Sam & Charlotte by Bek Smith - Together Journal

Originally, we wanted to have the wedding at Castle Hill. However, we visited Otahuna Lodge and fell in love with it – it fits right in with what we wanted, which was old-world elegance and sophistication.

Charlotte —— I’m a lawyer and Sam works in banking. The one thing we love above all else, including wine, is our gorgeous sphynx Ramesses II (aka Ram).

Sam —— We met at the after-ball of the Law Ball. I was standing in line, waiting to buy a drink, and was suddenly accosted by a complete stranger who accused me of jumping in line. If you know me, you’d know I would never do such a thing. A week later, Char agreed to have coffee with me. I thought she was beautiful, intelligent and had bad insults.

Charlotte —— Sam had the three things I always wanted in a man – mystery, a great fashion sense and he smelled great. I knew he was the man for me when we were in the hospice with Sam’s mum and I remember watching him sleeping next to her and thinking that I would do anything and everything for him.

Sam —— Char is ‘loud’ and I’m ‘quiet’, but I think we complement each other, and we’re a natural fit. I’d planned the proposal for months, doing it on the lawn at Char’s family holiday home and then going for lunch with family and friends. We shared the same bag and I managed to hide the ring in my shoe without Char realising. When we went for a walk I got down on one knee at the end of the walk. However, I was so nervous that I opened the box the wrong way. Thankfully, she said yes.

Charlotte —— Originally, we wanted to have the wedding at Castle Hill. However, we visited Otahuna Lodge and fell in love with it – it fit right in with what we wanted, which was old-world elegance and sophistication. We were intent on having our extended family stay with us the night before at Otahuna Lodge. It had been almost three years since we’d all been in the same room due to Covid and the dinner the night before was just as special as the wedding.

Sam —— My favourite bird is a Kereru. We got married in the gardens, and Char was making me wait (on her Dad’s instructions, as I found out). Five minutes into said waiting, a Kereru flew across the gardens and perched on a tree just across from me. It was beautiful.

Charlotte —— I was looking for dresses for a while and didn’t really like anything. Luckily, I booked a session with Trish Peng and was sold after that. Trish, Julia and the team created my dream dress – simple, timeless and elegant. The experience was just as magical, the Trish Peng team sure know how to make you feel special.

Sam —— I had settled on what I wanted to wear about four times before finally making the decision. Initially, we chose a date in October to match what I had wanted to wear (either a morning suit or three piece tuxedo). However, I eventually settled on a velvet jacket to match the climate.