Nicole & Riley
Nicole and Riley planned a stylish and romantic summer wedding filled with love, dancing, ice cream and a star performance from their pet dog! Nicole shares the details…
Our wedding day was just magic! We woke to a traditional foggy, drizzly Hamilton morning, which slowly lifted. We cycled through hair and makeup, Riley helped set up the florals at the ceremony location (which was just over our back fence), we read letters we had written to each other and then I gifted letters to my girls. It was such an emotion-filled morning with our families, and is still so special to look back on.
A beautiful, true-to-us ceremony evoked smiles and the odd tear, and next thing you know we were announced as husband and wife.
Our gorgeous golden retriever Sophie was decked out in a fake floral collar I had made and she was our ‘ring bearer’. The rings weren’t actually attached to her because that could have gone wrong real quick! She ran up the aisle to us, which was so cute, and she watched as we said ‘I do’, and she was there for cuddles and pats afterwards.
After the ceremony we headed off for family photos, then bridal photos, and then arrived at our reception venue, walking into A Good Night by John Legend. My brother MC’d the evening, and we chatted while enjoying speeches, cake cutting, delicious food and icecream.
We got a few sunset shots and then back inside for the first dance, which our wonderful band Looking For Alaska had learnt for us! The bubbles were flowing and then the dancing kicked off! It was just the most perfect day. There was so much going on around us – so much uncertainty about events and COVID – yet we were still so lucky to celebrate our love.
Having a crafty background, I knew I wanted to get hands on with our wedding. I designed our wedding invites, the table cards, the setting plan sign, baked personalised cookies and whipped up a whole array of dried florals. My gorgeous Mum and I crafted a huge 3-metre dried installation, which sat across the top table. We also created dried florals in glass squares as well as longer installations to go in between. The florals on the welcome sign at the ceremony and those that were attached to the seating plan were also done by us. It was a mammoth effort but certainly couldn’t have done it without all of our generous friends who gifted us their wilted bouquets or those who would let me raid their gardens from time to time. I absolutely loved the look and so glad we spent time crafting together.
As both of our parents have lost one or both of their parents, I created memorial candles which were a surprise for our parents and sat in front of them at the reception.
Nicole & Riley’s Wedding Advice:
No doubt a common wedding tip... Don’t sweat the small stuff! Throughout our wedding journey there were little hiccups and, with COVID lockdown looming, bigger hiccups. Just remember you can only do what you can do. You, your friends and family will still have the most wonderful day regardless.
Take a moment to step back with you new husband/wife on your wedding day and watch all of your special friends and family having the time of their lives.
Weddings can be expensive, even when you try and stick to a budget! For us, photography and videography were important, so we made sure we had enough budget for those two suppliers and spent less on other elements.
Take time to have fun and enjoy the experience. It’s a special time for both you and your partner, but also your family. Celebrate your love and enjoy every moment!
Photos by Black Robin Photography
Jessica Bridal / Blak Bridesmaids / Chaos & Harmony / Dede + Daph / Florence Brow Studio / Made With Love Bridal / Goldsmiths Gallery / Barkers / Hallensteins / Southwell School / Wintec Atrium / The Flower Patch / Hazel Hayes / Looking for Alaska / Marry Me Chloe / T3 Media / Duck Island Icecream / Xsite Group
