Hello lovely people!! Did you have a nice weekend? The sun was finally shining here... the clocks sprung forward, it was lovely and warm outside and it certainly seems like spring had finally arrived!! (fingers crossed it stays!!). Pure bliss... makes me so excited for summer!! And I'm also very excited to be starting the week off with this gorgeous beach wedding from Greta of Vela Images. I love the soft colour palette with the lavender bridesmaids dresses, and the Bride's stunning dress for Natalie Chan is just wow!! The gorgeous bride Samantha shares some details about their day. Congratulations to you both!
Aaron and I met at a local bar where we both grew up - we actually went to the same school but never knew each other as he is a few years older. 9 years later whilst travelling around Europe on our way home from a 5 year stint in London, Aaron proposed on ancient castle grounds overlooking Lake Como in Italy. It was very romantic and he had the whole day planned - it was magical.
We really wanted to get married in Whangamata. We have spent a lot of time here as a couple as his parents own a batch so it is a special place for us as well as being a place Aaron spent a lot of time as a child. We chose a beautiful, leafy spot near the beach for our ceremony and discovered our reception venue, Lakes Resort, a 20min drive away in Pauanui set in a picturesque valley surrounded by forest.
We really wanted to get married in Whangamata. We have spent a lot of time here as a couple as his parents own a batch so it is a special place for us as well as being a place Aaron spent a lot of time as a child. We chose a beautiful, leafy spot near the beach for our ceremony and discovered our reception venue, Lakes Resort, a 20min drive away in Pauanui set in a picturesque valley surrounded by forest.
My dress by Natalie Chan was amazing, I went in with a picture of what I wanted and she worked her magic, sourcing the most beautiful French Chantilly lace and the outcome was a unique dress that I absolutely loved.
All the styling and decorations were done by me, with a lot of help from friends and family leading up to and on the day. We didn't really have a set theme or colour palette, more a jumble of ideas and inspiration from wedding blogs and magazines which became an unhealthy obsession! When we first started planning the day, we knew we wanted an Italian influence as that's where we got engaged and it is also one of our favourite countries that we have travelled to. Each table was named after an Italian city and included a photo taken by me on our travels. From there the styling evolved to include a lot of natural elements such as hessian, twine, wild flowers and driftwood collected from Whangamata beach. This all worked in well with the natural surroundings of both the ceremony and reception locations. To top it all off, we also had an underlying vintage feel as we both love old things so we used vintage milk and medicine bottles, preserving jars, suitcases and photos of our parents and grandparents wedding days.
Seeing each other for the first time on the day as I walked down the aisle was my favourite memory of the day and also hearing our celebrant announce us as husband and wife was pretty special! Also our photographer took us outside in between courses at dinner as the sun was setting to take a few shots in the beautiful light - it was really special to take a moment then, just us, away from everyone, to reflect on the day before the partying commenced!
It was incredibly special to us that my Dads band was our entertainment. And in fact one of the very special memories from the day was my Dad singing our first dance 'That's Amore'.
It sounds cliche but keep calm through out the whole process and on the day and stay true to who you both are and what you want out of your day. Do little jobs often to keep on top of things so you don't have lots to do last minute. A lot of people will try and give you their two cents and although they mean well it isn't always what you want to hear. Stick to your guns, it's your day! And finally make sure you take regular moments throughout the day to stop and take it all in. The day is such a blur and goes so quickly, you'll give anything once it's over to go back and relive it!
Photography | Vela Images, Brides Dress | Natalie Chan, Shoes | Badgley Mischka, Reception | Lakes Resort, Grooms suit | Working Style, Rings | Tony Lodge @ Precious Gem Setting Flowers | 107 Flowers Hair | Revamp and Revive Bridesmaids dresses | Kookai, Next, Principals and Calla Bridal Celebrant | Angela Besant @ Celebrant Matters
1 comment:
What a gorgeous wedding. Love the little details. Beautiful work Greta! xx
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