Modern South Island Winery Wedding

By Magnolia Rouge

Jana & Hamish wanted a wedding that was one big party. Both working in the hospitality industry having food and wine that would impress their guests was high on the list of priorities. Choosing to hold their wedding at PEREGRINE WINERY in Gibbston, Queenstown was an easy one given how impressive the location is, and the area holds special memories for the Groom as he had family holidays there growing up. With LENE PHOTOGRAPHY on hand to document the party they were all set! The vibrant bridal party colours � and florals by Sarah from THE FLOWER ROOM � work fantastically against the barren hills of a late summer Queenstown.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: It was New Years Eve and we arrived in Matakana for a short break. After deciding to celebrate quietly at the gorgeous accommodation we had booked rather than heading out to party for the night, we set up a delicious dinner just in time to watch the sun set on 2012. Hamish got his camera out and set the timer to take a photo of the scene, and then as the shutter went off he asked me to marry him. He captured the moment perfectly in the photo! The end of the calendar year but the start of new beginnings.

TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: I had an amazing experience getting the dress. Everything I thought I wanted was thrown out the window as soon as I was in the hands of the Katherine at Modes. She made me try on styles I never thought I could wear and she was bang on! I had to make a decision quickly and was so happy with the decision. Hamish didn't want me wearing anything too puffy and we were both really happy on the day.

DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: I didn't want anything too structured or traditional, modern and bright was the brief. Sarah from the Flower Room suggested having all of the bridesmaids bouquets different which was gorgeous. I asked for Jasmine to be used to as this flower always reminded me of my grandmother who passed away before our wedding.

FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: If we had to pick just one, probably the speeches and readings, our friends and family put so much effort into entertaining and heartfelt speeches. If we are allowed a second detail we adored our photos and photographers, they were so easy to work with and the results were exactly what we dreamt of.

WHAT ADVISE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Work out what is important and what isn't. We wanted everyone to feel comfortable so we didn't have a head table, opting instead for two long tables where the wedding party sat in amongst all the guests and food was placed on shared plates in the middle of the table. Try not to stress on the day, we had a few last minute changes, rain was very threatening so we changed our ceremony location, but we calmly left the decisions to the planner and went back to enjoying getting ready with our friends. We were determined to go with the flow on the day and roll with whatever happened.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? The feeling of love and support in the room. Oh and the mince and cheese pies at 11pm they were pretty good too.

ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY: We wanted to make sure that we spent lots of time with our guests so we limited the amount of time actually seated at the table. We had canapes and larger tapas style food served standing before shared mains and then the desserts were our cheese wheel cake and dessert canapes. This encouraged people to move seats and wander around before hitting the dance floor. We had a great time and hope that our guests did as well.