Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…
Scott and I both grew up in Hamilton and ran in the same social circles at high school, however didn’t actually meet each other until we both attended a party in Auckland about 6 years ago….
We bumped into each other now and again for the following months and after a bit of back and forth chat Scott asked me out on a date. The next 6 weeks were filled with some pretty romantic getaways and dates until Scott headed overseas for four months to do some travelling. Halfway through his trip I agreed to meet him over in New York for 10 days and this is where we really knew what we had together was something special.
We both had careers in Auckland until I moved down to Hamilton to take over my mums business after she passed away. Scott still works up in Auckland as a project manager for a development company and I spend a lot of my time between Hamilton and Mt Maunganui with the business, so our lives are fairly full on. We ended up buying a gorgeous little villa in Hamilton and that’s where we base ourselves for the majority of the week. When I made the move down to Hamilton to run the business we made a promise to each other that we would prioritise our relationship over everything else to make sure we would remain strong through a fairly hectic and life changing few years.
Scott has an incredible personality and will always light up the room and make anyone feel welcome in any situation. He constantly makes me laugh, has the kindest heart and is the most loyal and supportive friend I know. We both love to travel, we love to get out in the weekends to the beach or the middle of the bush for a big day walk and we are always talking and planning for the future and making some cool goals and challenges for each other. We spend a lot of time in Hamilton with our families who are pretty damn special and close to us as well as a lot of time with our friends. We have a cool little cat called Pickles who keeps us fairly entertained and keeps an eye on the house while we’re away. Wherever we are there is always a lot of laughter and joy between us.
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…
We chose to get married in Tauranga as it has been a special holiday destination for both of us growing up and where a lot of our family are now based. After a lot of venue searching we came across our venue at L’Orangerie where we immediately knew we had stumbled along something pretty special. I fell in love with the idea of dining under the stars for the reception and when I saw the beautiful grass area enclosed by trees I knew we could (weather dependant) make this dream come to life.
L’Orangerie venue has the most stunning grounds and so many different areas to it so we were spoilt for choice with where to have the ceremony, drinks and reception. The grounds and the view really set the theme for the wedding but was also a blank canvas for us to create something that was unique and could really show off our style and personality. The grounds were beautiful and had such a relaxed and down to earth feel about it which is exactly what we wanted for our guests.
As a creative person, planning and styling the wedding was a dream for me. I wanted to create a romantic but modern setting amongst the countryside. Maree from Royal Laboratorie helped me nail the colour palate for the wedding which was blush and burgundy with touches of white and grey. It’s always easy to pull a style together when you have beautiful products from Royal Laboratorie to work with. Millie our florist from Primm Gardens really bought into my vision and she put so much time and effort into bringing this to life and making it so special for us. Our florals were amazing and a real feature on the day. I wanted lots of variations of roses, dried smokebush and honesty bush seeds with only dark foliage. We ended up transferring the ceremony florals down to the reception which saved us hugely on costs there. Sara from Twelve Tables made the festoon poles for us to frame all of the tables outside so that we could dine under the stars. She also custom made some sofa beds to use as seating options for our guests during the after ceremony drinks. It was amazing to work with vendors who are as passionate about your day as you are and that really shines through with Sara.
It was fairly nerve-wracking in the lead up to the wedding as we knew we had to have perfect weather to dine outside, which is a very risky move in New Zealand! It had rained the entire week before the wedding and we had to make the call first thing on the day if we were to keep things outside. The sky had cleared and looked like we were in for a stunner of a day so we went ahead with the plan. As the day went on though it started to rain. It drizzled throughout the ceremony and just started to clear up after that and turned into the most stunning and sunny evening. I’m so glad we persevered with our dream plan and the comments we got from our guests were amazing about being able to eat under the stars. It really did make it an incredible evening.
Tell us about your main outfits:
I chose a gown from an Israli designer called Flora Bridal. My dress felt beautifully romantic, it wasn’t at all what I had imagined I would have but it made me feel incredibly special on the day. The detail and design of the Flora dresses are incredible. Before my mum passed away she had a conversation with me that when the day came for us to get married I had to make sure I chose the most stunning dress, and so with that in mind I really made sure I found something super special. I chose blush velvet heels from Chaos & Harmony and pearl earrings from Meadowlark jewellery. Scott chose a made to measure dinner suit from Working Style a classic bow tie and my gift to him on the day was an Omega Seamaster watch.
What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?
Scott and I decided to do some things a little differently. As my mum wasn’t there to walk me down the aisle, we decided we would walk down together. Scott was there waiting for me as the we pulled up in the car at the venue and that’s where we saw each other for a ‘first look’. It was amazing to have that first moment together and settle the nerves and emotions before surprising everyone by walking down the aisle together. We wanted to involve lots of our family members in the day and a very special part of that was my cousin marrying us, meaning she had to get a marriage license especially for us! She did an incredible job and made the ceremony that much more special. It was a pretty incredible feeling when the sky cleared and the sunshine came out meaning we were able to dine under the stars. The most memorable part of the day though was just having an amazing time together with all of our friends and family surrounding us. It was a day for us but for our guests too and we just wanted to make it a really fun and relaxing day for everyone.
Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?
The day is about you and no one else so don’t be afraid to break the rules and traditions to suit your personalities and what you want. Choose some things that are special to you to include in your day. My cousin married us, one of my best friends designed our wedding stationary, another cousin did the hair for my bridesmaids, my uncle drove me and the bridal party to the wedding in his Chevvy and my aunties and Scott’s mum made wedding cakes for us. Everyone was so open to helping us out on the day and these were some things that made it super special for us.
Choose the vendors that you love and who will love your vision and really get you as a couple. We were so incredibly lucky to have an such a great team of vendors around us who really helped us make our dream come to life. Getting a video done was one of the best choices we made and would definitely recommend this to anyone. It beautifully captures the day and the emotions so much more than photos do. Having a copy of the speeches and ceremony is something we will treasure forever!
At the end of the day you are getting married because you love each other, your wedding is just day one of the rest of your lives together. While it’s the most incredible day of your life, it’s important to remember why you are planning this day and to not get hung up or stressed out about it. It should be a fun experience and planning process for you both. Just relax on the day and your guests will have an amazing time too.
Videographer: Side Project Films | Ceremony & Reception location: L’Orangerie Wedding Venue | Photographer: Bespoke Photography | Celebrant: Sarah Hayman | Bride: Flora Bridal | Bluebell Bridal | Groom: Working Style | Ring/s: Naveya + Sloane | Shoes: Chaos + Harmony | Other jewellery: Omega Seamaster | Meadowlark Earrings | Makeup: Made up by Brya | Fragrance: World – Map of the Heart | Bridesmaid: Ruby | Groomsmen: Hallensteins | Entertainment: Two Many Chiefs | Hire: Twelve Tables | Royal Laboratorie | LL Hire | Tble Linen | Flora: Primm Gardens | Catering: No Biggie Catering | Stationary: Fiona Kerr | Signage: Paper Darling |