On this gloomy shortest day of the year here in New Zealand (yay for longer days from here on in though!), we're brightening things up with this sunshiny wedding by local photographer CAPTURED BY KERYN. Despite looking around at some local venues, gorgeous couple Victoria & Matt knew they had the perfect option in the bride's family home in the beautiful Marlborough region. Living on a boutique vineyard complete with incredible gardens it naturally set up the vibe for the rest of the wedding and the space itself did most of the work when it came to decor. Victoria tells us, "The ceremony was held in the gardens with fresh flowers, a pristine lawn that was the subject of many a conversation and the scenic vineyards and ridgeline in the background. We went with simple designs inside the teepee - natural wood tables, hanging flower installations and a whole lot of wine! We wanted to showcase the Marlborough province - supplying local wines, seafood collected by Matt's father & desserts made by the brides mum Nanette. We wanted it to be a relaxed celebration, with all of our favourite people being involved in some way or another, and it was one of the most incredible things looking around over the course of the day and night, and seeing our loved ones laughing, dancing & socialising - and everyone was in one place! Unbeatable."
HOW DID YOU MEET? Matt and I grew up in the same small hometown as each other, however only knew "of" each other, and managed to find ourselves both doing a harvest at a winery for a few weeks in Marlborough. After a few weeks of knowing each other, Matt invited me on a sailing trip from NZ to Tonga - and the rest was history!
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: It was a very elaborate surprise planned by Matt, think weekend away in a seaside town, kayaking to a private beach escorted by a wild dolphin, followed the next night by a rather large dinner party that went well into the early morning with some of our closest friends and surprise visitors flying in. Matt had also flown back to NZ while Vee was travelling through Central America to ask her Dad for permission - and he decided that the best time to ask was while they were clay bird shooting! It was such a happy time for us, with four of my bridesmaids getting engaged within three months of one another, champagne was flowing!
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: I had the lace A-line, open back dress handmade, but designed from a Houghton NYC gown that was the only dress I tried on, I was more of an Instagram peruser rather than an actual try-on-bride! The dress maker was a referral from a patient of mine, who has an tiny unassuming shop in an Arcade in Melbourne, barely enough room to turn around - but she does brilliant work, and the dress was perfect. A few weeks before the wedding I decided I wanted a something a little more for the ceremony, and found an Anna Campbell organza overskirt, which I removed for the dinner & dancing, along with my shoes!!
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: My best friends Mum and her friend were our wonderful florists. I gave them a very vague description of what I wanted - lots of wild flowers, greenery, dark purples & reds - very deconstructed natural looking bouquets. They were absolutely stunning, and exactly what I had in mind - and a beautiful surprise to see just before I walked down the aisle.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: Oyster bar - This bar was made out of local wine barrels by Brian (brides father)...Due to bad weather in Marlborough a few days before the wedding, and the harvesting of the Oysters being delayed, we had someone collecting the oysters from the wharf fresh off the boat, during the ceremony! They arrived just in time to be shucked out the back and served with champagne from a good friends Winery, "Miru miru" by Hunters wine. Nicknames on seats - we had full formal names on the seating easel outside, but had nicknames and personal jokes on the place cards when people sat down, a good ice breaker between guests!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OUT TO A COUPLE PLANNING THEIR WEDDING? Accept help. Make it your own, literally - do whatever you want. You want to give goldfish as favours? Awesome. Eat sitting on the ground & spend the money on fireworks & cocktails? Rad. Make this celebration a reflection of you, not what the wedding boards on Pinterest look like.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? After the guests were seated the MC's (two of our very close friends) introduced the bridal party pairs into the tipi, there was music & hilarious introductions, and everyone danced into the tent. We were waiting our turn in the vineyard to enter the tipi - and all we could hear was our all of our wedding guests in absolute stitches, we had a treasured moment to ourselves, however we couldn't wait to get inside & join the party!
ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY? We are really glad we involved our friends in the day. We had dear friends come up and give the rings to us, we presented awards to the guests after the speeches & we were so lucky to have so many people help us out in the lead up to the day. Having the ceremony, wedding & day after garden party at the same venue made it easy, familiar and gave a sense of "mi casa es su casa".
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE OR DO DIFFERENTLY? Time!! I would have loved an all day affair! It was so special having all our friends and family, so many who have travelled to be there. I remember being mindful of the fact people might get hungry and tired of standing during cocktail hour, so didn't want to put the ceremony too early, but at the end of the night we all didn't want it to end! Although in retrospect the day after mightn't have been much fun if we had partied for much longer.
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