Festival lovers Lulu and James wanted a unique wedding day that was laid back and fun, so planned a Wedstock themed celebration with plenty of stylish DIY touches, heartfelt moments, and cool vibes! Lulu shares all the details from their day…

We met in a hostel on Gili Trawagan, a small party island in Bali. James is from the UK, I’m from NZ. Neither of us believed in love at first sight but it literally was! Our connection deepened as we shared bad dance moves on the beach, enjoyed our favorite music, and stargazed under the Bali sky, fueled by plenty of bintangs. The L word came up within days. After six months of challenging long-distance (me working nightshifts to match time zones) – before James moved to NZ. Our decision to marry was spontaneous, marked by a $2 op shop ring that turned my finger green. I loved it, but eventually I got a proper one. A move to the UK followed, and after having the pandemic ruin many overseas wedding plans, eventually we moved back home to NZ to say ‘I do’!

The theme was ‘Wedstock’ - we love music festivals and that has been a huge part of our relationship. We wanted the day to be laid back, fun, and a bit different! It was also important for us to stay as eco-friendly as possible too – so we did a lot of DIY and used recycled materials.

I wore a two piece dress from Grace Loves Lace – it was super stretchy and light, which was important for all the dancing, and I wore comfy white cowboy boots for lots of it. James also wanted to be comfortable, so he went with linen and shorts to keep cool. He teamed it with suspenders, a hat, and his cute bowtie matched the amber tone of the bridesmaid’s dresses.

Our ceremony was in a gorgeous little apple orchard. I walked up the aisle with both my parents to a live acoustic guitar playing Stellar by Incubus, which is ‘our’ song from the first night we met, and the lyrics are inscribed on our rings. Our celebrant David was hilarious and kept things entertaining. It started to rain a bit but we didn’t care! My Dad gave me a penny to put in my shoe (an old tradition) and Aimie (maid of honour) read a Dr Suess quote about ‘falling in mutual weirdness and calling it love’. We wrote our own vows, and when we read them aloud, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

It was important for us to stay as eco-friendly as possible (which aligned with the venue) so we did a lot of DIY and used recycled materials. We went to op shops and found old vinyls, printed custom labels for them and hung them from the ceilings in the reception and outside. My mum foraged all the wild flowers and then dried them by hand - it took her months overall. She even arranged all the florals including the arch, bouquets and hair crowns/clips.

James has a graphic design degree so likes to do creative things. He designed all of the invites, seating plans, place cards and our big ‘All you need is love’ backdrop. We even made a temporary tattoo station for our guests, offering personalised designs!

We brought our dogs Peach and Zelda to NZ with us after we rescued them from a UK puppy mill. Now they’re very spoilt and an important part of our family! Zelda has no teeth so her tongue is always out, and Peach has two that are like little fangs. We just love them and having photos with them was a highlight of the day.

James’s parents and their best friends came from the UK, and more of our friends came from Australia. Some of James’ friends and family couldn’t make it so I secretly had them all record video messages to be played during the speeches, as well as lots of locals from his parents pub!

Besides the temporary tattoo station, which was a massive hit with our guests, other highlights of the day included an iconic VW Kombi transformed into a self-serve bar stocked with strong cocktails and a selection of keg beers, and a charming taco truck serving up a delicious main course. To cap off the evening, guests enjoyed indulging at a delightful cheesecake bar, a unique twist on the customary wedding cake, followed by a sweet treat from a gelato cart for dessert.

We had live music by a three-piece folk covers band who were amazing. Seeing James’s dad’s face when they played his favourite Kenny Rodgers song was priceless, and it was amazing seeing everyone dance and sing along in the sun