In the modern tradition, we matched on Bumble. My opening line was something terribly boring along the lines of What are you up to today?
Nic told me that he was at a gin festival which as luck would have it was the very same gin festival that I happened to be at. One of my friends spotted Nic and his friends through the window and encouraged me to approach him. This began an impromptu date amongst our friends.
‘Nic surprised me with a trip to Te Wepu Pods in Akaroa for our anniversary. When we arrived, Nic suggested a walk up a hill nearby. I was really not keen but Nic was strangely insistent and so off we went. At the top of the hill, Nic pointed out a small painted rock on the ground which had two people and two dogs on it. I briefly looked at it, but failed to make the connection and continued snapping pictures of the view. Nic pointed out that the couple and the two dogs painted on the rock looked a lot like the two of us and our dogs. I agreed and as the cogs were slowly turning in my head, Nic encouraged me to turn the rock over. On the other side was painted Karin, will you marry me? Of course I said yes!
'We celebrated with bubbles that Nic had hidden in his backpack at the top of the hill. When we got back to Te Wepu, Nic had a hamper and a small booklet waiting which showed the process of making my engagement ring. It turns out he had melted the gold himself!
‘I visited a few bridal shops with my mum and bridesmaids. I didn’t find it easy to select a dress as there were several I liked so I had to go back and do a second try-on of the shortlisted dresses. I loved my dress and felt amazing in it. However, I realised a few days before the wedding that I wasn’t able to do our first dance in my wedding dress as it was too restrictive in its movement and then had to quickly hunt for a reasonably priced second dress.
‘Our wedding date was selected in line with the availability of our photographer and videographer who were the first vendors we picked. We also wanted a summer wedding as I had my heart set on a clear marquee and didn’t want to have to worry about being too cold. We chose Broadfield Gardens as it wasn’t somewhere we had attended a wedding before and its gardens provided a beautiful backdrop for the marquee as well as having several different spaces that we could utilise.
‘Both Nic and I wrote our own vows. Nic was particularly nervous about this but our celebrant spent an hour with him helping him get his ideas for both his vows and speech onto paper. Both of our dogs were involved in the ceremony – one was a bridesmaid and the other a groomsman and our florist made them mini buttonholes to wear.
‘From the very beginning, both Nic and I were clear that we wanted our reception to have a laid-back feel, to reflect us as a couple, and be focused around maximising our time with family and friends. For this reason, we chose to have a cocktail-style reception with a mix of traditional seating, bar leaners and lounging furniture. We didn’t have a seating plan and loved that everyone could mix and mingle as they pleased. My mum made our cake and Nic’s mother and sister made some of our desserts.
‘My sister was our MC and my dad made some directional signs for the day. I also made a selection of pottery vases for the tables so there were plenty of little personalised touches throughout the day.
‘Nic and I absolutely adored our wedding night accommodation at The Observatory Hotel at The Arts Centre, Christchurch. We loved the luxury and the history of the space.
‘Thinking back over our day, it’s hard to choose just one favourite moment, but I really loved all of the speeches. Everyone put such a lot of effort in, they were really heartfelt and funny and we both just felt so loved and supported by all of our family and friends.’
Q&A
Favourite vendor?
Our florist Alex did such an amazing job, I actually cried when she came to drop off the flowers. She also took so much care over every little detail and on the day she stayed behind after the ceremony to help move the arch flowers to the marquee.
Tips for other couples?
If it’s in your budget then I highly recommend an on-the-day coordinator, especially if you are having a wedding where there are a lot of different vendors involved. Having Kate Blundell from Collective Concepts there on the day was a godsend and meant I could finally relax and enjoy the day.
Anything you'd do differently?
Although I found the planning process a bit stressful, our day was perfect and it all came together. One thing I would do is try to take a few more pauses and just soak it all up as it goes so fast!
Any final stories to tell?
I’ve always been a fan of dancing and had the idea to do a flash mob dance at the wedding. Ten of us including my bridesmaids, sisters and a few friends ended up learning a choreographed dance which we surprised my husband with at the reception. On the day, my husband’s confusion and look of surprise was just priceless and it was a real crowd-pleaser!
