New Zealand Garden Wedding

I think I just might have fallen for this couple a bit when reading their story. Erin and Grant had a laissez-faire attitude when it came to planning their wedding, accepting that things may come together a little differently than their initial vision. Photographers A Couple of Night Owls were on hand, along with quite a few cans of silly string to keep the kiddies happy!

From the bride, Erin: When Grant asked me to marry him, I thought he was joking. Not because marriage is something that should be joked about (balls and chains are never a laughing matter), but because the proposal was so relaxed, understated and so him that I thought it was to get a laugh. Which sums us up in a nutshell: goobers. And we tried our best to bring that into our day in as many ways as possible.

Like a good bride, I started a Pinterest board, ordered a Topshop dress online that turned out to be too small in the butt region for me and used the wedding money to buy a house. All in the name of fun. I organised the big things like catering, a singing man, the celebrant, the ceremony venue and a scout marquee for the backyard and then took a break to move house and take a week’s holiday to Rarotonga that was booked before the rest of the crazy.

None of the details really turned out as what we thought they would look like. We had a vision, would start executing and as things wouldn’t work or were deemed to difficult, we’d change tact. Which was super fun, but we didn’t really know what everything would actually look like until it was done. We bought glasses, teaspoons and side plates from op shops, spray painted plastic animals and made clouds. We really wanted to create a chilled out vibe where everyone could relax and have a laugh so we had outdoor games after the ceremony and a pub quiz to kick off the reception. May I recommend cans of crazy string if you plan to have children at your wedding. It was a massive hit with the under 10’s.

My favourite part of the day was sitting down in the marquee and watching. Everyone was laughing and mingling and Grant and I had a wee chat about how many rad people we know. So many! We just about injured ourselves laughing on the dance floor. A wedding’s not a wedding without some sweet shape cutting and people didn’t hold back with their rad dance moves. Sharing’s caring.

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To all the upcoming brides – try and make everything as simple as possible. There are so many thing’s going on that simple will save the day. And when in doubt, make clouds and watch the unfortunate dress scene in Bridesmaids on repeat with wine and chocolate. It puts everything in perspective.

Wedding Location: Hamilton, New Zealand / Wedding Photographer: A Couple of Night Owls / Ceremony Venue: Private Residence / Reception Venue: Glasshouse, Hamilton Gardens / Flowers, Hair, and Makeup: Melodie of Melodie M / Wedding Dress: Trelise Cooper / Reception Dress: Topshop / Wedding Shoes: Nude / Wedding Caterer: Spit Roast Catering Company / Cakes: The Cheesecake Shop / Macarons: Grace Cafe / Wedding Music: Edward Jackson