Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
Well… We’re both Kiwi’s who lived in the same city (Christchurch) back in NZ but only met each other when were here in Melbourne via a mutual friend.
Strangely enough, we both pretty much moved over here (to Melbourne) around the same time. We also have our birthday’s two days apart (27th/29th February) and have now gotten married on the 28th of February so it’s going to be a busy time every February. We actually had Leada’s 30th birthday and Kris’s real Leap Year birthday whilst we were all over in Tauranga for the wedding! Yes, it was a very busy week… Leada loves all things creative whilst Kris loves all things technology, we’re both very different but at the same time we both love the same things! We both love animals, have been vegetarian for the last three years, love to travel and spend as much time aboard as we possibly can. One day we hope to get back to live in NZ but we still want to spend another few years here in Australia.
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…
As a lover of all things boho, I (Leada) wanted our wedding to be just that, and Kris just really came along for the ride haha… I had always imagined our wedding to be like a mini-festival, food trucks, fairy lights, lots of greeny, and dream catchers. We collected a lot of our decorations from our time traveling overseas in Mexico, Bali, and Kmart haha… There was a lot of love and thought put into every detail and we were so lucky that Rosie could bring all our visions to life! She was just amazing!
Tell us about your main outfits:
When you are serious about this boho thing you go to the cream of the crop for boho gowns, Rue De Seine Bridal. But apparently the only way to afford it is to commit to selling it afterwards. I only actually ended up trying on three gowns when I was in Christchurch at Paperswan when I found out one of them was named “Tulum”, I knew that was the gown I was meant to wear since that is where we got engaged in Mexico! Another big reason why we had to have the delicious and amazing Mexican food truck Tia’s Tacos. I also made the bold decision to have my bridesmaids in white, yes WHITE! I knew it would fit the setting so beautifully and I am so happy that I did!! As for the boys, well they just wore what they were told to wear haha… Kris didn’t want anything formal and let’s face it they all had their shoes and braces off by mid-afternoon.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
There were just so many amazing moments during the day, some of the key highlights were playing with the animals at the venue, driving in the Mr. Whippy ice cream truck, the powerful and emotional Haka from the boys, the beautiful speeches especially Dale’s (Leada’s Step Dad), being able to have a tribute for one of our friends (Natty) who sadly passed away in 2019, and everyone dancing in a circle at the end of the night to Aerosmith’s, I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing. It all went so fast though… I really wish we could do it all over again but this time attend as a guest so we could enjoy more of the time with everyone (and not having to rush around).
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
Don’t rush to get married, enjoy all the time you get to spend together as couples, and when you’re ready, get a wedding planner! Haha… Jokes, but we definitely underestimated how much effort goes into planning a wedding. Our advice for anyone getting married is to have the wedding the way you want it… Don’t listen to everyone else’s idea of a dream wedding, make bold decisions and don’t look back. We also can’t emphasise how important it is to get the right photographer for you! We were so lucky to find Oriwia, her style matched exactly what we were looking for and her way of capturing the day was just incredible! It certainly made our day that much more memorable!!
Venue: Old Forest School | Videographer: Mana Media & Pilot Films | Photographer: Oriwia Soutar Photography | Celebrant: Debbie Hunt Celebrant | Entertainment: Marcus Abraham | Flora & Styling: Rosies Wildflowers | Planner: Kris Jackson | Hire: Tauranga Party Hire | Catering + Beverages: Sage & Grace, HandleBar & Tia’s Tacos | Cake: Mr. Whippy Tauranga | Transport: Go Bus Te Puke & Kombi Love | Bride dress: Rue De Seine | Groom & Groomsmen: Barkers | Bridesmaids dresses: Natalie Rolt | Ring/s: Tiffany & Cartier | Bride’s Shoes: Wittner | Groom’s Shoes: YD | Hair-piece: Lilley Studio | Makeup: Ashleigh Jane | Hair: Cream Melbourne https://cream.melbourne/ | Fragrance: Dior
