Rhea + Gerrick by Amanda Thomas - Together Journal

When Gerrick gave his speech at Pilkingtons both boys came up and sat with me, he addressed us together and there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire venue. Having them with us made the day just that much more special and unique.

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Rhea – I am a stay at home Mum of two (soon to be 3 boys!). I absolutely love fashion, clothes and home decor. I would say I am a real girly girl, almost everything I own is pink.. well more specifically coral pink! I literally live and breathe for my family and friends. I am that one person that always shows up with a big bouquet of flowers and champagne and always there if you need anything. I love entertaining, cooking and traveling.

Gerrick – I love my wife and our kids. I run an interior design studio called Millé – we design many restaurants, cafes and bars for experienced operators throughout NZ.

How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
Rhea – I had never joined a dating app before and our first lockdown was rather depressing as I had booked to be in Coachella with my girlfriends so I figured I would go bumble and see what it was all about. Being the rookie that I was, I was actually swiping the wrong way for the first two days haha and not understanding why nobody was talking to me! Once a girlfriend gave me a quick 101, I came across Gerrick’s page, his smile was the first thing that caught my attention and still does. What pulled him apart from anyone else I had spoken to was his genuine interest in my children and desire to really know about my life past and present. I deleted the app straight after we started talking, and we spoke nonstop over the course of the lockdown. Our first date was May 15th, the day we got out of lockdown, I had a blow wave at m11 and he picked me up with the most massive bouquet of coral pink orchids. We went to Georme in Parnell and the connection was instant, we both couldn’t stop smiling as we spoke over dinner.

Gerrick – My first impression of Rhea was that she’s even more beautiful on the inside than the outside. Her kindness radiated in the way she talked, how she interacted with people. Being born beautiful is one thing, but being a beautiful person internally and sharing that kindness with the rest of the world is something I find deeply impressive and admirable.

Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
Rhea – I knew about the ring being designed as I had a few specific requirements around the stone but the actual proposal caught me off guard completely. In true Gerrick style, he had the boys help him and he did ask the boys for permission before asking me. It was Friday afternoon, I was pottering around, making a platter actually, then I saw Spencer walk in carrying the biggest bouquet I have ever seen. He almost fell over and William had the ring box on him. Gerrick got down on one knee with both the boys by his side and asked to marry me. He had organised my mum and brother as well as my best girlfriends to come over shortly after with champagne – I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect proposal.

Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…

Rhea – I was very lucky that Gerrick let me take full reigns on everything. The vision we had for the wedding was very Vogue chic – black and white/minimalistic with white flowers being our main focus. As our wedding was around a very anxious time where the government levels were constantly changing, we decided to make it a very simple, 80 person cocktail/canape reception with nonstop champagne flowing which was the best idea. Getting married at Holy Trinity was very special to us as we wanted a location that would never expire like our love. A place our great great grandchildren can visit and know that’s where we got married.

A major element to our wedding was to incorporate the boys into it as much as possible. We did this by having William and Spencer do readings as well as allowing the boys to do a first look with me when I arrived at the church – the look on their faces was priceless and William my eldest actually got very emotional seeing me in my dress, it was extremely touching. When Gerrick gave his speech at Pilkingtons both boys came up and sat with me, he addressed us together and there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire venue. Having them with us made the day just that much more special and unique.

What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
Rhea – Flowers! We had ordered long stem white Brazilian roses from Chile and they were perfect! Astrid from PS I Love You was able to source these for us on the busiest week of the floral year – Valentines day week! This is also why they became a splurge. We also re-homed most of them to our local retirement home which really made us happy. My ring was also the main big splurge, quality was so important and Naveya and Sloane found the most perfect stone and designed it for us.

Gerrick – Photography. Being able to look back on photos for years to come (like I did for this article), and to be filled with joy – I think that’s priceless.

Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
Rhea – I was so lucky to have my very close friend Lucy design my wedding dress and my reception dress for me. The first dress, I wanted to accentuate my waist and have a very princess-style skirt. We spent hours perfecting the fit and the dress was everything I wanted. My second dress is inspired by my Indian heritage. It’s a bridal take on a Saree and was so fun to design as well. Saree’s can be quite heavy so I had Lucy make this one with wrap around skirt and veil over the side to make it traditional.

Gerrick – My tux was from Hugo Boss. I prefer understated quality and this allowed Rhea to shine.