Carol and Jonny

It all started through Hannah, one of my best friends who also happens to be Jonny’s younger sister. Six years ago Jonny’s sister ended up in the hospital and we ended up spending a whole lot of time together. We became best mates over the next couple of years and the rest was history.

We were in Melbourne when Jonny proposed, spending the day soaking up the sights and tastes around the city. We ended up at the gardens around midday where Jonny asked if I would marry him. It felt surreal but so exciting and perfect. We spent the rest of the day eating and eating some more. The celebrations began the following day with family and friends when we arrived home!

When it came to planning our big day, we always had two things we wanted to prioritize, those things were, great food and the people we love. The planning process was awesome. Jonny and I had a long engagement which I would recommend to anyone! It gave us time to plan when we wanted to and milk it - We were properly able to celebrate the engagement process, from the engagement party to bridesmaids weekends to the hens night out!

Our wedding day was perfect. I was up early with my 10 bridesmaids getting ready, the boys, of course, were another story! Our ceremony was held at the Knox church. There was worship, a message and of course the official stuff. Family is so important to us and we shared this time with our parents, allowing them to invite their friends and people. We had doughnuts and were able to chat for a wee bit after the ceremony with everyone.

After this, the gang walked around our beautiful city centre and had photos taken around town. This was awesome because it genuinely felt like mates just hanging out and we didn’t spend time in the car driving from location to location and we forgot the photographers and videographer were even there! We stopped off at Rollickin’ Gelato which was the perfect snack and so much fun! From there, the bridal party headed to the reception while Jonny and I headed to the Botanic Gardens for some alone time.

We then went to the reception venue ourselves where there were speeches, cutting of the cake, super funny MC banter happening, dinner, dessert, our first dance and a whole lot of dancing that went till very late! We exited with sparklers and the people we love cheering us on.

The most special part of our day was that we were able to have fun and celebrate with only the people we absolutely wanted there. Everything was in the city centre which gave us so much time to talk, laugh and be present in the moment rather than rushing from place to place, and everything went to plan.

Our biggest piece of advice is to delegate, delegate and delegate some more to a few reliable people that can be the contact point for vendors. We had great, reliable friends who liaised with our vendors, it was great when it came to deliveries, catering and having people hand out the sparklers at the end of the night. Give yourself time, we had a longer engagement so we didn’t feel a need to make rash decisions. We had time to plan but also not when we didn’t have the energy. With so much support around us, Jonny and I felt like we could actually rest before and after the wedding.

Christchurch Weddings helped us plan our day with finding a photographer, and our cake makers, getting wedding photo location ideas and providing a dreamy website that offered realistic inspiration to incorporate parts of in our beautiful Christchurch wedding day.

Stand Out Vendors

Velvet Photo and Cinema make you feel at home, they rock up when you want them to and leave when you want them to. You hardly notice them other than when you are having a laugh or need a decision made. They cater to your style while remaining authentic to what they believe in, which is capturing genuine moments. We looked back at our photos and were able to see what our friends and family were doing throughout the day too, which was super special.

Our videographer, Josh from Choice As Media was chill and warm. He has a real eye for detail and once again wants to cater to what you want while capturing the genuine moments!

In a nutshell, Country Feasts catering was delicious, adaptable to dietary requirements, had large portions and was affordable.

I was in love with my flowers by Erin Mae Floral Design. I changed my mind about three times and Erin worked hard to find what I would love. She was understanding and creative and was able to work with my budget too!

The Cake Eating Company made the most beautiful cake which looked as good as it tasted!

Our rings from Partridge Jewellers were of the highest standard and quality.

Vendors

Ceremony | Knox Church

Reception | Oxford Terrace Baptist Church

Photographer | Velvet Photo and Cinema

Videographer | Choice As Media

Florals | Erin Mae Floral design

Catering | Country Feasts

Hair | Kelly McMillan

Makeup | Carol Melek

Dress | Brides of Merivale