A relaxing and intimate wedding of Sophie + Andrew in Sid at the French Cafe.
Sophie —— We live in Auckland with our British shorthair cat, Lily. I’m an operating theatre nurse and Andrew works in property development. We were unintentionally set up by our respective childhood best friends. My friend invited me to her beach house with her boyfriend and his friend Andrew, as she was desperate for another girl to be there. They both told Andrew not to bother trying anything with me, as I wouldn’t be interested, however we clicked immediately and felt like we’d known each other forever.
Andrew —— We got engaged in December 2022 in Japan at Lake Ashi with Mount Fuji in the background. I proposed after a stressful day of almost not making it to the lake. We took a slow train from Tokyo, coincidentally named the Romance Car, then transferred to a bus which we had to get off because we didn’t have the right change and it was a winding mountain road (Sophie gets motion sickness). We finally made it to the lake which was really overcast and uninspiring. But we eventually got a great view of Mount Fuji. I knew Sophie would die if anyone else was around when I proposed, so I tried to make conversation and kept telling her I needed to take more photos as I waited for other people to leave. Finally, I asked her to turn around for another photo once everyone had gone, and got down on one knee.
Sophie —— Neither of us wanted a big wedding so we had a larger engagement party which made it easier to have a wedding guest list of just 30 people. I kept telling everyone that it was a dinner party that started with a short wedding ceremony! Despite the venue being a fine dining restaurant, the whole thing was really relaxed and felt very authentic to us.
Being so intimate meant that we could talk to everyone. I didn’t have to do much in terms of styling, as the courtyard and private room at the French Cafe are beautiful spaces. Having a small wedding meant we were able to go all in on the dinner as there was no dancing or after party. We chose the six-course tasting menu, followed by a black forest cake from The Caker.
I really struggled to find a wedding dress that felt like me. I’d previously seen Juliette Hogan’s beautiful silk dupion wedding dress with a full skirt, racer back top and pockets. Despite not being engaged and only ever wanting to elope, the dress really stuck in my mind. After a few unsuccessful shopping trips, I emailed Juliette Hogan to see if they could help. They had a sample left but it was too big. Luckily, I was able to have it altered. I wore my late mother’s diamond earrings and engagement ring. Andrew had his suit made by Crane Brothers.
PHOTOGRAPHER Keryn Sweeney, @kerynsweeneyphotographer VENUE Sid at the French Cafe, @thefrenchcafe_auckland GROOM’S SUIT Crane Brothers, @cranebrothers WEDDING DRESS Juliette Hogan, @juliettehogan DRESS ALTERATIONS Christine Bol Design, @christinebol_design BRIDE’S SHOES Loeffler Randall, @loefflerrandall GROOM’S SHOES Florsheim, @florsheimnz FLORA Floralcentric, @floralcentric BRIDE’S JEWELLERY Antique RINGS Orsini Fine Jewellery, @orsinifinejewellery MAKEUP Made up by Ruth, @madeupbyruth HAIR Hare & Hunter, @hareandhunter BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE Diptyque, @diptyque GROOM’S FRAGRANCE Malin+Goetz, @malinandgoetz BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES Ellis, @ellislabel GROOMSMEN’S SUITS Rembrandt, @rembrandt1946 CELEBRANT Megan Jennings, @megjenningscelebrant CAKE The Caker, @thecakernz REGISTRY Hitchd, @HitchdHQ WEDDING FAVOURS House of Chocolate, @houseofchocolatenz
