I always had a feeling. Hannah never asked me to change anything yet I truly found myself as a person. Because of her, I strived to be better and do better in life.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Hannah: I originally went to university to study marketing communications but life took me on another path. I’m now a court reporter; I transcribe court proceedings. My job is fast paced, varied and very interesting. I love it. When I’m not working, I’m soaking up time with Elii and our two girls. Our lives are definitely very busy with two young children!
Eliias: I’m a flooring contractor and feel very lucky to have found something to do which I enjoy. I love spending time with my two daughters, whether it’s a walk along the waterfront or snuggled up watching a movie. I also love our child-free evenings when we go wining and dining or enjoy a few cocktails in the sun. I won’t say no to a round of golf either.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Hannah: We grew up in the same town and our friend groups crossed over often even though we attended different schools. We knew each other socially for a couple of years but it wasn’t until 2012 when we properly spoke to each other at a party. My first impression of Elii was his good sense of humour, his cheekiness, and his easy going nature. We hit it off immediately but it was nothing more than a fling for a few months as I had plans to move to Auckland for university and Elii was moving to Melbourne to live. The following year, Elii returned to New Zealand and we resumed contact which quickly developed into a relationship. I would spend most weekends travelling back to our hometown to see Elii. We did long distance for half a year and then we decided to move in together in Auckland, and the rest is history.
Eliias: My first impression of Hannah was obviously how gorgeous and kind she was but also that she was quiet yet knew what she wanted (which was hopefully me) and could definitely be outspoken when necessary.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Hannah: I’m not able to pinpoint an exact moment in our relationship, but when I realised I was with someone who genuinely had a heart of gold and was there to support me no matter what; I knew then that he was the person I would spend the rest of my life with. Eliias: I always had a feeling. Hannah never asked me to change anything yet I truly found myself as a person. Because of her, I strived to be better and do better in life. She ignited my fire and if you found someone who doesn’t expect you to change anything yet makes you a better person, then that’s someone who you would move stars to spend an eternity with.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Hannah: We had been together six and a half years and had two children together, so I had a feeling a proposal was on the horizon. A big giveaway was that I’m not a jewellery person so Elii had begun asking around the five-year mark which kind of rings I liked. There were a few times when I thought he may be planning a proposal which didn’t lead to anything.
We went away over the New Year period as a family and on New Year’s Eve I noticed that Elii was very quiet and seemed a bit anxious, which raised my suspicions. In the evening he suggested that we take the kids down for a walk to the beach as the sun was setting. I’m not going to lie; I did think that was going to be the big moment after all his nervousness and I did feel a pang of disappointment when we returned back to the house with no proposal, thinking I’d misread the situation. But he had me fooled and when I was least expecting it, later on in the evening when we were sitting out on the upstairs deck after we had put the kids to bed, the conversation turned very serious and I realised that Elii was in fact proposing! It was a very heartfelt moment and I really could not imagine it being any other way. (Turns out he was intending to propose down at the beach but was too nervous!)
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
Hannah: We knew from the get-go that we wanted a small, intimate wedding. We weren’t too fussed on having an overly traditional wedding but still wanted the day to feel sophisticated. We just wanted everyone to have a good time and enjoy the whole day; that was really important to us. We only had a few speeches and opted not to have a first dance, so other than the ceremony and dinner, our vision was for our guests to freely mingle, basking on the lounges enjoying the Hawke’s Bay sun, drinking cocktails and listening to good music.
We picked the Black Barn River Room because of its amazing backdrop, overlooking the back of Te Mata Peak and down the Tuki Tuki River. We could imagine how stunning it would be in the evening when the sun set behind the peak (which it was!) We then got in contact with Alice from Flock Events. I think the exact words we used were “modern but timeless”, from which she took over and created the overall look. We didn’t know what we were going to be walking into on the day but what Alice created was absolutely beautiful.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Hannah: I knew what I was wanting in a dress, still sticking with the “modern but timeless” vision, something that I could look back on in years to come and still love but couldn’t find anything that felt “me”. I happened to stumble upon Hayes Bridal and instantly fell in love with all her dresses, so I reached out to Alice Hayes describing the style of dress I had in mind and she was only too happy to make it for me. The style of Elii’s suit changed so many times but in the end he settled with classic black; you can’t go wrong with that.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Hannah: It’s hard to pick just one element, but it would probably have to be the flowers. It’s hard to describe but the abundance of flowers felt so magical and really elevated the whole day; everywhere you looked there were flowers. We were originally getting married in February but postponed to November which meant that peonies (my favourite) were in season too, of which there were many!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Eliias: Everything was so well organised down to the last detail that the day flowed so well without a hitch. I did cry when I arrived at the venue before the ceremony because everything about it was so perfect, which in hindsight is quite funny but at the time only added to my nervousness before the ceremony.
Ceremony and reception location: Blackbarn | Photographer: Anne Paar Photography | Celebrant: Nichola Nicholson Celebrant | Styling: Flock Events | Hire: Tble Linen , Miss Frou Frou , The Pretty Shop | Flora: Magdalen Hill | Catering: Terry Lowe Catering | Cake: Pretty Little Details | Stationery: Harlan Creative | Brides Attire: Hayes Bridal | Grooms Attire: Thomsons Suits | Ring/s: Pascoes | Shoes: Hannahs | Grooms Watch: Nixon | Makeup: Josie Brenstrum | Hair: Jem Kerisiano | Bridesmaid + Groomsmen: Blak
