Taylor-Jane & George by Inview Photography

Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love, what is unique about you and your relationship…

We first met over eight years ago in our hall in Dunedin as fresh faced students and hit it off immediately.

We both either studied or travelled for most of our relationship, and after 4 years in Dunedin, we spent a summer in Asia, and then moved to California for two years where George completed his Masters in Sports Psychology. We loved living in California, and spent our spare moments traveling North America. We currently live in our original hometown of Christchurch, where I am studying Clinical Psychology, and George works as Basketball Development Manager. In our spare time you will find us with a wine/beer or a coffee in hand (or both!), hanging with our friends, at a sports court, reading (usually a book on psychology…) or experimenting in the kitchen.

TJ: George has the kindest heart, and it was one of the first things that drew me to him. He has a passion for people, and will always go out of his way for others. From a dangerous encounter in Bangkok (a story for another time), to flatting on Castle Street, to hiking Yosemite Falls, we have survived a lot of adventures together. George has always loved me just for me, and always finds a way to make me laugh.

George: I have always been in love with TJ’s kind and selfless values, and admire the way she treats others, she really does inspire me everyday. We have shared many experiences together, both good and bad, and debriefed them in coffee shops all over the world. We continue to push each other to be the best version of ourselves, and support each other down in our respective paths.

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…

I know we are very bias, but MAN our day was absolute PERFECTION. We got married on a flawless 30 degree day amongst the vines, and as my car pulled up to the venue, a well-timed cloud came over to ensure the lighting was on point (and that we all didn’t get burnt!). Our ceremony and reception was held at the beautiful Cossars Wineshed, which felt like a slice of Tuscany. We chose Cossars because it really is an “all-inclusive” package, including signage, rustic furniture, lawn games, even an eco cabin we stayed in on our wedding night! What also drew us to Cossars, was the fact and you didn’t need to venture far for photos, which meant we got to spend
maximum time with our loved ones.

We really wanted our day to represent what we love most, and that was PEOPLE. We were so fortunate to have our friends and family from all over the world be there for our special day. Because some of our bridal party also came from overseas, our hens/stag do was only the week before the wedding (we do not recommend in hindsight…). However, it did mean we got to enjoy an elongated “wedding buzz week” with our favourite people. We set up our wedding day with surprises, games, laughter (and bubbles), to ensure everyone had a great time. One way we created the environment we wanted, was having our main meal as a “sharing platter style”. This way our guests could easily inter-mingle, but it also meant you could try all the different yummy options that Moveable Feasts had to offer! We also wanted our day to be FUN and RELAXING for us. We put a lot of hard work leading up to our wedding, so on the day we had nothing to do but sit back and take it in. We also wanted to stick to our budget, so we had to compromise at times, but this also made us spend money on the things we really cared about.

The day before the wedding our immediate family + bridal party all pitched in to set up the finishing touches, with foliage from our garden and second hand amber bottles we had collected. As a special touch, our table numbers were handmade framed maps of our favourite places, with our guest being seated from Yosemite to Kaiteriteri Beach. We also wanted to limit the waste created from our wedding. One way we did this was re-using the gorgeous flower arrangement (by Flowers by Casey) from our archway later in the day for our head table during the reception.

It was also really important to us that we supported small local businesses where we could, which you can see in our vendors list. We could not recommend our vendors high enough, they were all kind, professional people who went above and beyond to make our day special.

Tell us about your main outfits:

TJ: It took quite a few dress shops before I found the one! I knew I wanted something comfortable, that I could wear all day + night, with a classic, timeless style. I wore a Daisy Bride Dress (from Paperswan Bride in Christchurch). As soon as I put it on, I knew it was my dress, the big selling point- POCKETS (which came in handy to store handkerchiefs). I had the back altered to drop low, which made the elegant dress have an edgy sexy vibe. My talented mother made my veil herself, with a touch of her wedding dress lace sewn in. I was surprised by parents with a gorgeous pair of freshwater pearl drop earrings from Meadowlark, which added to the classic style I was after. Anyone who tells you that Chaos Harmony Shoes are the best wedding shoes, are indeed correct. They were like velvet clouds on my feet, which came in handy when climbing a hill in gusty winds for that perfect wedding shot (all worth it!).

George: I was fitted into a grey suit from Sergio’s, a crisp Barkers dress shirt (which my best man had to help me iron on the day, although it made for a good candid) and dress boots from 3 Wise Men. To top the look off, the boys and I all wore basketball themed socks to honour my passion for the sport. The groomsmen were also kind enough to gift me an engraved silver Seiko watch for the big day.

What were some of the most memorable/unique moments from the day?

One of the most memorable moments was during our ceremony. Sadly, we lost George’s father Craig in August 2019, and he was sorely missed. In memory of Craig, the bridal party did a shot of whiskey during the ceremony, which was both the perfect way to honour him, and took the edge off reading the vows! Family was in every part of our wedding, from being walked down the aisle by my father, to both our mothers signing our wedding certificate, to our siblings who were either speech makers, MC’s or bridal party members, they were all in there one way or another. We were told by everyone how fast the day goes, so we put aside time for each other and our bridal party where could. When we headed off for photos, we enjoyed a gorgeous picnic in the field, surrounded by our closet friends, and just took in the moment. Unfortunately, the champagne was a shaken up a bit too much, which naturally George sprayed across all of us, although it does make for an epic wedding shot! George and I also slipped out while people were finishing dinner, to stop and take a deep breath and just be together! We highly recommend this.

We then snuck off with Danielle from Inview Photography (who was the most perfect photographer, I mean look at the photos!), and took our hill shots above the venue. This was an absolute blast, filled with a lot of laughter, a beautiful sunset and some “balancing issues” in the gusty nor west wind. In our guest list of 70 people, we had four George’s at our wedding, so naturally we needed to stitch them up. As Simon and Garfunkel had already prepared the song “Mrs Robinson” for us (hehe), we had the perfect tune to enter the reception too. This was led by our guest George’s up the front singing and dancing, after only a few minutes of preparation time!

The day started off with the girls and I dancing at 7am to 90’s hits in our air bnb, and ended at midnight in the same fashion. George and I are not talented dancers, however we were lucky enough to enlist the help from Vanessa Cole (from Dancing with the Stars) who helped us put together an epic first dance routine. This started slow and romantic to James Morrison (You Make It Real), then sped up to Jet (Are you Going To Be My Girl), finally ending with Olly Murs (Dance With Me Tonight) with our entire wedding party in tow. The dance must have been inspiration for the rest of our guests, because the dance floor was full for the rest of the night. It really was the most fun-filled and perfect day.

Any advice for other couples planning to spend the rest of their lives together?

TJ: Picture the person who you feel most comfortable with, the person you can wear fat pants in front of while your hair is a mess, the person you can ugly cry with, the person you can get grumpy at for eating the last chip but then love two seconds later, the person who you can be unapologetically YOU with. If that person you are picturing is the who you are going to marry, you’re onto a winner. Focus on your person and why you want to be with them, all the other details should come second.

George: Enjoy the moments, the fun times and the bad, as they make you stronger together and provide memories to reflect on. Continue to challenge each other to go outside comfort zone and try new things – who knew I could pull our first dance like we did! Finally, drink strong coffee, preferably from different cafes all over the world.

Photography: Inview Photography | Ceremony and Reception location: Cossars | Celebrant: Sarah Gnad | Bride’s gown: Daisy from Paperswan Bride| Groom’s outfit: Sergios | Rings: James Allen | Bride’s shoes: Chaos and Harmony | Groom’s shoes: 3 Wise Men | Jewellery: Meadowlark and Seiko Watches | Makeup: Kasia Stanicich | Hair: Monique Woods | Fragrance: Dior | Bridesmaid’s outfits: Shona Joy | Groomsmen’s outfits: Sergios | Entertainment: Paul Mckessar | Flora: Flowers by Casey | Catering and Beverages: Moveable Feasts | Cake: Cakes By Anna | Dancing Lessons: Cole Dance Create