I always knew I wanted a glamorous black-tie wedding but one that felt relaxed and authentic to us.
Emmy-Lou —— I’m a marketing manager in the fashion industry and Dan is the director of an aircon & electrical company. We’ve been together for six years after meeting at a mutual friend’s birthday drinks at an iconic Brisbane bar. Dan is tall and handsome and I was quick to catch his eye and start chatting about wine.
They say when you know, you know. After years of being single and working on our careers, as soon as we met, we were both pretty wrapped up in each other.
Dan completely caught me off guard with the proposal on a family trip to Sydney. I’d planned to take my parents out to lunch and we were all taking selfies in front of the Harbour Bridge.
I noticed that Dan was shaking like a leaf! He got down on one knee, told me he wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, and asked me to marry him.
As I plan events for work, I was in my element with the wedding planning. I always knew I wanted a glamorous black-tie wedding but one that felt relaxed and authentic to us.
We decided to get married in Queenstown and Amisfield provided the ultimate Queenstown landscape as a backdrop for our ceremony and cocktail hour. The deeply coloured florals and pops of silver allowed for the guests to really stand out amongst the styling.
One of my favourite ideas came when I was using silver mylar foil as a backdrop at a work photoshoot. I realised we could roll it across the tables and it would reflect the light of open flame candles and the colours of the florals like a mirror, while also preventing damage to our hired linen.
We also created decals of a logo featuring our friends’ nickname for us (‘The Stringys’), which we used on our welcome sign, the bar in the garden, on the dancefloor, embroidered on custom-made aprons for the waitstaff and printed on 50 pairs of black slippers for our guests to wear on the dance floor and then take home as a party favour.
When it came to my dress, I wanted a classic and timeless outfit that made me feel comfortable and beautiful. I flew to Sydney with my mother and tried on about eight dresses. I was tossing up between two that I loved, but decided to sleep on it. The next day we were shopping for the maid of honour dress at the Rachel Gilbert boutique when I noticed a white dress in the corner. It was perfect. It was even called the Emmy gown! It had my name written all over it, quite literally!
LOCATION & CATERING Amisfield Restaurant & Cellar Door, @amisfieldrestaurant PHOTOGRAPHER Ruby Jayne Hamilton, @loversbyrubyjayne BRIDAL DRESS Emmy Gown by Rachel Gilbert, @rachelgilbertau BRIDAL SHOES Mi Piaci, @mi_piaci BRACELET By Baby, @_bybaby NECKLACE Vintage diamond necklace from bride’s mum WATCH Rolex, @rolex EARRINGS Bvlgari, @bvlgari BRIDE’S RINGS A.G. Designer Jeweller, @agdesignerjeweller GROOM & BEST MAN’S SUIT Wil Valor, @wilvalor GROOM’S SHOES & FRAGRANCE Gucci, @gucci BRIDE’S MAKEUP Alarna Taylor, @alarnataylor_hair_mua BRIDE’S HAIR Victoria Carling, @victoriacarlingbridalhair STATIONERY Peterkin, @peterkinpaper BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Maison Francis Kurkdjian, @maisonfranciskurkdjian GROOM’S ACCESSORIES TAG Heuer, @tagheuer GROOM’S HAIR Hall of Fades Queenstown, @halloffades_queenstown BRIDAL PARTY’S OUTFITS Rachel Gilbert, @rachelgilbertau; Carla Zampatti, @carlazampatti VIDEOGRAPHER Florence and Friends, @florenceandfriends.studio STYLIST & PLANNER Alexandra Kate Creative Studios, @alexandrakatecreative FLORIST Little Botanica, @littlebotanica__ CELEBRANT Rachel McKay (friend of the couple) SAXOPHONE PLAYER Alex Yevstifeev, @betterbandco GUITARISTS & SINGERS Jake & Jordy Hill @jakehillmusic, @jordan_hill_bne FURNITURE HIRE Major and Minor, @majorandminorhire LINEN HIRE Olive Linen, @olivelinen_nz BACKDROP HIRE Silk & Sorcery, @silkandsorcery MARQUEE Truly Yours, @trulyyours_events CAKE Zest Cakes, @zestcakesqueenstown WELCOME SIGN Zoo Creative, @zoocreative
