Ryan + Laura by Ash Muir - Together Journal

I love bringing elements of classic looks and mixing them with more modern fashion.

Laura —— We’re both from Mount Maunganui. Ryan is a physiotherapist and I’m a pharmacist. We’re lucky to live in the home we built together. We met in 2016 at a close friend’s 22nd birthday. I’d noticed Ryan in a photo with a few mutual friends that day, but had never met him before. I said to my friend, I hope we bump into him tonight. That night I saw Ryan out and asked our mutual friend to introduce us. We spent the rest of the summer together and it all went really fast.

Ryan —— I knew of Laura before I met her because a couple of years before, I’d seen her while out with friends. We went to a couple of parties but didn’t cross paths until one night at the local astro a few years later. Of course, I didn’t make out that I knew of her!

Laura —— As soon as we locked eyes, it was game over. We made it official less than six weeks later. Pretty early on, we both knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. Nothing was too hard for us — even in the first year when we lived in different cities, with Ryan studying in Dunedin and me finishing my internship locally. Ryan proposed to me at the end of a one-hour kayak and two-hour walk at a secluded beach in Abel Tasman National Park. He waited until the end when we reached the most untouched beach I have ever seen. As I was walking to the water, I heard “Hey Loz”. I turned around and Ryan was on one knee.

We wanted to create an intimate garden wedding that transformed into a great party. We also wanted to get married at home. Our venue, Ātaahua, was beautiful, with landscaped European-style gardens, ivy walls and more than 250 hydrangeas arranged by Ryan’s florist uncle. We wanted great food with a sit-down, family-style dinner as well as an open bar. I adore old Hollywood glam but also timeless, classic fashion. I love bringing elements of classic looks and mixing them with more modern fashion.

My dress was made from gorgeous Italian silk taffeta in a rich creme colour which draped and folded perfectly to create the dramatic yet simple and elegant look I was after. Finding that dress was a stroke of luck, as I won an Instagram competition where the prize was a diamond consultation at Vinka Design. As soon as I tried the dress on, my mother, the bridal party and I all gasped. I fell in love with the structure of the material, the depth of the creme colour and the design, which had a modern feel yet a classic off-the-shoulder neckline that I always wanted. The dramatic overskirt was also a big win and made me feel like I could have my bride moment. I loved that I could remove the overskirt later that night to create a second, sleeker look.