Josie & Mark were inspired by the Italian tradition of a long relaxed lunch and they based the flow of their Waiheke Island wedding around this idea. PODERI CRISCI with it’s remote location in a lush valley and it’s stunning gardens, offered them all the decoration they needed. Gorgeous bride Josie had some great advice for those of you in the midst of planning, ééòGet out of the house to do your wedding planning – go to a pub or caf and keep it fun!ééò. The couple also suggest focusing on the big picture and the overall atmosphere you want to create rather than getting lost in the detail. Pick a couple of things that are important to you as a couple and the rest will follow. And as you can see from these gorgeous images by HEATHER LIDDELL the results from those pub discussions came out perfectly! How stunning is Josie’s beaded ELIZA JANE HOWELL gown? THE WAIHEKE FLOWER COMPANY created a beautiful textural bouquet to finish off the look.
HOW DID YOU MEET? Through a mutual friend and flatmate, at a dress up party in London. Surprisingly, we hit it off despite my being dressed as Oscar the Grouch and Mark as one of the 3 Blind Mice.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: Mark took me away for a surprise weekend away under the guise of belated birthday celebrations. It was so much of a surprise that with the aid of headphones and clever distraction techniques, I didn’t even know which country we were in until passport control! It turned out to be Portugal – we stayed at a beautifully converted farm stables in the Alentejo region, about an hour’s drive from Lisbon. Mark did very well to conceal a portable cooker, coffee maker and champagne in his bag before proposing, picnic-style.
TELL US ABOUT FINDING YOUR WEDDING DRESS: A friend in the know pointed me towards Blackburn Bridal in South London – the staff were really friendly and they have a beautifully curated selection of dresses. I knew I wanted a vintage style beaded dress ééò the first one I tried on at Blackburn Bridal stood out straight away, and ended up being the one I went for. I cut timings a bit tight so I could only pick up my dress the day before I flew out to New Zealand ééò luckily it fit!
DESCRIBE YOUR WEDDING FLOWERS: Elaine at the Waiheke Flower Company did a great job in selecting flowers for the bridal bouquets, buttonholes and tables. We wanted softer, dusky colours for the bridal bouquets and some brighter pops of colour in the jars of flowers on the tables.
FAVOURITE DETAIL OF THE DAY: We loved the food – we knew Poderi Crisci would do a great job, having tried their food before, but we were really blown away on the day by the attention to detail and the quality. Having the long lunch come out slowly over the afternoon meant we could enjoy the different courses without having to rush.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? Early evening in the marquee was a really memorable moment – the hills behind us were bright orange with the last of the sun, and friends and family were meandering through the vines. A lovely moment of calm in a whirlwind day.
ANY OTHER DETAILS THAT HELP TELL THE STORY OF YOUR DAY: We had a really fun day planning our playlist for the different parts of the day in a caf at Auckland. We learnt Bruce Springsteen is appropriate at all times, Gangstas Paradise not so much.
