Tarureka Wedding By Emily Roper

Chelsea & Blair got married at the beautiful Tarureka Estate in the Wairarapa, styling their wedding with a vintage carnival theme, so it created a fun, relaxed atmosphere for their guests. Emily Roper was along to document all the fun!

How and/or where did you meet? Blair and I first met when I was working at a local supermarket, I developed a major crush on him and then about three years later we were both at a concert in Wellington and a mutual friend that knew I fancied him introduced us and we have been inseparable since.

Tell us about your proposal: We were staying on a small island in Bali. It was our third day into our trip. We were sitting on at a cliff top restaurant which looked out across the ocean, sipping cocktails. We were discussing our plans for the upcoming year and talking about the changes we wanted to make. Then out of the blue Blair said ééòI know something we could do next yearééò we could get married.” Before I knew it Blair was reaching into his pocket and placing a ring box on the table in front of me. I was speechless.

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I actually found it really difficult looking for my dress. I think I made the mistake of trying on too many, it all became really overwhelming and the dress I feel in love with was so overpriced. I eventually decided on a dress but when I went to go back for my first fitting I spotted a lace dress I liked in the window. I turned to mum and said ééòThat’s prettyééò. She said ééòyou don’t like the dress you choose do you?”. I said ééòno not reallyééò and ended up trying the one in the window on and two others. That was when I found my dress it was exactly what I had dreamed of all along. It was simple lace and didn’t feel too heavy or too hard to move in and it had the buttons down the back. Because it originally had straps which were removed it meant the back was slightly lower cut than other strapless dresses I tried which I really liked.

Describe your wedding flowers: Our bouquets had a very cottage feel to them. Mine was filled with white and pink roses, as well as some pastel greenery. Whilst the bridesmaids also had hydrangeas which matched the table flowers

Favourite detail of the day: Setting the lawn up with food stands, live music and games for our guests to play whilst eating and drinking. Also our wedding cake was beautiful and it tasted amazing. Oh and the way my mum with the help of her close friend and my brothers transformed a garden area into our ceremony area.

What advise would you give out to a couple planning their wedding? Don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family members for help and their opinions. But also at remember it is your day as couple so go with your gut feeling. Also enjoy every moment because it all goes so fast.

Most memorable moment? I have two; walking down the aisle and seeing my friends, family and my soon to be husband smiling. And also our first dance, as we started to dance my 20 month old nephew walked onto the dance floor to share our first dance with usééò then of course the awesome dancing that went on throughout the night it was just so much fun!