I knew we wanted a wedding with an old world charm to it, but also wanted it to be natural, creative, unique, personal yet casual. I wanted to be hands on as much as possible, not just to keep costs down because often it wasn’t the cheaper option, but because I knew it would be so rewarding to be creative for our special day.
We put together a Wedding Guide booklet for each of our guests that went out with their invitation and it included information about our wedding weekend on Waiheke. We had approx 40 guests coming from overseas, so felt it was important to give them as much information as possible (most coming to NZ for the first time). I also set up our own blogspot for guests to log onto to find out information about our wedding.
I hand made little gift bags for each guest (sewing went on for months and months but was worth all the effort!). I hand wrote on little bird tags a little message for each guest and inside each bag, we placed 5 almonds with a little tag (Health, Wealth, Happiness, Fertility and Longevity) a chocolate heart, and for the ladies I bought little Worry Dolls from the Oxfam Shop – a gift that gave twice – the proceeds of the doll went to the AJ Quen project in Guatemala, supporting families and communities to help preserve their culture, and the guys got wedding coasters with a hand painted image of Onetangi beach with a Pohutukawa tree.
I made fans for our guests to use on the bus on their way to and during the ceremony (which were a huge hit), and I made little goodie bags for the kids. I also made small little paper cones that held hydrangea pettles for guests to throw over us at the end of the ceremony. I absolutely loved getting creative for our wedding and if you’re that way inclined, don’t be shy – express yourself it’s wonderfully rewarding.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding?
Oh wow, I drew my inspiration from so many sources but I fell in love with the ‘Love’ wedding invitations designed and handmade by Poppies for Grace and it all started from there.
We wanted stationery that wasn’t too ‘over weddingfied’ it just wouldn’t have suited us. I searched high and low until I came across stationers ‘Poppies for Grace’ based in Warrandyte, Melbourne. They draw inspiration from living in the country and being surrounded by the wilderness which suited us down to the ground. I chose one of their bird design invites with a water coloured image of two love birds cleverly sewn onto a C5 card and that came with a lovely heavy craft string tied envelope. I hadn’t seen anything like it.
There were 2 bridal magazines I was inspired by - Wedding Style Guide and Real Weddings and they helped us work out what we liked and what we didn’t like! I read hundreds of blogs and wedding forums and I bounced ideas off my girlfriends at work who were also organising their own weddings – they were fantastic. My other inspiration was my Mum. Mum has always loved and had a passion for all things hand made, so her ideas, advice and support were a wonderful inspiration.
At the end of the day we wanted a wedding that reflected our personalities and that didn’t just tick all the boxes but having said that, it was hard to find this. I found a lot of ‘tack’ out there and was determined to avoid it at all cost. It was also important to us to support local business here in Melbourne and on Waiheke Island. There are simply so many creative talented people just around the corner waiting for your support and if you’re prepared to go off the beaten track and look outside the wedding bubble, you’ll find them.
We both like vintage inspired fashion and hence my gown by Gwendolynne and Oliver’s 1940’s styled suit made by Anton’s in Melbourne. The bridesmaid’s wore 3 different pretty dresses each with their own character and charm. In the end, our wedding was themed ‘smart garden party’ and the ceremony was held on top of the hill at Goldwater Estate over looking Putiki Bay on Waiheke Island. Rain threatened to ruin the outdoor celebrations but luckily the clouds lifted 5 minutes before the ceremony commenced and the string quartet played Pachelbel’s Canon as I walked down the aisle with both Mum and Dad.
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