she was super flexible with fitting times with me driving over from Taranaki for our fittings. It was a very special experience.
CEREMONY & RECEPTION Goodin Country Gardens, Warea, Taranaki, @goodincountrygarden PHOTOGRAPHER Rachel Burt – Sunday Stories, @sundaystories.weddings FLORIST Lu Diamond Flowers, @ludiamondflowers PLANNER & STYLIST Victoria Jayne Weddings, @victoriajayne_weddings CELEBRANT Sam McKenzie – Celebrant Sam, @celebrantsammy HIRE Lucy’s Events, @lucyseventhire; TLL Events, @tll.events; Linen: Tble Linen, @tble_linen_hire; Dinnerware: The Dinner Table, @thedinnertablenz CATERING ABC Catering, @abc_catering_limited CAKE The Cake Diary, @thecakediary WELCOME SIGN Hired from The Flowercart, @theflowercart.taranaki DECALS Speedy Signs BAR The Shaker Tin, @theshakertin ALCOHOL Liquorland Fitzroy, @liquorlandfitzroy RINGS Jakob Kelly Jewellery, @jakobkellyjewellery_ EARRINGS A.B Ellie, @a.b.ellie BRIDAL DRESS Lulu Jackson Bridal, @lulujacksonbridal BRIDE’S SHOE Chaos and Harmony, @chaosandharmonyshoes VEIL Gown and Altar, @gownandaltar MAKEUP Amber Smithers, @amber_makeup HAIR The Station Hair Company, @thestationhairco BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Lancome BRIDE’S BAG Brie Leon, @brie_leon DANCING OUTFIT Dress: Hello Molly, @hellomolly; Gloves: Showpo, @showpo GETTING READY ROBE Miss Poppy Design, @misspoppydesign GROOM’S OUTFIT Blazer & Shirt: Kingsway Menswear, @kingsway1934; Pants: Farmers, @fashionatfarmers GROOM’S SHOE The Iconic, @theiconicau ACCESSORIES Watch: Seiko; Belt: Ascolour, @ascolour GROOM’S FRAGRANCE Paco Rabanne BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES Runaway The Label, @runawaythelabel; Billy J, @billy_j_boutique; Flo and Frankie, @floandfrankie; Clothing by Desiree, @clothingbydesiree BRIDESMAIDS’ EARRINGS Ditsy Clay, @ditsy.clay GETTING READY OUTFIT The Sleepover, @thesleepovernz GROOMSMEN OUTFIT Blazer and Pants: Farmers, @fashionatfarmers; Shirts: Kingsway Menswear, @kingsway1934 GROOMSMEN BELT Ascolour, @ascolour
