A Fresh & Fabulous Auckland Wedding By Coralee Stone

Today's gorgeous shindig is everything a wedding should be. Elegant but fun, classic but still unique, and filled with love and happy faces. A big congratulations to the gorgeous couple and a massive thank you to the extra talented CORALEE STONE for letting me share this special day on P&L! xox

6 IDEAS TO STEAL 1.The bride gave her bridesmaids gorgeous natural clutches, a great gift idea for the girls whatever their style! 2. The white ribbon around the bouquets is on trend but still beautifully classic 3. The Navy and Gold colour palette always looks fab and a little gold glitter and sequins adds some extra bling 4. The slightly different blue of the grooms suit helps him look extra special but still fits in with the rest of the bridal party 5. The cathedral length gown looks so elegant (especially in a church ceremony) and makes a great photo prop for some smoochy shots! 6. The sparklers make for a fun nightime pic for young and old (we all love a sparkler!) How did you meet? In three words describe your wedding style... What were your save and splurge items for your wedding? What was the most difficult part of planning your wedding? And the most fun? Did you have hens/stag nights? If so, what did you do? Did you DIY? If so, what did you do? What music did you play for those special moments? Do you have any money saving tips for engaged couples? Where did you go for your honeymoon?

Who Mike and Joanna Willis (maiden name Smith)
Where Ceremony at St Paul's Church in Auckland City, Reception at Parnells on the Rose Garden
Guests 170 at the ceremony and 82 for the reception

Mike and I met through our church, with our first meeting at a café during a casual group hangout.

Elegant, beautiful, and classy

We saved on our cake, cars and printing. Our big spending was on my dress, our rings and the reception. Our splurge was on the honeymoon.

Having so many details to decide and tick off was quite consuming. I enjoyed the last few weeks leading up to the wedding once most things were sorted.

My maid of honor flew over from Sydney and the girls took me out for brunch in the morning. They had organized a kitchen tea for the afternoon themed 'oriental' in celebration of my growing up in Asia. Family and girlfriends brought favourite recipes and things for the kitchen. After the kitchen tea, 10 of us drove up to Omaha where we stayed the night. Dinner out, drinks and games made the night with close girlfriends a whole lot of fun.

The boys dressed Mike in a bright green mankini, somewhat less sporty than his Olympic Weightlifting outfit, and off to paint ball they went. Mike and his best man had to run the gauntlet which he still has welt marks from. They played bumper soccer and gave him fitness challenges throughout the day. Later there was dinner and drinks, and wax strips mixed with a quiz about me.

I had collected jars for a year, which we then added gold paint or gold glitter to. These were used in the styling for the table centres at the reception.

Processional: Christina Perri - A Thousand Years
Song Item by Nicky Aikin: Jason Marazz - I Won't Give Up
Recessional: Smash Mouth (Neil Diamond) - I'm A Believer
First Dance: Ed Sherran - Thinking Out Loud

There are SO many different ways you can do a wedding. Decide early on what is most important to you both and what kind of wedding you would like. Keep those things as the goal and let other things go.

Mike planned our honeymoon and kept it all a surprise for me. We had 10 nights in the Cook Islands with the first four in Rarotonga and the last five in Aitutaki. It was just magical. The lagoon cruise on Te Vaka from Aitutaki was certainly a highlight as we island hopped and snorkeled in turquoise water with the vibrant sea life.

CREDITS

Founder and editor of P&L. Self-proclaimed shoe guru and lover of bogan chic (wtf!) Wife of a butcher, mother of 7 dogs and a cat. Bonkers.