Luke + Sara by Tasha Meys

So outdoor, relaxed, elegant, garden vibes were the main vision for the day.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…

Luke is a business brain that grew up in Hamilton and I’m a teacher from Tauranga. Before meeting, we switched cities; I studied in Hamilton, and Luke came to the Mount since it offered more waves than Hamilton. After travelling back and forth in a not-so-long distance relationship, we’ve settled in the Bay for the sunshine and beach – the easiest decision we’ve ever made. Luke now runs his own marketing agency, and I’m an intermediate teacher. In any spare time, Luke’s surfing, and I’m on the machines sewing something up. We also run a Young Adults community in our church, which we absolutely love. Anything people-focused brings us so much joy.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?

We met through my sister, who claimed that we would be the perfect match. Before meeting, we knew a lot about each other, but neither of us was too convinced. After a reluctant first date, we had many more and burnt a lot of fuel to see each other as much as possible. I quickly realised Luke was the funniest person I’d ever met, and the rest was history.

When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?

Very quickly into our relationship, we decided we must be a match made in heaven. We seemed to align on everything—humour, controversial opinions, lifestyle; it was all a match. That, and the fact that we just wanted to be around each other all the time. It became a running joke whenever we claimed to do ‘long distance’ because the reality was that we’d spend more time together than not. It was so obvious that we were right for each other.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding.

Our vision was to make a day that was beautiful but completely Luke and Sara in essence. So outdoor, relaxed, elegant, garden vibes were the main vision for the day. Even our colour palette I tried to match with our normal style. If you look at our engagement photos, our outfits and photography are filled with sky blue and soft yellow shades. The flowers on my Pinterest boards were filled with blue and cream, so the colour palette was an easy decision. Once we had the general colours and style, I planned the attire, design, and hire products, locations, and florals to match this.

I knew I wanted the bridesmaid dresses to be a statement. Fashion is something I love, and I was seeing so many similar things in bridesmaid attire that I dreamed up a cohesive but varied look. The bridesmaids brought so much of my personal style into the day and perfectly matched the blue and yellow colour scheme. Not to mention, my tiny niece matched in a blue and yellow set made by her mum, the maid of honour. She was definitely the cutest flower girl I’ve ever seen.

I’ve never seen bridesmaids wear a skirt and top set before, but as soon as I thought of it, I knew it had to happen. They tied the alternating colours together so beautifully! It was also really special to sew pieces of these myself, so they were customised to suit the girls. I was so fixated on the bridesmaids wearing something that they suited so much. I got so excited when I saw each of them in a style that was so flattering and suited to them! They just glowed in what they wore; I think being in something their style really helped with that.

What styling and visual elements worked best for you?

We were so blessed to have such a stunning landscape as the venue for our wedding. The garden made visual design so easy. Puffy, loose florals were our backdrop, which meant we didn’t need to go overboard with styling. I wanted to utilise the key elements, clothing, florals, furniture and simple details, to have a specific style without adding heaps of unnecessary extras. Simple elements like the clear marquee meant that our reception didn’t require as much styling. Festoon lights, simple table decor, elegant stationary design and varying table shapes were complimented by the beautiful outdoor landscape. Including beautiful outdoor umbrellas and Lucy’s gorgeous furniture made the day feel so elegant. The whole wedding was cohesive because we didn’t overdo it; we simply styled the basics thoughtfully.

What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?

As someone who had a wedding Pinterest board since I was twelve, I completely loved planning our wedding. The whole process was pure joy – seeing our dreams (well, mostly mine, Luke didn’t have a huge vision of his dream wedding day) come to life was surreal. Our main goal was planning a day that we felt was so completely us. If guests were saying, “That’s so Luke and Sara”, my mission was complete.

When a vendor at a bridal show insisted a November outdoor ceremony would be impossible, or when others questioned our choice of mismatched bridesmaids and outfit changes, I couldn’t believe how much people wanted to rain my ideas. There seems to be a conventional approach to weddings that vendors, people on social media and random acquaintances insist you must follow. But looking back, the controversial choices were some of our favourite elements of the day. You have to trust your gut because everyone is different. Don’t just take people’s word if they say your ideas aren’t doable. Work with vendors that want to listen to you and bring your dreams to life. Every person we worked with was so positive and brought the best vibes to our day, and that matters so much. Don’t underestimate the wonders that a talented wedding day coordinator (like the incredible Sarah Dennett) or a determined bride can do to bring the dream to life.

There’s so much pressure in planning a wedding, but my biggest advice is to create an event that reflects your own personality and style. A day that is authentically you is better than a day that follows the wedding rules! Don’t go so far that you ignore all input from your friends and family because the guests matter, but don’t let random people pressure you into the expected wedding culture. The best weddings are authentic to the couple.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, and is there a story?

We cared less about wearing what was typical wedding attire and more about wearing outfits that felt like us. Luke tried on a tux, and it immediately didn’t feel right, but a laid-back, no =e, double-breasted suit was perfectly his style. I also wasn’t surprised to see that his socks were mismatched, that’s a classic Luke look. I’m not sure I would recognise him if they matched.

With wedding dresses, I’ve often heard people say that they stray away from the style they expected to wear when they go try on dresses. I was not doing that. I’ve dreamed up my ceremony dress forever, and without trying anything on, I went directly to have it custom-made. I knew what would suit me, and it turned out even better than I had imagined. Sewing a wedding dress myself has been a dream of mine, so I decided to design and make a reception outfit. Both dresses included aspects of my personal style, which includes a lot of low-waisted, off the shoulder, strapless and low-back pieces. The different looks both felt so me. I got my dramatic, bridal, lace moment in the ceremony and the cool, silk look for the reception.

Even more beautiful was wearing a veil made by my late Grandmother; she’s sewn many wedding dresses for women in my family, including my sister’s veil and my Mum’s dress. Since she wasn’t here to make part of my dress, it was so special to wear the lace veil she hand-sewed for my sister.

What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on?

We sat down at the beginning of our engagement and talked about which wedding aspects were most important to us. Having all our favourite people there, capturing it beautifully and getting to have my dream dress were the top priorities. The custom dress, incredible photographer and our friends capturing moments on video made that possible. Numbers-wise, we have a big community of people that we love, so prioritising a big wedding meant we sacrificed in other areas, but we were so happy to do it. Our venue and marquee allowed for so many of our friends and family members to celebrate with us. Having all our closest friends brought endless laughs all day and packed out the dance floor. I honestly wouldn’t have changed anything about it. Table decor and boujee food don’t beat special moments with your people.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?

The day went so well, but I do laugh at myself for what I did the day before. I had ordered a mini dress from a rental company to wear as a dance floor outfit. When I received it the day before our wedding, I was a little stressed about the setup. I opened it quickly with scissors. Unfortunately, rushing this led me to cut directly through the dress. Not in a place you could hide it either, the cut was right in the middle of it. Sadly, I didn’t get to have my mini-dress moment, but of all the things that could have gone wrong, it was a minor detail. All you can do is laugh it off.

BRIDE Sara Woolerton, @sarawoolerton GROOM Luke Woolerton, @therupertvibe VENUE The Garden, Clarke Road, Te Puna, Tauranga, New Zealand, @the_garden_tauranga PHOTOGRAPHER Tasha Meys, @tashameys CONTENT CREATION Sara not Sarah Studio, @saranotsarahstudio ON THE DAY COORDINATION Sarah Dennett, @sez_dennett FLORIST Bateman and Bell Florists, @batemanandbell_florists CELEBRANT Alan Hood ENTERTAINMENT Musicians: Kirsten Bartlett (singer); Lif Oskarsdottir (singer); Jack Bolton (pianist), Evita Cameron (cellist) HIRE Lucy’s Event Hire, @lucyseventhire MARQUE Absolute Marquee and Party Hire, @absolute_party_hire CATERING Food by Wild Wood-fire, @food_by_wild_woodfire_caterers CAKE Mikah Upton, @mikah.upton STATIONERY & SIGNAGE Calico Design Studio, @calico_nz RINGS Gary Sutherland BRIDAL DRESS Custom Made by The Bridal House by Corina Snow, @thebridalhousenz VEIL Family Heirloom BRIDE’S RECEPTION DRESS Designed and made by the Bride BRIDE’S SHOE Steve Madden, @stevemadden MAKEUP Ruby Delaney Makeup, @rubydelaneymakeup HAIR Sacha Wood, @sacha_blowhairco GROOM’S SHOE 3 Wise Men, @_3wisemen BRIDESMAIDS OUTFITS Ruby, @rubytakessnaps; Hansen and Gretel, @hansenandgretel; Oh Hello Clothing, @ohhelloclothing; Charcoal Clothing, @charcoal_clothing; Bridesmaids Tops – Designed and made by the Bride FLOWER GIRL’S DRESS Designed and made by Kirsten Bartlett GIFT REGISTRY Say I do, @sayi_do