Natalie + Liam by The Wolf Pack - Together Journal

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

Liam and I have been together for 7 years now, meeting at a friends party in New Plymouth. We did long distance for a while when I was studying a design degree at Massey University in Wellington.

Liam ended up moving down to Wellington from New Plymouth when he started his job at Meridian and we’ve been together ever since. Liam is a Wind Turbine Technician for Meridian Energy and I’m a Senior Graphic Designer working for a government department. Both of our skills were well utilised in the wedding as Liam is an Electrician by trade, and my creative skills came in handy when pulling the theme and design of the wedding all together. We like to see ourselves as quite care free, but we are both quite impulsive. It works for us and it means we do a lot of things together and have a lot of fun. One thing we truly love doing is being in the outdoors. We are always looking for new walks to do and spend most weekends trying to find new and exciting places to explore. We are really lucky to live in Wellington where there are so many walking trails everywhere and they are mostly dog friendly, so our best mate, Bear (our Black Labrador) is always able to come along too. We’ve done a few of the Great Walks and love the beauty New Zealand has to offer and look forward to seeing more of our beautiful country in the future. Our honeymoon would’ve been in Canada and America, exploring the trails over there but due to COVID-19 that is put on hold… for now. We also absolutely adore animals. We have a dog, 3 cats, 4 chickens, a fish called Geoffry and beehives. They all keep us busy and on our toes, but life wouldn’t be the same without them. They are truly a huge part of our lives.

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 wedding was on the 8th of February, 2020 at a beautiful lavender farm in Opunake called Pihama Lavender, owned by the lovely Liz Sinclair. The wedding followed a rustic, natural, bohemian theme. We wanted to make sure our personalities came through in all the small details and the day really reflected us and our relationship. It was quite cool as all of the decorations apart from the flowers we did ourselves with the help of family, friends and our amazing bridal party. There were many outings collecting Toi Toi and Pampas Grass so that we could achieve the archway and all the vases that were situated around the venue. We created these amazing Toi Toi chandeliers that hung down in the reception area that we were really proud of. Our friend, Heidi pulled them together and they looked absolutely stunning.

We’re both super social and love our friends, so having a wedding that had more of a party vibe, but had the traditional elements was essential. We had a band that played after the reception and great food and beverages to keep everyone going throughout the night. We booked a bach in the township for our friends to stay in and a bus that took them to and from the venue so we knew they would have a good time without the worries of driving. I really enjoyed designing all of the invites and signage and creating a brand for the wedding. Our pets mean the absolute world to us, so the invites had all the pets on them which followed through onto our table numbering and settings.

Our dog, Bear and my parents dog, Alfie were also at the wedding in their handmade outfits! It was the cutest thing. They also matched the bridal party with burnt orange bow-ties and navy blue suits. For us, creating something special that was memorable to us and others was really important. Our wedding favours were wildflower seeds, which we thought would be a nice gesture as our guests could grow something after the wedding. We also have beehives, so it’s nice to think we were doing our part to keep bee populations going. Everything flowed together so well and doing a huge part of it ourselves made the wedding truly special. Everyone also raved about our wedding cake being the best they’d ever had, even the caterers were impressed! The cake also featured our dog, Bear and one of our ginger cats as toppers in true Nat and Liam style.

Tell us about your main outfits:

My dress was by the New Zealand designer, Rue De Seine. I knew that when I was looking for a dress, it needed to be something a bit different and quirky as I was definitely not the kind of person to go for something traditional. I also have a lot of tattoos and I didn’t want them out on the day, so I knew my dress had to be long sleeved. When I tried on the dress it just felt right. It was so comfortable and flattering. I knew it would turn heads when I walked down the aisle and I really wanted to give Liam a bit of a shock. He loved the dress and I’ve had so many compliments on it ever since. It was beautiful with bold, floral lace and a long chain with tanned mesh and a low back. I wore flat tan sandals as I am all about comfort and blue, seaglass earrings that were handmade from Hawaii.

Since my dress was so bold, I decided to go for a floral headpiece instead of a veil, which really tied the outfit together and continued the theme of the wedding. The bridesmaids wore burnt orange dress in different styles so that they had something that they could keep and re-wear after the wedding. They all looked amazing! The dried bouquets were probably my favourite element of the whole wedding and the part I was most excited about as they incorporated the burnt orange, tan and natural tones and brought the look of the bridal party all together. Liam and the groomsman kept it simple with navy suits and white pocket squares. Liam had a different pasely floral bow-tie and a grey waist coat to help him stand out from the groomsman. The buttonholes matched the dried bouquets and my head piece so everyone tied together really nicely. The boys even had subtle navy and orange dinosaur socks, which I thought was a nice touch.

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

Its really hard to pick one part of the day that was really memorable for both of us. The day goes so fast and every part of it is amazing. I think just having those memories you will always remember forever is special in itself. There’s not many times in life that you have a day that is solely focused on just you two, and its pretty cool having all the people you love in one place. Some of my family travelled from the U.K. and we had friends who came from Australia and places like that. Seeing each other at the aisle was really emotional and doing our vows was great! We aren’t a lovey dovey couple but it was nice to get the things we value the most about each other on paper. Our first dance song was played live by our band in dedication to my sister that passed away the year before and the was really memorable for us and a nice way to celebrate her. Everything just came together so well and our friends, family and vendors make it the day it was. It is a day we will always cherish forever and we are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives.

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

I think the best advice is to just go with it and not put to much pressure on one another. Everyone has their ups and downs, but the best way to get through it is always together. We are both quite impulsive in everything we do, and that works for us. Not overthinking things and going with the flow can open up new opportunities and make you do things you never thought you’d usually do, which is always really exciting and will help you both grow together in your relationship. With wedding planning, don’t stress the small stuff and keep it simple and unique to you. It is easy to go crazy and try and do what you think other people expect you to do, but at the end of the day this is truly your day to celebrate each other, so make it memorable to you and your friends and family will see the hard work that’s gone into it and love it as much as you do. Everyone who attends your wedding day is there for you, and that’s really special.

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