Brett and I first met through mutual friends when we were teenagers and we didn't exactly get along.
fast forward a few years and a mutual friend reached out on Facebook asking if I was single. A friend of hers had seen me on her Facebook page, thought I was really cute and if I was in the mood to go out on a date, he was keen! That friend was Brett!
I vaguely remembered him, so thought why not. She told him to message me and not long after he showed up in my DMs. The rest is history!
After 5 years of being "Facebook official", Brett proposed on a family trip to Rarotonga. He used his mum to smuggle the ring in her luggage so I wouldn't find it and a couple of days into our trip, after leading me away for a relaxing stroll along the beachfront he popped the question. I had a feeling something was up because he casually started rambling about wonderful things in our life, he tends to ramble when he's nervous, we stopped and he turned in front of me and asked me to marry him, and in kiwi styles I responded with maybe...Nah Yeah!
Picking the dress. Every girl dreams of being a princess bride, and I was a bit nervous as I've never been a "girly girl". Bridal Brilliance was the first and only place I visited to try on dresses. They had such a wide range of styles online I couldn't wait to see what they had in the studio. I took everyone with me, my mother, sister who was also my bridesmaid, mother-in-law, sister-in-laws, and another of my bridesmaids.
Belinda and Kelly were amazing right from the get-go, they helped us look around the store and find dresses to try, and had bubbles on hand to calm the nerves. I think I tried around 10 different dresses and the ladies helped with each one and brought in different veils and pieces to try with them to help bring the vision to life. It didn't take long before I found my dream dress, the gorgeous ball gown style of Stella York 6988 and ivory glitter veil, I truly believe this dress can make anyone feel like a princess.
We are huge Star Wars fans so of course we had to incorporate it into our big day. We had Star Wars themed table names, wedding cake and a few other add-ons here and there. We also added some lightsaber collectables to a few of our photos which was so much fun.
We chose to wed at Settlers County Manor in Waimauku. Instantly falling in love with the breathtaking manor vibe as soon as we stepped through the door. The garden area also made a stunning backdrop.
I had a family friend who owns Wild Rose Beauty to do our hair and makeup and our decadent cake was made by Sweet Bites Cakes in Henderson.
When we met Lara from Soul Sisters Photography we felt an instant click, we also had a second shooter Sarah Webber who worked alongside our videographer Evan From Ignite Photography. The footage and photos we received from them were breathtaking and will definitely be treasured forever.
Our ceremony was conducted by celebrant Erin Marmont, she had a questionnaire to help us customise our day which was fun to fill in and she added in Star Wars quotes that made it more personal to our day.
We could not have asked for a more perfect wedding and are thankful to all our vendors, family and friends that were apart of our special day, we will treasure the memories for a lifetime.
