Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are both in the military and that is how we met. We both love the outdoors and enjoying nature – either by hiking and camping or just by walks with our rescue greyhound, Squeak.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met while on a work course together in 2016. It was an egg sandwich that brought us together. When I ate the only vegetarian meal to be found on an Army camp, I didn’t realise that Dan too was vegetarian, leaving him to go hungry. The hunger for Dan was worth it though, as it sparked a conversation to discover we had something in common which led to an instant connection. We both really liked each other from the beginning. I thought Dan was a really caring individual, and Dan says he thought I had a beautiful soul. However, we were both headed overseas for work deployments to different places – meaning we wouldn’t be back in the same country for 1.5 years. We spent 6 weeks together before Dan flew out first, and in that 6 weeks we knew the connection was something special and worth persuing despite the long distance immediately.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Lisa: Even though we were long distance, we were still able to talk most days on the phone. I feel this allowed us to get to know each other on a deeper level as we just talked about anything and everything. We were pretty fortunate that we were able to time our leave on a few occasions to meet up with each other somewhere in the world. I have a distinct memory of one of our leave periods ending where we had met in Paris, and as we were at the airport saying goodbye again, I was in so much tears as there was noway I wanted to be apart from Dan again. If I had the choice of staying with him or going back to the job, I definitely would have stayed with him. At that moment I knew that he was the one.
Dan: Everything was just felt so easy and right with us from the beginning. After our long period of being long distance, we decided to move in together straight away. I’m a pretty calculated person, but this should have been a very risky move. We had hardly physically seen each other but it felt so right to make our relationship serious. It continued to go so well, and I knew that this was meant to be.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
At the end of 2019, Dan got offered a job in Australia, so we decided we would take a break from the military and see where that path took us. In the midst of packing up our lives to move, I was naturally pretty stressed out so Dan made the suggestion to take some time for ourselves and to go on a bushwalk to rejuvenate our souls. We were up for the walk, but our ‘adventure dog’ Squeak took some more convincing. Dan ended up carrying the dog all the way to the top of a waterfall, but it was worth it as the view was spectacular and it was only us there. I was looking out admirring the view, and when I turned back around, there was Dan on one knee holding up a ring and of course, I said yes!
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
We are after a relaxed feel with a boho vibe. We wanted a venue where we felt connected to nature, and we definitely found that with the Black Barn at Lake Tarawera. I grew up in Rotorua so was wanting to get married somewhere in the region. The venue looks over the lake, and mountain while being surrounded by native bush, so that really ticked all the boxes for us. We didn’t want too much of a traditional wedding , and wanted to make sure it really felt like us. For example, as we are both vegetarians we wanted to have a fully vegetarian menu. We knew it would have to be amazing food to convince the staunchest of meat eaters to eat it, and the Terrace Kitchen really pulled it off with everyone commenting on how good the food was. We are also big gin and whiskey drinkers, so had gin and whiskey bars after the dinner.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
The venue, the food and the band. Essentially ensuring we were good hosts and that the guests would have a good time. While the day might be about our love, our guests are the amazing ones for willingly travel to celebrate with us, so we wanted to know they would enjoy it. Ever since I was little, I have always dreamed about doing a wedding dance. This did push Dan out of his comfort zone a bit, but he did amazing. We got private lessons and it was so much fun learning a dance together. OK, really hard to find just one element to splurge on!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
I loved my wedding dress due to the boho feel it have. The lace pattern was unique, and even though it was floral it also reminded me of stars and planets so I really felt connected to the natural world. Dan didn’t want to just be in black, and wanted to be different from his groomsman while keeping the all the boys looking formal. When we came across the velvet jacket we knew that was him down to a tee! Sadly the other groomsman was unable to get out of Auckland due to the lock down, so Chris really stepped up taking on all the groomsmen duties,.
I didn’t want the bridesmaids to all look the same in a uniform. They each have such different personalities, and above all I wanted them to be comfortable on the day. Blak bridesmaids made this really easy. So many different styles in so many different colours, yet keeping with the same type of fabric allowed for them to still be tied in together. I didn’t do a whole lot of planning around the colour schemes, but I felt it all came together well!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
They say bad things come in threes and that it did, with bad weather, covid lockdowns and tsunami threats. The wedding was planned to be an outdoor wedding. We picked a date in early March which is generally quite safe for the weather. However, 2 weeks out and the weather forecast is showing thunder storms on our weddingday. We did have a back up indoor venue, but it was going to completely change the feel of the wedding and we weren’t all that happy about it. However, the weekend before the wedding, Dan was in Auckland on his stag do, when at 9pm on the Saturday night the nation was advised that Auckland would be going into a covid lockdown, starting at 6am the next morning. Dan and the boys very quickly sobered up to get themselves out of Auckland, however a lot of others were also stuck in Auckland, including Dans side of the family. It was then when we realised what was most important for us, and it was to get married with our close family in attendence. So if they couldn’t make it out, we would have to postpone. However, a miracle happened and the family all decided to make the crazy decision to leave Auckland immediately. This was his 3 sisters, their families and his mum. The wedding was able to continue! A lot of the guests were unable to make it, but even worse a groomsman, the celebrant and cake were also stuck in Auckland! Our caterers were amazing and were able to whip up a cake for us with the short notice. We also came across Poppy who offered to be our celebrant. She was our lifesaver and did such an amazing job. With all this going on, the weather no longer seemed to be a big issue. But our good luck continued and the day that we got married was the only day in the week that the rain held off.
But the third bad luck occurred, when an earthquake struck off the coast of Gisbourne and there was a tsunami warning for all in the Bay of Plenty. It felt like the last of our guests who were still able to make it were coming from Tauranga or Whakatane, so there was sudden rush for them to come over to Rotorua, forgetting half of what they needed as they evacuated. But they arrived, and we got married, showing that nothing was going to stop our love.
Ceremony + Reception location: The Black Barn | Videographer & Photographer: Cushla Marie Photography | Celebrant: Popped the Question | Entertainment: Tim Armstrong | Hire: Dooley Street Styling | Catering + Beverages: Terrace Kitchen ,Hunters, LK | Cake: Terrace Kitchen | Stationery: Feathers and Stone , Optimal Print | Invitation design: Cushla Marie | Table vase decorations: Anna M Clay | Wedding dance lessons: Auckland Dance | Brides Attire: Jessica Coutures | Groom Attire: Jacket from Politix, Suits on Broadway | Ring/s: Purchased overseas – unsure of store name | Shoes: Nicolerebstock | Bride earrings: Temple of the Sun | Makeup: Sitas Hair and Makeup | Fragrance: Jo Malone | Bridesmaid Attire: Blak | Groomsmen: Politix
