We wanted to make sure autumnal colours were incorporated into the styling and florals.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Harriett is originally from Christchurch and Riley grew up on the North Shore of Auckland where we both now live. Harriett works in Radio and Riley is a builder. We love dining out, travelling and also a night on the couch with our huntaway pup and ragdoll cat.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met in June 2016 when we were both sent to Queenstown to work an event for ZM the radio station. Riley was based in the Auckland office, and Harriett was based in the Christchurch office.
Harriett – I was nervous about the awkward chat on a 6 hour car ride so sat on my laptop working most of the drive
Riley – The night before setting off to Queeny, I’d been told by a good friend of mine, that worked under Haz at the time, that Harriett was a cow of a boss. It’s safe to say, starting that 6 hour journey, with about 3 hours sleep and a whopping headache, I wasn’t thrilled about the week of work ahead with this girl.. but it turned out Harriett wasn’t a bitch after all! And here we are, almost 10 years on!
When we arrived in Queenstown, work had booked an apartment with two bedrooms rather than separate rooms. Can I say that there is no way work would get away with that this day in age! Safe to say we ended up spending much more time together than anticipated and just had the best week ever!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).
We have always said we would get married in Queenstown in Autumn. It’s our favourite time of year and Queenstown is our favourite place to spend time together (Harriett’s parents had a house in Queenstown for years which meant we were fortunate enough to spend many holidays in town). We wanted to make sure autumnal colours were incorporated into the styling and florals.
Harriett – when I found my dream dress at Love James Vintage and it was a champagne colour, the idea of incorporating a more antique style into the day really fell into place. Our colour palette included warm browns, soft pinks and neutrals and we went with a large rustic wooden bar that we split to be outside for the cocktail hour then the other half inside the marquee.
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).
The florals would honestly have to be one of our biggest highlights! Michele and her team did the most incredible job and pulled together a stunning variety of colours and flowers. For Harriett, she always wanted to have hanging flowers and disco balls over the dancefloor and this was a serious highlight especially once it got dark. Oakwood estate is such a stunning property with large oak trees, a pond in the middle and the Queenstown mountains surrounding it. We wanted to make sure we were using as much of the property as possible, so had our ceremony by the pond, cocktail hour amongst the trees then reception in a clear marquee.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process, and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
We were really lucky to work with One Fine Day who planned and styled our wedding. Lou and Kim made our planning process so seamless.
Harriett – I’m really good at knowing what I want but not being able to put the vision together myself. We made a mood board of things we had seen and loved, then Lou put together a full styling board for us including items from suppliers like Flock and Hayley the Hirer for us to look at. We both lead pretty busy lives so being able to come home at night and go through links and images and say yes or no made the process really easy.
Tell us about your vendors. Were there any standout suppliers you would like to make special mention of?
Our friend Brogan Scott did all of our stationary and signage for us. Brogan’s beautiful illustrations absolutely made our wedding that extra bit special. So much love went into the creativity. She included little nods to our life together including a noodle between two birds on our invite (we met sampling noodles at a work event) and her illustrations of our favourite places for our table placements and our pets on our information card were the best.
On the day, Sophie and Ben (our amazing photographer and videographer) honestly made us feel so calm and present in the moment and they had the best energy and vibe!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?
Harriett – I never thought I would find myself in a vintage dress! I had always imagined wearing a white dress, but after trying on so many dresses at shops, I just felt like they were all dresses too similar to ones friends had worn. Love James Bridal vintage store shares a space with Brogan who did our stationary and when we went to first catch up with Brogan, I saw this incredible dress hanging in Lizzie’s studio with bows down the back. I messaged her on Instagram then tried it that weekend. I instantly felt amazing in it and knew it was the one.
Riley – I went for a fairly traditional black tux set up. You never feel shit in a tux, that’s a fact.
Tell us about your wedding and engagement rings.
Riley – Not being a jewellery guy, I didn’t really know where to start, but I knew I wanted something a little different to your traditional plain band. A friend of mine recommended Turner house, and after talking to Amy and sending her some inspo, she absolutely nailed the vision. Designing Harriett’s ring was quite a long process that took about 9 months from beginning the design to completion of the ring. After talking with several jewellers and starting the design process more than once, I ended up locking in with The Diamond Shop. I knew Haz and I both have a shared love for the colour green, so I knew it had to have a green stone in it somewhere. And despite some of Harriett’s friends trying to steer me away from the green and go with all classic diamonds, I stuck to my gut, and unless she is sparing my feelings, Haz loves her engagement ring!
Harriett – I love my engagement ring so much! Riley totally surprised me with the design and I couldn’t have dreamt of anything more perfect.
What were 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?).
We are food obsessed so when we heard that one of our favourite spots to dine in Queenstown, Mora Wines & Artisan Kitchen, is the product of catering company Artisan Kitchen, we knew we had to have them cater our wedding. Safe to say our wedding dinner did not disappoint!
Harriett – I had always dreamt of having no shortage of flowers on our wedding day and Michele and her team truly did put together the most incredible arrangements.
Riley – The flowers were incredible, and the lighting combo’d with the floral centrepiece above the dance floor was insane. And to touch on the food, we are also massive sweet tooths.. teeth? Not sure what the plural is. We had a delicious cake, on top of that we had some giant tiramisu’s and lemon meringue pies as well to satisfy the sweet craving.
Was there a favourite moment (or two) that you will treasure always?
Harriett – as much as we were both dreading it, our first dance will always hold a special place in my heart! We had dance lessons in Auckland with Cara-Lea Wright and had many a frustrated backyard practice in the lead up. I changed into my mini dress by Magda Butrym, which just so happened to look like it was made to match my wedding dress, and felt ready to let my hair down with the formalities over.
Riley – For me it was seeing Harriett for the first time as she walked down the aisle. When the first bridesmaid rounded the corner, my eyes started welling up and my bottom lip started trembling. As soon as Harriett came in to view, it was like this emotional bubble burst, the tears started flowing, and then it was just pure excitement and happiness. She just looked so goddamn beautiful!
The other amazing moment for me was when we went up to the top of the mountain. It was this decompression from what was just the craziest thing we’d ever done, with all the chaos that followed the ceremony. And then we just had this 30mins on our own to reflect on what we had just done, whilst taking in the beauty of Central Otago.
BRIDE Harriett, @harriettmouat GROOM Riley , @rileymouat LOCATION Oakwood Estate, Queenstown, New Zealand
PHOTOGRAPHER Sophie Isabella, @sophieisabellaphoto VIDEOGRAPHER Ben Journee , @ben.journee STYLIST AND PLANNER Lou Dingley and Kim Bright from One Fine Day, @onefinedayweddings FLORIST Michele Coomey, @michelecoomeyfloral CELEBRANT Emily O’Leary , @emily_oleary_celebrant ENTERTAINMENT La Social, @la.social HIRE Flock Events, @flockevents ; Hayley the Hirer, @hayleythehirer ; Royal Laboratorie, @royallaboratorie MARQUEE HIRE Truly Yours, @trulyyours_events CATERING Artisan, @artisan_catering CAKE Sophie Roseanna, @sophieroseannacakes STATIONERY AND SIGNAGE Brogan Scott Studio, @broganscottstudio BRIDE’S RING Diamond Shop, @thediamondshop GROOM’S RING Turner House, @turner.house GROOM’S WATCH Tag Heuer , @tagheuer BRIDE’S MAIN AND RECEPTION OUTFIT Love James Vintage, @lovejamesstore BRIDE’S PARTY DRESS Magda Butrym, @magdabutrym BRIDE’S SHOES Alias Mae, @aliasmae MAKEUP Olivia Jenner, @olivia.jane.jenner HAIR Natasha Archer, @hepburnhair BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Aesop , @aesop GROOM’S MAIN OUTFIT Joe Black , @JoeBlackOfficial GROOM’S SHOES Barkers, @barkersclothing GROOM’S FRAGRANCE Montblanc, @montblanc BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESS Harris Tapper, @harris_tapper GROOMSMENS’ SUITS Barkers, @barkersclothing FLOWER GIRL’S DRESSES Lolly May, @lollymaystore GIFT REGISTRY Love Reggie, @love__reggie
