Katie & Sam
Before moving overseas Katie and Sam wanted to celebrate with their loved ones at an inner-city wedding in their hometown of Auckland. They envisioned a timeless look and vintage undertones, and the couple pulled it off perfectly! Katie tells us more…
I am a flight attendant. I have always loved travelling and going to new places. Sam and I met six years ago through mutual friends. When we first started dating, we spent a lot of time together on road trips and in the ocean. Sam loves surfing. We spend a lot of weekends and early mornings chasing the surf around. Our relationship moved quickly once Covid-19 happened, I couldn't fly anymore, we ended up locking down and spent so much time together and fell even more in love. Sam works in construction and grew up living at Piha beach, he spent a lot of time out there with his family and friends. Piha is one of the spots he has the best memories with, which is where he proposed! It was very low key, romantic and relaxed. It was just us and the sunset, it was dreamy!
Katie and Sam won our epic Bride & Groom magazine wedding package at our Bride & Groom Show, winning over $25,000 worth of wedding goodies, thanks to these wonderful wedding vendors for their amazing prizes. See the prize vendors at the end of the wedding.
We were incredibly fortunate to win the amazing Bride & Groom’s Wedding Package - we were so lucky to have the opportunity to collaborate with exceptional wedding vendors and incorporate truly special elements into our wedding. We knew we were moving to California after our wedding so we wanted to make sure everyone could attend, so we went with a city wedding in Auckland where both of us grew up.
The morning of our wedding was a whirlwind of excitement. I had so much fun with my bridesmaids, sister and Mum, and we all really enjoyed the whole getting ready process. I think playing music, drinking Champagne and the anticipation for the day was a massive highlight. Getting to see my bouquets arrive and getting into my dress were such surreal experiences that I'll cherish forever.
For my dress I was torn between two visions - one of a simple classic satin dress, and the second a high neck lace dress. So, I decided I had to do two! I wanted my ceremony dress to be simple, so I chose the Maggie Sottero Scarlet gown from Astra Bridal. It was beautifully sophisticated and flowy, and I had a custom bow made for the back to add a feminine touch. For my reception dress I wanted to be able to dance the night away with ease, so I went with a short dress that was lacey, high neck and long sleeve. I loved both of my dresses so much and I am so glad I did two.
Sam wanted a classic, timeless suit and Dorset suits were amazing with helping him and his groomsmen find the perfect look.
Our church ceremony was traditional, held at St Matthews in the City, but we made sure to add aspects of our relationship and personality in as well. Walking up the aisle towards Sam was so amazing. Surrounded by our loved ones, the anticipation and emotion in the room was unforgettable. Hearing his vows for the first time made me so emotional and everything felt so real in the moment. The music we chose added an extra layer of meaning to our ceremony. I walked up the aisle to Chateau by Angus and Julia Stone, which is a song we would often listen to on road trips. We signed the register to Better Together by Jack Johnson and it felt very us. Walking back down the aisle hand in hand was surreal!
The weather was wild on our wedding day and my dress got absolutely soaked! Luckily we did get a few breaks in the rain and made the most of the lush greenery and the glorious views of this incredible garden. Despite the weather everyone in the bridal party kept their spirits high and the photos turned out beautifully.
Entering into our reception was so much fun! We were overwhelmed with gratitude and joy to have the best people in our lives in one place. We loved getting to see all our family and friends, dancing together and eating the food and drinks we had picked. The highlights were hearing toasts from our loved ones, cutting our cake, and seeing the cocktails we designed come to life - I chose a French Martini and Sam a Rum Amaretto Cola. Our vintage-style cake from Sweet Bites turned out so beautiful and really captured my vision.
We chose a colour palette of blues, crisp whites, and luxurious gold accents for our special day. From the gold cutlery to the elegant invitation calligraphy, and extending to our beautifully designed wedding website, every element reflected our chosen theme.
A few of our favourite special touches from our day include the church welcome flower box built by Sam, and our drinks menu board where we had pictures of our cocktails on it. Inkberry Calligraphy did such an amazing job on the place card names on the chocolate favours, the addresses on my invitations, welcome box sign, seating chart and drawing my drinks menu. She is so talented and adds such a special touch for weddings.
The weather really was below average! Which is definitely expected in Auckland, it was raining and humid and my hair did not last. I was so lucky one of my bridesmaids Brooke brought a curler! We did the best we could before we went out for the reception. Luckily, we were inside for most of the wedding and once I got there, I couldn't have cared less! So many people said it’s good luck to rain on your wedding day so we are just going to go with that.
Our photographers Valo were fantastic, making us feel so comfortable, like we were hanging out with old friends. They ensured we got candid photos and went way above and beyond to get some amazing shots. I took some photos that were similar to my parents' wedding photos. They were a similar age when they got married and I thought that would be fun to have to look back on.
All our vendors were so amazing and went above and beyond to make our day special. We were incredibly fortunate to win the amazing Bride & Groom’s Wedding Package - we were so lucky to have the opportunity to collaborate with exceptional wedding vendors and incorporate truly special elements into our wedding.
It was the most perfect day - romantic, relaxed and forever memorable.
VENDORS
Photography & Video: Valo Photo & Cinema
Ceremony: St Matthew In the City
Reception: Glasshouse Morningside
Bridal Gown - ceremony - Astra Bridal /
reception dress - Stone Cold Fox
Groom & Groomsmen's attire: Dorset Suits
Bridesmaids dresses: BLAK
Bride’s Makeup: Make up by Laura Anne
Brides Hair: Face Me Makeup
Bridesmaids Hair & Makeup: Face Me Makeup
Bridal Accessories: earrings - Crystal and Cord Jewellery / lingerie - Elusive Lingerie
Bridesmaids PJs: The Sleep Over
Rings: Katie - Diamonds on Richmond / Sam - Family heirloom
Florist: Enchanted Rose Flowers
Stationery/invitations: printing - Fuzed / calligraphy & Illustrations - Inkberry Calligraphy / design - Silk Studios
Hens Do & Gifts: personalise wine bottles - Wine Time / selfie photo booth - Stellar Backdrops
Drinks bar - Caravan Events & Co
Hire: LL Hire
Cake: Sweet Bites
Favours: Designer Chocolates Australia
Entertainment: DJ 4 YOU
Transport: Titanium
Planner Book: I Do Diary
Guestbook: My Guestbook
MUSIC
CEREMONY - Chateau (Angus & Julia Stone) / Better Together (Jack Johnson) / Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac) - We love all these songs and would listen to them together on road trips and they are very relaxed and carefree.
RECEPTION - You & Me (Flume/Disclosure) - We wanted something energetic with an anticipation for our wedding entrance. / Radio (Lana Del Rey) - For our champagne pour. / Girls Just Want to Have fun (Cyndi Lauper) - For my flower toss …and my best friend Tarsh caught the bouquet! Which was so special and I will never forget. / Never Too Much (Luther Vandross) - For our first dance. Two of our best friends Jan & Afra are amazing at dancing and created our first dance for us! We had the best time leading up to the wedding dancing at their house and learning off them! We had a very relaxed, fun dance that wasn't too slow.
Katie and Sam won our epic Bride & Groom magazine wedding package at our Bride & Groom Show, winning over $25,000 worth of wedding goodies, thanks to these wonderful wedding vendors for their amazing prizes...
@valophotocinema / @astrabridal.auckland / @dorsetsuits / @winetime.co.nz / @dj4younz / @caravaneventsandco / @fuzednz / @blakbridesmaids / @sweetbitesnz / @designerchocolatesaustralia / @facememakeup / @verdoevents / @stellarbackdrops / @myguestbook / @inkberry_calligraphy / @thesleepovernz / @elusive.lingerie / @crystalandcordjewellery / @titaniumchauffeurs / @magazinedesignerclothing / @idodiary
