With the beautiful scenery and landscapes in the Hawkes Bay area of New Zealand, it’s not hard to see what inspired Natasha and Richard when it came to planning their big day. With Te Mata Peak in the background and the Tuki Tuki river there was no need to bother with any additional decor since Mother Nature did a pretty fabulous job! Their wedding took place in the midst of a very hot summer in a magical spot right on the river and they had MADELINE DRUCE there to capture their beautiful day.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: After 8 years of being together keeping secrets from me isn’t the easiest. Anything out of the ordinary I know he is up to something so Richard had to play it cool, not let anything be out of the ordinary, not to mention he was very nervous so had to play it cool. We went away for the weekend to our local beach. I made lunch grabbed a bottle of rose and some beers and we headed down onto the beach. Richard of course had to act his usual self and want to go fishing with the boys so he threw me off the scent completely so he reluctantly agreed to join me. We had the beach to ourselves the sun was shining and there in the picnic bag was the ring. At first I thought I wasn’t meant to see it so kept my mouth shut of course he kept asking me to collect things out of the bag (so yes looking back this part is hilarious it was definitely the elephant in the room). What seemed like an eternity and was probably only 30seconds I couldn’t hold it any longer! It was the only way he could propose but was the most like us, it was perfect!
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: We live in Hawkes Bay so not exactly spoilt for choice for wedding dress shops. Trish Peng was recommended to me by a friend, after one visit I was sold ééò there was no need to go anywhere else. I saw one of her wedding dresses on the internet and Trish took care of the rest altering it to fit my body. She was an absolute dream to work with, honest but with integrity ééò nothing was ever a problem.
ANY DIY ELEMENTS? We have very thirsty friends and we see how much wastage there is at weddings with half drunk bottles so Richard stumbled across a picture of a help yourself beer bar. He’s a carpenter by trade and can make anything so he made a beer bar out of recycled wood. We ordered in the beer taps and Heineken keg set up. All the table numbers and signs were old fence batons from the farm. We also did all our invites on paperless post- so easy to use and to track especially for those overseas or travelling as it is all on email and easy to track.
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: All our flowers were handpicked- it was a perfect time of year for hydrangeas and the antique colours were perfect for our setting. All the flowers were collected by our mums Dot and Gel, family and friends on the morning of our wedding.
FAVOURITE DETAILS OF THE DAY: It is very hard to pin point just one, the details all sort of merge together. Richard and I managed to sneak away during our dinner service for our couple shots and it was nice to just get away just the two of us.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? Anything other details that help tell the story of your day: We wanted a family sharing style catering so we had shared style food, an outdoor Argentinean BBQ, breadboards, and tapas style food. We also had a whiskey and cigar bar which was a hit with the lads.
Photographer MADELINE DRUCE / Cake KATE HARDING / Stationery PAPERLESS POST / Venue BLACK BARN OFFSITE VENUE / Dress Designer TRISH PENG / Shoes MI PIACI / Jewellery WALKER & HALL, GLISTEN + SWAROVSKI / Hair SUZANNE HARDY / Bridesmaids Dresses JULIETTE HOGAN & ASOS / Grooms Attire WORKING STYLE + THOM LE VAR / Caterer KATE LESTER CATERING, EL SIZZLING CHORIZO
