Hawkes Bay wedding by Coralee & Alex

Well we were treated to almost a full weekend of sun... which made for some very happy people I can tell you! It was utterly delightful to sit outside in the sun, coffee in hand, reading a magazine and feel the warmth of the sun, hear the birds going crazy in the trees, and have some time out. More please Mr. Sun!! I also managed to fit in some gardening, and a bit of house DIY - not something I do often at all - but I whitewashed furniture which has pretty much transformed a room. Great way to get a new look without spending a lot!

I love it when brides send in their weddings... especially when I discover it's by some of my favourite photographers! Coralee & Alex must be such fun to have along as your wedding photographers... I can imagine wanting to ask them to join you to party at the end of the night!! The lovely bride shares some details of their day with us and proves that weather bombs are so barrier to a fabulous celebration!!

Joe and I were married at my family home in the Hawkes Bay on the 3rd of March. After becoming engaged, I knew I couldn't see myself being married anywhere else. The house itself is a grand old lady and Mum has always kept an immaculately beautiful garden - the perfect setting for an intimate affair. Having our wedding at home also meant that we could set-up everything how we would like, but it also meant a lot of hard work, which we were most definitely up for! Our wedding style was very much homemade/vintage and we spend months collecting and creating decorative pieces.

In the days leading up to the wedding, it was wonderful to see our families come together to help us in any way possible. We simply could not have achieved what we did without them. A very large component of our wedding was DIY, and together we spent hours hanging paper lanterns, setting tables, preparing food, cleaning and decorating. My mum was especially amazing, spending a full day out from her busy schedule to assemble the bridal bouquets and fill the marquee and house with the most beautiful flower arrangements. We truly felt that so much love went into the creation of our wedding day!

The morning of the wedding was pretty hectic. We had so much left to do - even hubby-to-be was pitching in! Last minute changes had to be made as a 'weather bomb' was coming our way, and our garden ceremony setting had to be quickly shifted to inside the reception marquee, which was luckily still standing. Joe and I both agree that we found the ceremony surprisingly overwhelming. It was a very special moment for us both to finally stop, take everything in, and realise that we were finally becoming husband and wife. I also think it's important to mention how amazing our photographers, Coralee and Alex, were! Despite the torrential rain, we still headed out for photo time post the ceremony. This was such a fun part of our day! Coralee and Alex kept us laughing and smiling, and once the relief and excitement of being finally married kicked in, we'd completely forgotten about the terrible weather!

Photography | Coralee & Alex, Wedding dress | Rowan McLennan, Flowers - Mother of the Bride, Invitations | Bride & Groom, Make Up | Cushla Bower, Hair | Abbey Schofield, Catering | Friends and Family, Celebrant | Pippa Chambers

Northland Beach Wedding by Coralee & Alex

I know I say this every time but it always thrills me when I meet clients and they tell me they've booked such fabulous photographers as Coralee & Alex*!! Kate & Gary got married earlier this year up north in a gorgeously casual beachside celebration. They left New Zealand last year to head to the Caribbean where they bought a boat and proceeded to sail around the world. Returning for a couple of weeks for their wedding, they're now back on the high seas having some amazing adventure I'm sure, so I wasn't able to get hold of Kate to get some info from her. But I'm pretty sure you won't need words from Kate or Gary to see how beautiful their wedding was or how stunning a bride Kate made. I love how their wedding looks very casual yet utterly chic at the same time... and SO them!! Congrats Kate & Gary... I hope you're having a wonderful time wherever in the world you may be!! And thanks again to the wonderful Coralee & Alex for sharing their inspiring work with us!

*Coralee & Alex are one of my fabulous sponsors!!

Vineyard wedding by Coralee & Alex

I have a lovely vineyard wedding from the fabulous duo of Coralee & Alex first up this week. You may remember Amber & Jamin's cute engagement shoot I featured last year, so I'm thrilled to be sharing their beautiful day with you too. How incredible are these flowers? And the perfect pictures in the fields? Love it!

The inspiration for our wedding came from our two upbringings (England and New Zealand) and the fact the Jamin looks good in brown and I wanted a Grecian type wedding dress. This is why we fell in love with Markovina Vineyard Estate because it brought a blend of our two homes, with features such as its red phone box, open country field, flower gardens and the beautiful native plants, vines and the gorgeous chestnut tree that we had our ceremony under. Markovina Estate also naturally matched our colour theme with its antique, rustic wagons and cart wheels dotted around the gardens. If this wasn't enough, with all of Jamin's nieces and nephews, the ground provided lots of fun and games, as well as a good old English game of Croquet.

Our florist was Fairy Florist in Titirangi who worked with our colour themes choosing a range of dark purples, gorgeous greens and whites. Although my amazing mother did all the flowers for the reception and also provided small pots with cute little flowers for wedding favours, each with a small flag with the guests name handwritten on.

We actually made flags a part of our theme with white bunting all through the garden and a very handsome wee flag boy who raised a flag at important events during the day as well as our divine white chocolate cake made by our amazing cake maker Claire Rowe that had flags and bunting hung on it.

Our super creative friends James and Freya Brown handmade our wedding invitations and order of service for our day that were shaped as a fan for guests to fan themselves in the heat. They encapsulated the theme of our wedding using images like bunting, flags, trees and flowers.

I knew from the beginning as I am quite short that I would need a dress that was not too puffy and big. That is why I went with a long flowing Grecian style dress. I got this from Modes in Newmarket and they were extremely helpful with choosing my gown. The bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dresses were made by our family friend, whose attention detail and patience was spectacular!

Our day started with a whole lot of fun. Jamin and his mates had a big hearty breakfast washed down with Guinness and then headed to Cornwallis for some childish ball kicking and tree climbing and a cold dunk in the sea and Alex (our photographer) did well to put up with our antics! The girls on the other hand were quite oppositely relaxing being beautified at Peter Sahramann hair salon in Titirangi along with our amazing makeup Amanda Beets Makeup Artist.

Jamin’s most fond memory of the day was the anticipation sheltering under the great chestnut tree awaiting his bride, whilst squinting in the sun as it shone but then momentarily but repeatedly was hidden by fast moving clouds, threatening to down pour and soak us all! But it shone gloriously as Amber walked up the aisle, passing all our friends and family of like faith; with Jerome and Felix Alderson (of ‘All a Sudden Darkness’) strumming a classical guitar piece they composed just for us (http://soundcloud.com/jerome-alderson/jamin-ambers-wedding-song). Never have I been more content!

My most memorable moment was during the hymn we sang at our ceremony Jamin and I turned and looked out to all our guests and it was at that moment that I realised I had all my friends and family all in one place together at one time celebrating our very special day with us, a feeling of love, comfort and familiarity all in one, which our photographers Coralee and Alex captured beautifully through the camera’s eye.

* Coralee & Alex are one of my fabulous sponsors.

Villa Maria Estate wedding by Coralee & Alex

I don't often seeing weddings with a lot of blue... especially navy, in them, so this sweet wedding from Coralee & Alex makes a lovely change. Spencer and Amanda were married at the exquisite Villa Maria Estate on a sunny Sunday in January. Both being passionate about wine, food, modern architecture and natural beauty, Villa Maria Estate was the perfect venue to carry out their special day.

While Amanda grew up in New Zealand, Spencer moved over from England 9-years ago. It was so incredibly special to the couple that Spencer’s parents, his four siblings and other amazing friends and family travelled from near and far to share their day with them. 

The day commenced down by the late where the emotional ceremony took place. The bridal party walked down the hydrangea-laden aisle to a rendition of the late “Etta James’ – At Last”. The couple exchanged vows and promises they had written for one another. Wanting a relaxed, emotional, fun, beautiful and romantic day their expectations were exceeded.

The romantic colour scheme featured elegant midnight-blue of the bridesmaids dresses and creams, muted greys and soft peaches of the bouquets and buttonholes. Rice paper lanterns floated in the wind.

Amanda wore her late-Grandmother’s brooch in her hair and her great-Grandmother’s cameo on her bouquet.

With the help of Anna Sandford, Amanda’s dream centrepiece’s became reality. Peach cut-glass pedestal cake-plates showcased a gorgeous dome of cream, green and peach flowers. Lace-wrapped tea-light candle holders, posies in cut-crystal vases, hand-made table numbers and chiavari chairs completed the romantic theme.

 

Photography | Coralee & Alex, Venue | Villa Maria Estate, Brides Dress | Jane Yeh, Grooms Suit | Crane Brothers, Florist | Flowers by Anna Sandford, Bridesmaids Dresses | Exquisite Designs

Beach engagement shoot from Coralee & Alex...

This may just be my favourite engagement shoot EVER!! I mean come on... how utterly adorable are these two? I just wanna eat them up! I love the simplicity of it... gorgeous natural surroundings, with minimal props, and those they do have, have a sweet whimsical tone to them. And I've gotta say whilst I adore the colour shots, I'm also totally digging the black and whites. Captured by the superbly talented Coralee & Alex... can you believe these two have only just got their first season behind them? I'm so excited to see what comes out of their upcoming summer season once they're hitting it full time. I know only too well how hard that juggle is. I had the pleasure of meeting up with this husband and wife team the morning of the below shoot and I can tell you NZ brides, if you're looking for a warm, friendly photography team who will make you feel totally comfortable and have lots of personality, then look no further! I can't wait to see the wedding photos for Amber and Jamin if this is anything to go on!