Being a southerner I had no idea where Coatesville was until today. A small rural town only 30 minutes from central Auckland, Coatesville is home to a very sweet community hall where today's gorgeous couple Anna & Jason said I do... and what an amazing job they did of decorating it! Today's wedding is so sweet, and SO full of inspiration, all beautifully captured by the incredible Lydia Rachel Photography; but one thing that gave me mega warm fuzzies was what the couple had to say about what marriage...
Marriage to us means bringing out the best in each other. It means sharing a life with your best friend & not taking things too seriously. Making one another laugh so hard we cry is one of the best feelings in the world.
Photographer Lydia Rachel Photography | Brides Dress Rue De Seine from Secret Lace Bridal | Bridemaid Dresses MOH top from Forever New, Bridesmaids' tops from Jeans West. Skirts from Witchery | Groom & Groomsmen Suits Suits hired from Exclusive Suit Hire | Ceremony & Reception Venue Coatesville Settlers Hall | Florist Serena Radich from Pretty Posies | Accessories Bride's earrings from Meadowlark. BM earrings from Forever New. GM ties from Etsy, Groom's bow tie from Etsy | Rings Wedding bands from Meadowlark | Hairdresser Michele Shanley from Live & Let Dye Hair | Makeup Artist Sophie Robertson | Brides shoes Forever New | Grooms Shoes Overland | Celebrant Clive Sperring | Cake Janine Streeter from Temptation Cakes | Catering Michael Slaven | Stationery designer Sharnee O'Leary from NZ Wedding Art | Music iPod playlist curated by Alister Gill
Tell us about the proposal... 
What does marriage mean to you... 
What was the theme and inspiration behind your wedding... 
How did you choose your photographer? 
What was a highlight from the day? 
Tell us about the venue... 
Jase knew I was very low-key when it came to a proposal. We have been together 7 years so it was a topic we often discussed. I even instructed him not to propose under the Eiffel tower when we were on our trip around Europe. Even though I knew it was coming, I was still completely surprised when I came home from work one day and he popped the question with a beautiful bunch of sunflowers.
Marriage to us means bringing out the best in each other. It means sharing a life with your best friend & not taking things too seriously. Making one another laugh so hard we cry is one of the best feelings in the world.
Our rustic/woodland theme was heavily inspired by the venue where we had our ceremony & reception. It was at the Coastesville Settlers Hall which is a beautiful old building set within the countryside.
One of the most valuable sources of inspiration for our theme was Pinterest. We were able to find ideas and adapt them to what we wanted. In particular, our stationery. We also bought decorations, napkins & the boys' ties from Etsy as there is such a large variety of handmade items and everything is so unique.
We were recommended our photographer, Lydia Arnold, by a family member. After looking at her blog, we could see that her style of photography was exactly what we were after! It was an overcast day with a lot of wind and patches of rain. Although most people prefer a clear, sunny day for their wedding - we are incredibly happy with how the photographs turned out. Lydia captured beautiful atmospheric shots with the wind and rain adding a raw & natural quality. Looking at the photos, the relaxed mood of the day has been conveyed perfectly.
Our favourite moment of the day, was probably the picnic of wine and cheese we had with our bridal party out the back of the VW kombi van we had hired for the day. We talked & laughed between having our photos taken and it was the perfect lead up to our ceremony.
Because the inside of the hall was basically a blank canvas, we did most of the decorating ourselves. The bridal party and family members all helped us out on the Friday before our wedding to hang bunting, lights, and setting up the tables. Our florist went to the hall the morning of the wedding and decorated the rest with beautiful flowers and greenery draped around doorways and on tables, hanging from the ceiling and placed in buckets in various places around the hall. We were also lucky enough to have a friend track down a huge amount of log slices for us, so these were set amongst all the greenery. The hall itself had a piano which we were given permission to use as a prop, and an old scoreboard which was used for our seating plan.
We hired a lot of items, but all came from different companies around Auckland. So it took a lot of internet research to track down each item.
We had seen a blog featuring wooden school chairs, and had our hearts set on having them. After looking around Auckland, we finally tracked down a company called Blakes in Hamilton who delivered them to us in Coatesville and picked them up a few days later. Although chairs may seem like a minor detail in planning a wedding, we really felt it was important to get the right style & is something we were both so pleased with.
PhotographerLydia Rachel Photography | Brides Dress Rue De Seine from Secret Lace Bridal | Bridemaid Dresses MOH top from Forever New, Bridesmaids' tops from Jeans West. Skirts from Witchery | Groom & Groomsmen Suits Suits hired from Exclusive Suit Hire | Ceremony & Reception Venue Coatesville Settlers Hall | Florist Serena Radich from Pretty Posies | Accessories Bride's earrings from Meadowlark. BM earrings from Forever New. GM ties from Etsy, Groom's bow tie from Etsy | Rings Wedding bands from Meadowlark | Hairdresser Michele Shanley from Live & Let Dye Hair | Makeup Artist Sophie Robertson | Brides shoes Forever New | Grooms Shoes Overland | Celebrant Clive Sperring | Cake Janine Streeter from Temptation Cakes | Catering Michael Slaven | Stationery designer Sharnee O'Leary from NZ Wedding Art | Music iPod playlist curated by Alister Gill
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.
