Olive Estate wedding by Jo Wickham

Hello lovelies! How was your weekend? First weekend of spring for us here in New Zealand, and it wasn't too bad... the expected rain didn't arrive so that's always a good thing. It was also Father's day yesterday so we had both sets of parents and siblings for a big breakfast at ours. If you follow me on Instagram (you can find me under rubywillow) you will have seen that Charlie was a very thoughtful wee girl and bought her daddy a lovely present - complete with puppy wrapping and all :-) Thankfully her puppy cousins came to wear her out for the rest of the day too!

I simply had to share today's sweet wedding by Jo Wickham with you cause Kayla's dress is just drop dead beautiful!! The lace, the shaped neckline.... it's all just exquisite. And my favourite line from Kayla's story that she says below... "To sum up, the wedding was perfect, but the marriage is even better. We're feel so lucky to have one another". Ain't that the truth!! This is what every single couple should be told or bear in mind when they're in the midst of stressful seating chart issues, and sleepless nights over not being able to get the right coloured tableware or their favourite flowers being out of season. Kayla - she of that gorgeous dress below tells us more about their day...

James and I met on a blind date on January 21, 2010. It was the cliche of love at first sight for us. I moved in with him three months later.

The proposal was different from the norm. After just two months we started to discuss marriage and both just understood that it would happen. We seemed to skip the 'getting to know each other' phase and were so comfortable right from the start. So I turned to him one night and said "We're going to get married, right?" and he said "Yeah, of course" and I said "Does that make us engaged?" and he said "Yes!". But he felt that it was so 'unofficial' that he planned a much more elaborate proposal a month later when we were on holiday in Hong Kong. He took me on a tour of the city, out for dinner, and then back to the Peninsula Hotel where he presented a ring we had chosen together.

I spent the next 18 months or so planning the wedding. We chose the venue, Simunovich Olive Estate, first. It was the best choice we ever made - the venue, the people, the food - everything was absolutely superb.

The photographer was another really important factor for us. I found Jo Wickham online and instantly fell in love with her style. Once I had met her in person, I knew she would be the perfect photographer for us - fun, friendly, and talented. We are so happy with the result and look forward to going back to her in the future for more family photos.

My dress was a slightly customised version of a John Zimmerman dress. It was perfect for me in every way - comfortable, classic, elegant, a bit vintage, and lightweight. I was originally looking for a strapless design but found this neckline far more flattering. I also had many comments about the back looking like 'angel wings'! John paired the dress with a very long veil which was just perfect. He is an amazing designer and lovely to deal with - I would highly recommend him to any bride.

The colour scheme was monochromes and jade green. This was partly because I wanted to work with the existing colours of the venue and landscape, but because I wanted the whole wedding to reflect us as a couple - so I chose a gender neutral colour. We also tied in a 'love birds' theme with little bird and feather motifs.

A few days before the wedding, we heard news that a 'weather bomb' was going to hit. They were warning about heavy rain and strong wind - even calling it a 'tempest'. On the morning of the wedding, the weather was quite severe. But as we were getting ready in the hotel room, I kept the curtains closed and didn't worry about it. Our relationship was blessed from the start and I knew someone was watching out for us. Just as we were beginning to take photos, the rain stopped. We had just enough wind to blow my veil around with a bit of drama, and just enough cloud to throw down some soft light, which you can see especially when we're sitting in the daisy field. We found this tiny, hidden paddock right next to the venue, completely filled with daisies. Just perfect.

My Mum was my maid of honour and a real highlight was when she stood up to deliver a beautiful speech where she said I had found "my happily ever after" and thanked James for taking care of me. To sum up, the wedding was perfect, but the marriage is even better. We're feel so lucky to have one another.