The days of hiring a photographer for your wedding who also happens to live in your city are long gone. These days couples are flying their favourite photographers to their wedding location from all around the world. And there’s another trend happening where photographers are fleeing winter in their home countries and spending a couple of months enjoying summer elsewhere, travelling and shooting a few weddings in what is effectively their off-season. Sounds like the perfect plan to me… perhaps I could convince my hubby to retrain as a photographer so we could do this!! Lene & Victor from Lene Photography are one such couple doing this. They left a cold German winter and spent the summer here and shooting in and around the North Island and whilst here captured Zara & Mark’s gorgeous Kumeu Valley Estate wedding.

From the bride: My dress was from Rue de Seine in Newmarket. Once I stepped foot in the store and met Michele and Michael I knew that was it. I’m fussy about fabric quality and what I liked about Rue de Seine was how beautiful the fabrics were (silks and French lace – to die for!) and how much care they put into tailoring. They were incredibly lovely to deal with and went out of their way to make sure that my dress was perfect for me. I have quite simple taste so I went for a dress made of grainy, Dupion silk in ivory with little silk buttons down the back.

We imagined a pretty, festive summer garden wedding with close friends and family, followed by a merry celebration. We had both been to a wedding at Kumeu Valley Estate previously and really liked how relaxed the venue felt. My mum made 80metres of bunting, which we strung around the venue, and little pot plants to line the outdoor aisle.

All of the decorative elements were done on a budget, and because of our three-month engagement (with Christmas in the middle of it and both working in busy full-time jobs) we had to be choosy with what we spent time on. Mark designed and printed all the stationery himself and Mum made bunting and other little bits and pieces to decorate the venue. We had to let go of a few little details and play to our strengths, but it all worked out perfectly and we were blessed with the most beautiful hot summery weather on the day.

My wedding flowers were soft and relaxed – I didn’t want anything that looked overdone. Kelly at Blush put together wild, loosely-tied bouquets of David Austen roses, lambs ear, garden roses, small clusters of Gypsophila, Lisianthus blooms in soft pastel tones. For the table settings we used a similar combination of flowers in different glass bottles and vases. The flowers exceeded my expectations.
Focus your energy on thinking about what marriage (the institution of marriage) means to you and why you’re doing it, and make sure that it takes up more of your headspace than planning the wedding.
The ceremony was my most memorable moment! I loved walking up the aisle with my proud dad and seeing Mark standing up there waiting for me. It felt so good for both of us to be standing before friends and family and God and making these declarations to each other. Our friends Fraser and Naomi Browne (aka Paper Cranes) sung a few songs during the ceremony and it was just really enjoyable.

Photographer | Lene Friesen, Florist | Flowers by Blush, Music | Paper Cranes, Cake | The Boutique Baker Co

Venue | Kumeu Valley Estate, Dress Designer | Rue de Seine, Shoes | Mi Piaci, Hair & Make-up | Olga Gill

Bridesmaids Dresses | Kingan Jones, Grooms Attire | Working Style

Lene Photography & Blush by Kelly Amundsen are both members of our directory