Met in a bar at 4 am. Widowed a year earlier, and never thought of dating again. Friends urged me to meet a guy, but I was sceptical. A year later we were engaged, and on our second anniversary, we were married. It’s amazing how life turns out, despite what you may have planned.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Tori — I’m Style Director in an advertising agency so my job is planning how every little detail will look in a TV ad or campaign – from what everyone wears, what colour the walls are painted, what flowers are in the vases, what art is on the walls, how their hair and makeup is styled, to what every last piece of furniture and decor looks like, so it came really naturally to me to plan our whole wedding, and design and style a lot of it myself. Floyd works in his dream job as a beer brewer for Urbanaut, so between us we had it on lock how it would come together and what everyone would drink!
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with? Very quickly! We joke that scientists invented us for each other in a lab because we’re so well-matched, we were stoked to have found someone with such similar – and pretty niche – interests. We are both huge video game nerds and love punk and hardcore music, it was great to just have so many shared interests that we could geek out about together. While we were dating we would play games online together at our respective houses until the early hours of the morning. From the get-go he made me feel so safe and so cherished, we both said pretty early on that we could see our happily ever after together.
Was there a proposal? Tell us a little about it…
We went to Milford Sounds for my birthday and by his own admission Floyd had no idea he was going to propose, there was no ring and no plan! But when we got there he was so awestruck by the scale of everything, he said it made him feel so small and insignificant that it made him want to do something huge and important, so while we were on a cruise under a waterfall eating a crappy canteen sandwich he started awkwardly asking me in a very roundabout way if I’d like to make it official because he didn’t see any reason we shouldn’t get engaged right then because the sooner we did it the more anniversaries we could share. It was very unexpected and very special, when we arrived back in Auckland that night it was my birthday party and we surprised all our friends and family with the news. The next morning we went straight to Meadowlark and designed a beautiful custom engagement ring, a gold Art Deco setting with a stunning blush pink Malaya Garnet that I have been told over and over again is very “me”.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood or style of your wedding…
Our only criteria were that we wanted our wedding to be really authentically “us”, we didn’t want anything too formal, or a sit-down meal or anything, we just wanted to throw the biggest party of our lives, and have all our guests have the best night ever, just purely joyful and celebratory. We were married by one of Floyd’s childhood friends who made the ceremony feel so personal, and for the reception at The Libraries we had a cocktail party overflowing with champagne and oysters and beautiful canapés, it’s such a beautiful intimate setting, chic but very cosy.
We went with a slightly 70’s vibe, the colour palette was burnt orange for the bridesmaid, flowers, glassware and stationary, and the boys were in a lovely earthy brown which was echoed in the brown 1970s Valiant that was our car for the day.
What was one element you were happy to splurge on?
We decided to splurge on two nights in the Poreanui Suite of the Hotel Britomart for the wedding which is their lush top-floor penthouse. The night before I stayed there by myself and it was so serene, I felt so relaxed that night which was incredible on the eve of such a huge day. My bridesmaid and mum came and had their makeup done there with me the morning of, then we stayed there on the night of the wedding and it was such a special suite, and right upstairs from the reception venue, it was a real luxury experience.
CEREMONY: Old Saint Michael’s Chapel / RECEPTION: The Libraries, The Hotel Britomart, @thehotelbritomart / PHOTOGRAPHER: Bek Smith, @beksmithimages / CELEBRANT: Groom’s childhood friend / FLORA, STYLING & PLANNING: Done by Bride / CATERING & BEVERAGES: The Libraries, The Hotel Britomart, @thehotelbritomart / STATIONERY: Designed by Bride – printed by Fuzed / DRESS: Aretta by Eva Lendel from Natalie Rose Bridal, @natalierosebridal / SUIT: Politix, @politixmenswear / RINGS: Custom engagement ring by Meadowlark, @meadowlarkjewellery / BRIDAL SHOES: Lulus, @lulus / GROOM’S SHOES: Asos, @asos / MAKEUP: Amber Carroll, @ambercarrollmakeup / HAIR: Robyn Munro Hair, @robynmunrohair / FRAGRANCE: Replica, Lazy Sunday Morning / BRIDESMAIDS’ ATTIRE: The Iconic / BEST MAN’S ATTIRE: Politix, @politixmenswear
Unveiling the secret to a flawless wedding!
Explore our exclusive online directory, your ultimate guide to the best wedding vendors! Don’t miss out on creating your dream day. Click HERE to start browsing.
