Sami & Rory by Alpine Image Company

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship… Rory’s from Haast, a small town on the West Coast and I’m from Wanaka. We met at one of my bridesmaid’s 18th birthday party and have practically been together since.

We lived on the west coast for a bit, moved to Australia and now in Wanaka where we will hopefully be for a while. We have the most beautiful fur baby (honestly, you must get this from every bride that has a dog but he literally is the cutest. I really need to get him an agent) His name is Jaxon and we bought him to NZ when we moved home from Australia. We feel that we are a pretty strong team.  We’ve been together for that long that we know each other so well. We choose to be best friends as well as husband and wife.

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…

Rory and my maid of honour don’t go too well in hot weather and Wanaka can be so hot in the summertime, so this was our main motivation to have an Autumn wedding (avoiding the sweat-drenched clothing) And the colours in Autumn are so beautiful.   We wanted a chilled day, no stress, with people that have supported and loved us from the start, good wine and great food. I guess we had a rustic theme, the woolshed at Criffel has been made into the most perfect venue for just that and we filled the shed with fairy lights, homemade candles and our bouquets.

Tell us about your main outfits:

We were in London for a family members wedding. I’d been following Grace Loves Lace on Instagram for years and when we got engaged I was so excited to try on one of their dresses at their London showroom! My dress is the Camille gown, and I got the matching veil – the Fleur Veil. My jacket is also Grace Love Lace. My boots are from the Bali Tailor. I had another pair of their boots and when I saw that they had out these epic white, lace-up boots I knew I had to have them! Rory’s Suit and accessories are from Hallenstien brothers, he looked so sharp and they have great bang for your buck packages.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day? We had our photos taken prior to the ceremony. We surprised our wedding party with a helicopter trip to the top of Mt Barker through Criffel Station. We were hoping the weather would hold for us to be able to do so, and it did! It was so fun taking photos there; we enjoyed some bubbles and a platter and just had a blast with our best friends. It totally took the pressure off us walking down the aisle and we got to spend extra time with our guests after we got married.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together? Enjoy every moment together. What you have together is so special. Not everyone gets to experience it.

Ceremony and Reception Location: Criffel Station | Photographer: Alpine Image Company | Celebrant: Family – Nicola Johnston | Entertainment: Assembly required | Hire: The Rustic Rabbit | Flora: The Green Room Flower Company | Catering: The Stoaker Room | Cake: Family Friend – Myreen Kain | Hair: The Kingdom Hair | Makeup: Emma for Beauty | Rings: Michael Hill | Shoes: The Bali Tailor | Helicopter Company: Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopter | Bridesmaid Dresses: Evolution Clothing | Groom & Groomsmen Outfits: Hallensteins Brothers | Brides Dress, jacket and veil: Grace Love Lace