Hayley and Rob
Our Love Story
Rob and I met a few times before we actually bothered to talk to each other. Most meetings were at mutual friend’s parties and Rob can be quite a handful when drinking so I tended to avoid him lol. At the same friends birthday party in 2015, it seemed to just change. As cliche as it sounds our eyes locked and after being paired up for a game of beer pong we were pretty inseparable for the rest of the night. After quite a bit of persuasion from Rob, we went on a date the following week and have really just been each other’s best friend ever since. We’ve seen the good and the bad in each other and faced some pretty considerable challenges through our relationship and still every single day we choose each other, to do life together.
With a two-year-old mini Rob (number two on the way) and a business to run we don’t get an awful lot of spare time but when we do, we love going on adventures. Robbie loves to play a game of cricket, be hooning on his dirt bike or out on the boat fishing up a storm. I love to be out exploring Nzs beauty on the wide range of walks but I’m equally as happy submerging myself in a good book. I’ve tried my hand at knitting and am now trying cross stitch as a way to pass the time during the lockdown. I’m also a huge fan of having a vino or two when I’m not growing a human inside me.
Rob’s proposal was unexpected and completely him to a tee. It had been our three year anniversary the week prior and I had a feeling he was going to propose. He organised a babysitter, took me for the most romantic stroll along the beach by our home and then a beautiful dinner and cocktails followed…so you can imagine my surprise when…he didn’t propose. So I sucked it up, swallowed my disappointment and just accepted that he would do it when he was ready. The next week when I was sitting on our deck in the beautiful sunshine he suddenly ran out to get something from his ute. Before I knew it he had jumped down in front of me on his way back past and had the biggest Cheshire Cat grin asking me to be his wife and spend the rest of our lives together. Of course, I said yes! We were both thrilled to bits but I think Rob a little more so because he had managed to take me completely by surprise. It was so so perfect.
Our Wedding Planning
The most important thing for us was being able to really enjoy our day and for it to be a reflection of us. We both love traditional aspects of life but also love love love a fun shindig. We wanted all of our friends and family there to help us celebrate our love and so it did mean that it is what we consider a reasonably big wedding (100 pax) and with big weddings does come a bit of stress. We invested in seriously reputable vendors with vast experience and expertise and this I feel made a huge difference to us being able to really enjoy it with our guests.
I found the entire planning process so overwhelming. I thought it was something I’d really enjoy but when it actually came down to it I realised I was not the best at it. Then we hired the amazing Lucy and things literally became a dream. Rob has mentioned that the difference in me was huge. I was so stressed and anxious before we hired Lucy that the wedding planning was becoming a chore rather than something to be enjoyed. After Lucy came into the picture I could relax and really embrace the excitement of the experience instead of worrying about the details.
Our Wedding Day
The weather on our day was balmy with a nice breeze. My bridesmaids and I got ready at Clearwater Resort which was beautiful and was chosen because that’s where Rob wanted to stay on our wedding night. It was an absolute stand out moment having dad see me in my wedding dress for the first time. He cried, I cried, it was a whole soppy gorgeous moment that I will never forget. It’s not often I’ve ever seen big Nev tear up so it def pulls on the ol’ heartstrings when I think about it!
Rob and his groomsmen spent the morning getting a few final things ready (heavy lifting and such) at the venue and then having a few drinks before they suited up.
We had an afternoon ceremony in the garden at my parents home in Burnham, Canterbury which was a perfect mix of Rob and me, sweet and concise and was about 25 minutes long. Our celebrant (and Rob’s sister) Becs Gillgren did a stellar job of integrating meaningful and funny. She put us all at ease and even helped fix my veil right before my walk down the aisle (thanks SIL). We all raised a toast to Rob’s Dad, Brian which was a huge moment for us too. It seemed only fitting that we honoured and remembered him by dropping a knee and having a big ol’ drink of Corona, being his beer of choice.
After the ceremony, our guests were invited to enjoy a few drinks in the garden while the amazing Mix Tape Brothers played some chill beats. During this time we had our family photos in the garden and then the bridal party were whisked off by Ana Galloway (super talented and raddest photographer/person we’ve ever encountered) to spend some time together. We got to spend some time sinking Champagne and enjoying some nibbles during the photos which was awesome as I think we’d both been a bit too nervous to eat much before that.
When we returned we had a wee fix up of lippy and went on to enter the marquee and join our guests. We chose to cut our cake as soon as we arrived as we and our guests enjoyed it for dessert. Doing it this way meant we got the formalities of it over early so it could be prepped for service.
Wonderful speeches ensued and in between them Rob and I went galavanting off into fields with Ana and Hamish again to get our golden hour portrait shots. This was truly one of my favourite parts of the day. Ana had scouted the most amazing locations and we got to have a little adventure.
We returned to enjoy our dinner, final speeches of the day and dessert. Our first dance, espresso martinis and then getting to cut shapes on the d-floor with our nearest and dearest really made for what we considered the perfect wedding day.
We really can’t think of anything not going to plan, other than getting a little flustered post ceremony as everyone came to congratulate us and we ended up heading off in different directions. In hindsight, we probably would have liked to have chosen a spot to stand together and let people come to us. Other than that I simply cannot think of a thing. That was the beauty of having Lucy and the on the day coordination. Literally Lucy handled everything and neither of us knows if any hiccups did happen because she’s. Just. That. good.
Our Advice
Being prepared is really important but if you focus too much on the result or tiny details you won’t end up enjoying yourself. Knowing when to step back and hand the reins to your vendors is paramount. They know what they are doing and will always do the best they can to make your day perfect. They’re people with feelings too and most (if not all) get pretty invested in the day and the love surrounding it too. The wedding is not the important part, the marriage is.
How we used Christchurch Weddings
I used Christchurch weddings pretty early on to find most of my vendors. We live in Tauranga so planning a wedding from a distance was pretty challenging. When it all got too much I remembered that I had seen Lucy on Christchurch weddings (obvi) and she did planning and on the day coordination packages. After reaching out and having a chat we knew we wanted/ needed Lucy on our team.
Our Dream Team
All of our vendors were amazing, honestly, I could not find a single fault with any of them.
Lucy, was a huge asset, stepping in and taking over seamlessly, while still ensuring our wedding reflected us.
Ana Galloway’s skills are out of this world. And she’s just so so nice, we felt like she was part of the crazy family by the end of the day (but way better with a camera)
Hamish Boyt was epic and we love watching our wedding video over and over again
Becs completely nailed the ceremony.
The Mixtape brothers sang non stop for three hours (incredible!) and endured/ facilitated Robbie’s solo performance of the Backstreet Boys (tell me why) Ha.
Ginny and the team from Cressy and Charmed created the perfect floral arrangements.
The Party warehouse lads put up the marquee and lights with no stress whatsoever in the pouring rain (Legends)
The food from the team at movable Feasts was sooooo yum!
The girl’s hair stayed in place all day thanks to Alex from AlexHannah Hair and looked impeccable.
Courtney did SEVEN makeups that morning (a huge undertaking) and all lasted beautifully through the day and well into the night.
Our Vendors
Venue | Private Property
Photographer | Ana Galloway
Videographer. | I Do Films Inc.
Planner | Lucy Magill, Christchurch Weddings
Hire: Marquee, Tables and Chairs | Party Warehouse and Cressy and Charmed
Florals and signage | Cressy and Charmed
Menus | Paperweight Design
Catering | Movable Feasts
Dress | Daisy Brides by Katie Yeung
Brides Accessories | Over top made by Seamstress. Personalised Jacket with a stencil from Bash Creative Design, Bespoke Dewberry Veil - Tania Maras Bridal
Bridesmaids Outfits | Leave her Wilder, all in the colour Hunter.
Grooms Attire | Tux - Hallenstein Brothers, Bowtie - OTAA in Dark green velvet, Pocket square - Made from an extra piece of my dress as a little sneak peek for him and a keepsake.
Groomsmen’s Outfits | Hallenstein Brothers
Rings | Bridal rings - Melanie Casey Jewellery, Grooms Ring - Richter Scale Rings
Band | Mixtape Brothers
Cake | Kelly Letts
Makeup | Courtney Smith Makeup
Hair | Alex Hannah Hairstyling