Shelby, not wanting to jump to conclusions, convinces herself it’s an early birthday surprise when all of a sudden, Matt asks to read something to her.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We are based in Tauranga and have been living here for the past two years. Me and I moved to Melbourne together pretty quickly into our relationship (less than 6 months) and settled down there, making friends, starting our adventure together, and getting our gorgeous dog Hazy, who is spoiled rotten.
I am a nurse, and Matt is a landscape architect. After living in Melbourne for three years and nursing through the long Melbourne lockdowns, we both got pretty burnt out and decided to move home and settle down in Tauranga. We are foodies and love going out for dinner and craft beers whenever we get the opportunity. We both are pretty active people, so anything outdoors we love doing together.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We met on a pretty typical night out in Wellington. I had just finished a late shift as a nurse and really didn’t want to go out, but my friend Geo convinced me to go out for a few drinks, and I caved.
Matt had just torn his ACL at rugby that day and was hobbling around on crutches, but somehow still went out with his rugby friends. We met Matt and his friend at the bar, who asked if they could buy us a drink. Little did we know they would bring back gin, milk and raspberry (because who would have even thought this was an actual drink!). Being incredibly lactose intolerant, I took the drink – secretly palming them off to Geo. We chatted away for the night, eventually swapping numbers that Matt promised to message the next day. Matt, being a little chicken, never actually ended up messaging – instead, opting for the generic Snapchat a couple of days later.
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Hmm, It’s hard to recall the exact moment, but honestly, it was pretty quickly into moving to Melbourne together. We just work well together.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
After harping on for months, Matt thought it was finally time to propose.
Picking a random Tuesday, he teamed up with my sister to prepare a surprise picnic at Omanu Beach, just down from Mt. Maunganui. Shelby went off to work in her comfy clothes – only to be told she looked homeless by her sister, who drove to our place herself to pick up a dress for Shelby.
Texting Matt about how rude her sister was being about her outfit, she finally comes home, looking beautiful in a dress and instantly changing back to her comfy clothes. We head off to the beach to walk our dog Hazy, Matt promising dinner at the Rising Tide afterwards.
The plan is almost immediately thrown as Hazy snaps into a trance – chasing a group of birds miles down the beach. This was the first red flag for Shelby, being stunned at how calm Matt was (who usually stresses when Hazy does this). Shelby started becoming increasingly hungry and getting angry. We weren’t turning around at the house we usually turn around at. Matt says just 5 more minutes. Transitioning to hangry, Shelby asks, “What’s 5 more minutes going to do?” Matt responded, “It would mean the world to me” Shelby – “Well, your world’s pretty pathetic”…
We carry on walking and finally make it to the picnic. Shelby, not wanting to jump to conclusions, convinces herself it’s an early birthday surprise when all of a sudden, Matt asks to read something to her.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding.
Me and Matt love cities, so when we had the brain wave of having a city wedding we were sold! We didn’t so much have a vision, we just knew we wanted a fun and happy wedding. Through chatting with the florist, we discussed the colour themes of yellows, oranges and whites. We pretty much just ran with that theme.
In the scheme of things, it was a pretty relaxed wedding and planning process. We wanted something that was timeless for our photos but fun for everyone who came along!
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Dancing was our most important part of the day, so we wanted to get a band that we would be able to boogie all night. It’s a strange story how we found our band actually, me and Matt attend a Lion Brewery conference in Auckland the previous year, and BOAnd the Constrictors were playing there and we had the best night dancing away.
They are a Dunedin-based band, and Matt just reached out and the next thing we had them booked in for our wedding. They were absolutely amazing, I am a horrible dancer but had the best night dancing, I don’t think we even took a break. It was amazing seeing everyone (even the parents and wider families) up on their feet and dancing all night.
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
The weather was horrendous. I don’t know why I’m shocked, because it’s Wellington, and when is it not horrible weather?! But with my luck, it was a beautiful day the day before, and then on the wedding day, the weather took an absolute turn (thank god we were inside for most of the wedding).
Winds were up to 120 km, and it was bucketing with rain. The girls all got ready in this beautiful house in Island Bay, which was right up in the hills, and the only way down was with 100 stairs (that’s not an exaggeration), so by the time we got down the stairs, we were a lot more windswept than I would have liked. But honestly once we arrived at the venue, I truly couldn’t have cared less about the weather, in fact I think it made it a lot more special. I thought when people say it’s good luck to get married in the rain or you don’t even notice it’s raining, we’re just saying that to make you feel better, but it’s true, I didn’t even care once we had got going!
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
When I originally thought of my wedding from a young age, I could always see myself in a relaxed silk dress, but apart from that, I didn’t really know what I would suit. When I went up to Auckland for a dress weekend with my mum and sister, I went to a bunch of different designers and tried on different styles. I had saved Anna Schimmels fitting for the last one.
My sister used her for her design, and her dress was beautiful. When I went to Anna, you could just tell she knew what she was doing; she was an absolute expert! She helped me try different styles and envision styles of different dresses together (it turns out I loved a more wedding puffy vibe dress, haha!). I ended up going custom, and we designed a dress together, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I absolutely loved it. I kind of always knew I would go with Anna, apart from how amazing she is at what she does. She also uses some of the money from every dress she makes to put a girl in Togo, Africa, through a year’s education, which is pretty special!
Matt got his suits from Barkers. He didn’t have a particular inspiration for what he wanted, he just wanted to have a fun day out with his friends, suit shopping and drinking beer.
CEREMONY The Begonia House at the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, Wellington RECEPTION Dockside Restaurant & Bar. Shed 3/9 Queens Wharf, Wellington, @dockside_nz PHOTOGRAPHER Jess Manthey – Auburn Photography, @auburn.photography FLORIST Twig and Arrow, @twigandarrow CELEBRANT Fi Becker, @fibeckercelebrant ENTERTAINMENT BOAnd the CONSTRICTORS, @boandtheconstrictors CATERING Blue Carrot Catering, @bluecarrotnz CAKE Stiletto Studio Cakes, @stilettostudiocakes RINGS Harico Jewellers, @harico.jeweller BRIDAL DRESS Anna Schimmel, @anna.schimmel BRIDE’S SHOE Mi Piaci, @mi_piaci ACCESSORIES Earrings – Flo & Frankie, @floandfrankie; Necklace – Zoe and Morgan, @zoeandmorgan MAKEUP Ngapuna Julian MUA, @_njmakeupartistry HAIR Wedding Hair by Rachel, @weddinghairbyrachelnz BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Elie Saab SUIT & SHOES Barkers, @barkersclothing GETTING READY PYJAMAS Piyama, @piyama_co BRIDESMAID DRESS Billy J, @billy_j_boutique
