Sighle + Scott by Kate Roberge - Together Journal

After dinner on our final night, I knew something was on Scott’s mind, so when we got back to our Airbnb, I just said, “If you want to ask me, just ask. I don’t need a perfect moment.” He got down on one knee, I said yes, and it was actually really special.

Scott ——We met at a Christmas party at my student flat in December 2011. Sighle caught my eye as she was wearing this incredible Christmas jumper, which I later found out she’d decorated herself. We hit it off and later in the night when she busted out ‘The Worm’, I was truly captivated.

Sighle ——I was pretty shy, but Scott’s a great listener and I always felt comfortable around him. In the early days, while we were both at uni, I used to park on the street outside his student flat and always loved when he’d text me saying he’d seen my car and to stop by after class.

Now Scott works as a project manager at a software company and I work in the fashion industry as a merchandise planner. We grew up in Christchurch and after a stint overseas, now live in Auckland. We really are best friends. We love travel and adventure, but are equally happy spending hours in the kitchen together trying new recipes with a glass of wine.

Scott put so much pressure on himself to create the “perfect” proposal that there were a couple of false starts. The ring had travelled around Europe with us, hidden in a ball of socks, but the proposal eventually happened years later in Hawaii. After dinner on our final night, I knew something was on Scott’s mind, so when we got back to our Airbnb, I just said, “If you want to ask me, just ask. I don’t need a perfect moment.” He got down on one knee, I said yes, and it was actually really special.

After years of being engaged, we decided on a destination wedding in Queenstown with just our closest family. When we arrived, it was 9 degrees and pouring with rain: not exactly what we had in mind for our outdoor wedding, given it was February. It was stressful, but thankfully the weather started to improve. We started the weekend with a Champagne cruise on Lake Wakatipu, which really set the tone. Perfect is a pretty strong word, but we couldn’t have asked for a better few days.

Scott——Seeing my 88-year-old Nana sitting on the top deck of a yacht, clinking her champagne glass and living her best life is a memory I’ll cherish forever. We both love food and decided on a meal at our accommodation by Fabien from My Private Chef. As we’re vegetarian, we worked with Fabien to create a custom menu and were blown away by the meal. Our families are still raving about it.

Sighle: I also love clothes, so despite having such a small wedding, I knew I wanted more than one outfit. During a lengthy lockdown last year, both of my bridal appointments were cancelled and I found myself three months out from our wedding without a dress and starting to panic. I’d studied fashion design, but hadn’t used my sewing skills for years. However, once I’d made the decision to make my own dress, there was no looking back. I spent every spare minute working on the pattern, the toiles and then the final dress, and I was really proud of the result.