Lis + George by Luisa Apanui - Together Journal

Tell us a little about your selves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship:

I’m a Marketing Manager and George owns his own building company here in Wellington, New Zealand.

We’re currently enjoying the time being parents to our first child Ziggy as well as looking after our dog Loki (who was part of our wedding too).

We both love adventure, new experiences and the outdoors. Whenever we can, we like to escape in our caravan to new places, even with baby on board! We love snowboarding, hiking and getting out on the water whether it’s fishing or wakeboarding.

When we aren’t out exploring we are busy renovating our home in Wellington, being parents to the little one and spending heaps of time with our friends and family.

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:

Our first attempt at getting married in April last year was sadly cancelled due to Covid, just two weeks out. We were devastated. We rescheduled for the new date – January 2021 – and a few months later became pregnant. We were thrilled, however it obviously made the wedding dress a little trickier! It was so special to have our wee soul between us on our special day, I was 28 weeks pregnant when we got married.

We are both very relaxed people, we didn’t want anything glitz or glam. The core of the styling was to allow the environment we were in to shine and add small flicks of magic to compliment where we were.

The lookout lodge looks directly at mount gold and beautiful farmland, that was the focus for us. Wanaka has a special place in our hearts, we travel there once at least every year and we wanted everyone to see how beautiful it is and not overcrowd the place with unnecessary items.

The styling was very earthy, simple and understated with a bohemian type vibe. We used golds and brass and a lot of florals. The florals were partially dried partially fresh and once used in one area we moved them around to make sure they were used to their full extent i.e the bridesmaid bouquets went on the head table after the ceremony.

We hired beautiful wooden tables and black candles with small glass jars and singular flowers so as not to overcrowd the table.

Frankie the nomad was a little vintage caravan we hired to provide the bar service but equally was a piece of decor.

Tell us about your main outfits:
This was a bit of a struggle due to being 28 weeks pregnant. My dress therefore needed to be adjustable because I was a different size every day! I refused to wear a “maternity” dressand wanted something I would wear regardless of being pregnant or not! My dear friend and super talented designer Jacque Shaw was the women for the job. Her magical and edgy style was a perfect match for my taste and we worked closely together to achieve the final
dress. The corset meant I was comfortable then whole day and the fabric was a sheer stretch that also grew with me. The overskirt and sleeves were removable and meant I could boogie at the end of the night without my train. The veil was re-used from my first dress by Demelza Davis with a slight edit from Jacque. George’s outfit was from Vance Vivian in Wellington, the different items were from different brands. He wanted a casual smart look that was very him and he felt comfortable in as well. The hats were great on the day because it was so hot and sunny.

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

Our vows, it felt like we were the only people there it was so intimate and we were so close with each
other in that moment. We spent golden hour with Luisa Apanui our photographer and Emily our videographer to a sunset shoot just after dinner, the time alone in the country with the sun going down behind the mountains was magical. Another special moment was the aisle, both my mom and dad walked me down the aisle together.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together:

The little things add up to big things,choose your best friend to spend your life with. Get a local planner to organise and help coordinate the day so you can relax and enjoy!