Hannah + Chris by Rambo Estrada - Together Journal

Tell us how you meet each other?

We met when we were about 14 through mutual friends.

We started talking more and more and by the end of summer 2008 we were inseparable.

Tell us about the proposal?

Chris proposed while we were on a skiing holiday in Japan. He was in an odd mood all day and now it all makes sense why – he was nervous! We were skiing with a group of friends, one who happens to be an amazing photographer. She asked us to stop for a photo in the middle of the trees while it was snowing. I just started to walk away and as I turned back to see if Chris was coming, he was down on one knee in the snow. It was a dream!

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

Chris is a builder and Hannah is an Architectural designer. We both love architecture and have designed and built two of our own homes. To the outside world our everyday conversations about construction probably sound super boring but we love that our careers and goals align so perfectly. We are both quite different people but this seems to work perfectly for us. We spent about 4 years in different cities for University, which was super hard at the time but looking back it was all worth it. We got to experience each other’s cities every other weekend and grow together in a different way.

Tell us about your special day, was there a specific theme or style? Tell us a little about the setting, the styling and some of your favourite details…

The spot we got married is where we spend most summers with our friends. We both hate being the centre of attention, so we wanted our wedding to have the same fun and relaxed feel as any of our trips to the lake do. We wanted to share this spot with our guests who hadn’t been there before so they could see why we love it so much, so we had everyone camp on site with us for the weekend. The setting is so picturesque on the edge of the lake that we didn’t need to over do it with the styling. A favourite detail was the flowers from Hannah’s parents garden that our florist cleverly worked into the bouquets.

Tell us about your main outfits:

My dress and veil were designed by Robyn Pascoe. In highschool Chris and I went to a ball and I wore a white one shoulder dress, so being the sentimental type I wanted to revisit this look. Robyn created a perfect design. The first time I tried the dress on it was perfect and It was a dream to wear all day and night. I also wore a long veil with a stunning lace trim. I ditched my heels after dinner for my favourite Comme des Garçons sneakers and danced all night long – best decision ever.

My outfit was from Barkers, as were all the Groomsmens. We knew it was going to be a hot day so we chose lightweight linen shirts and I wore a linen blazer which Hannah has since tried to steal and wear herself – not happening.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

As Hannah arrived at the ceremony spot, the first one out of the truck was our dog, Duke. He instantly got a reaction from the crowd and calmed all Chris’ nerves. As we said our vows he was licking our poor celebrants toes. He stood between us as we exchanged rings and had a halftime dip in the lake as we signed our papers. We also had fireworks at midnight followed by a midnight snack – being in the middle of nowhere meant cheeseburgers were out of the question, so our caterers made us our own! Waking up the next day by the lake and de-briefing over Kahlua Coffees with all our favourite people was pretty special too.