Maxine + Joshua by Sapphire Studios

Being able to fit our guests on one long outdoor table under a fairy light setting was incredibly special and allowed us to spend meaningful moments with every single person there. Ultimately our wedding was perfect for the circumstances and a truly magical, dream day.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
We’re from NZ but we live on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. I’m a Design Director at a branding agency and Josh has a tech start up business. We’re both creatives, but come at it from slightly different angles. The balance between us works well as a couple, especially throughout the wedding process as I love diving deep into the research, creating visions and narrowing down the options. I put these forward to Josh and he’s very good at taking it all in and making the final decisions.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
The proposal was very special. We’ve had a long running joke that every holiday we go on is a surprise holiday for Josh as I tend to do most of the planning and research. I’ve always said jokingly that one day I would like him to plan a surprise holiday for me, and so he did. He picked me up from work and told me we needed to go straight home and pack because we were going on holiday in the morning! I had no idea whatsoever that he had been secretly planning this and even arranged time off with my work. I asked him what my packing brief was and he responded “pack for hot, cold, casual but also dressy and adventure” which made for an incredibly confusing and stressful start. Not only did I have absolutely no idea where we could be heading, but I am notorious for being an overpacker and that brief was simply not going to work. Thankfully he knows me well and had booked 30kg allowance so I managed to pack most of my wardrobe. It wasn’t until we arrived at the airport and entered our details into the self check-in that I discovered our incredible destination of Uluru and the packing brief made sense.

He kept each day a surprise with every little detail planned. On our third night, we were picked up by bus and headed to the Field of Light, an immersive light installation at Ayers Rock that goes on for as far as the eye can see. Unknowingly we got early access away from the crowds and as we were walking through the stunning lights Josh got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
We started planning a larger wedding where the focus was a laid-back party with fun details. Unfortunately with Covid and being based in Australia, we had to move our wedding three times but the final restriction was the biggest blow and meant none of our Aussie and non-kiwi friends/family could enter the country. We were on the brink of postponing again but the thought of delaying it any longer was too much to bear. We decided the most important thing to us was getting married in front of our families, so we pivoted to a much smaller style wedding with family plus a handful of friends.

Poderi Crisci was the perfect venue for this – intimate, stunning and brought my dreams of an Italian long lunch wedding to life. Ainsley from Floral Centric nailed the brief by continuing the Italian countryside theme throughout the florals and styling with lemons, beeswax candles and fresh rosemary to offer an amazing aroma throughout the day. Being able to fit our guests on one long outdoor table under a fairy light setting was incredibly special and allowed us to spend meaningful moments with every single person there. Ultimately our wedding was perfect for the circumstances and a truly magical, dream day.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Once we had made the decision to go ahead with an intimate wedding, we wanted our guests to feel spoiled and have an experience to remember. We splurged on a 7-course feast and beautiful wines provided by Poderi Crisci.

Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
We laugh about the fact we had polar opposite experiences on the morning of our wedding. Mine was lovely and slow, very relaxed with friends popping by for coffee first thing and taking in the beautiful views of Onetangi Bay from our AirBNB before my bridesmaids and I started getting ready. It was perfectly calm and a wonderful start to the day where I found out afterwards Josh and his boys lost track of time setting up and had to get ready in 10 minutes as their car was arriving!

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
We both made conscious efforts to invest in pieces we would wear beyond our wedding day. Josh wore a tuxedo from P Johnson, his usual tailor in Sydney who went above and beyond to ensure he looked impeccable. I fell in love with the beautiful De La Rosa blouse early on. I placed my order and worked on finding a simple and relaxed slip style dress to pair with it. Covid made shopping for wedding gowns a slow and costly experience but a friend recommended Hexie to me, which I ordered online and couldn’t believe how well the dress fit! The blazer was a late addition. I had always loved the classic look of one with a slip dress and when we had to push the dates out from a March to May wedding, it was the perfect excuse to get the stunning Maggie Marilyn dinner jacket (perhaps a coping method to deal with the changes but it turned out to be the best purchase and one I will continue to love and wear!).

Ceremony + Reception Location: Poderi Crisci, @podericrisci / Photographer: Sapphire Studios, @sapphirestudos___ / Celebrant: Emma von Veh (Best friend of bride and Maid of Honour) / Styling: Styling by the bride / Planner: Island Collection, @theislandcollection / Hire: Island Collection, @theislandcollection; Tble Linen, @tble.linen.hire; TableLook, @tablelook; DJ4You / Flora: Floralcentric, @floralcentric / Catering + Beverages: Poderi Crisci, @podericrisci / Cake: The Caker, @thecakernz / Stationery: Design by the bride / Bride’s Attire: (Blouse) De La Rosa Hawaii, @delarosa_bride; (Dress) Hexie, @hexie_studio; (Blazer) Maggie Marilyn, @maggiemarilyn / Groom’s Attire: P Johnson, @pjohnsontailors / Ring/s: Cushla Whiting, @cushlawhitingjewellery; Sarah & Sebastian, @sarahandsebastian / Shoes: Loake Shoemakers, @loakeshoemakers / Other Jewellery/Accessories: Kirstin Ash, @kirstinash / Makeup + Hair: Made Up by Ruth, @madeupbyruth / Fragrance: Officine Universelle Bully, @officine_universelle_bully / Bridesmaid + Groomsmen Attire: Sir the Label, @sir_thelabel; Ellis Label, @ellislabel / Dress Alterations: Alter Me, @alterme_nz