Brittany & Ethan's Wedding
West Eyreton Hall
Images by Andrea Zoe Photography
‘We were in the same year at high school and had a similar circle of friends, but we didn’t start dating until I moved back after uni and got chatting at a mutual friend’s party.
‘We were out one night and saw a shooting star. Eth got down on one knee. I turned around and proceeded to laugh at him (sorry Eth!), to which he started laughing too – but we got there in the end!
‘I went to a bridal house to try on different styles of dresses to get an idea, and the one I ended up wearing was the one that I loved the most!
I was really determined not to spend a fortune on the dress, so I spent a lot of time looking on Trade Me, Designer Wardrobe and Marketplace for a second-hand one! I got lucky on Marketplace and found the exact one I had tried on and loved at Paperswan, in my size. She was the exact same height as me and she was in Christchurch! I went around to try it on and it fit like a glove. I couldn’t believe it!
‘When it came to choosing a venue, I worked behind the bar at a wedding at the West Eyreton Hall years and years ago and absolutely fell in love with the wood panelling inside – it is stunning.
We weren’t too fussy on a date but didn’t realise it was Easter when we booked it! That ended up working in our favour, giving us some extra days to set up and enjoy the weekend before going back to work.
‘We just had a small intimate ceremony with our immediate family and grandparents. I was very nervous to stand up and speak in front of people, so we agreed to keep it small. It also felt so much more meaningful with just the people we hold closest.
We wrote our own vows (Ethan had a little help from ChatGPT), and we both ran ours past my sister for help too.
‘For our bridal photos we went up to the Port Hills. This is the spot we would always drive up to, to look at the city lights and was very close to where Eth proposed. Then we drove to Taylors Mistake, as I wanted some beach pics – and that is my fave beach in Christchurch. We also went out the back of Taylors Mistake as there is the gorgeous backdrop of the hills.
‘The reception was perfect. Everyone arrived shortly after the ceremony. We had speeches, dinner and the shoe game. My aunt is Danish, and it’s traditional to play the shoe game at weddings. It was so special to have her run this for us. It also always gets lots of laughs.
‘My grandad spoke and then sang ‘You are my Sunshine’ to us. It was so special as he had also sung it to my grandma on their 60th wedding anniversary, so it brought back very happy memories. Everyone joined in too.’
Q&A
What’s your advice for other couples?
Everything doesn’t need to be perfect!!! People will not notice all the tiny little things – so don’t get so caught up in it! They are there to celebrate your love and they’re not going to remember if there are napkins that are a slightly different colour or if the dinner was a little late!
Did you have a budget and were you able to stick to it?
We had worked out how much we thought it would cost and from there worked out the budget. We were able to stick to it! We grew just about all of the table flowers ourselves with the help of family and friends. We bought a lot of stuff second-hand and made a lot of stuff too!
Who was your standout vendor?
Our photographer Andrea Kewish. The photos speak for themselves and I could not be happier!
