Introducing The Everson's - Our $30,000 Dream Wedding Giveaway Winners

Welles & Good, a gorgeous urban events space in the heart of Christchurch, wanted to do something special for a local couple after the events of last year made things very difficult for couples planning weddings. They decided to give away a dream wedding, and alongside Christchurch Weddings, they pulled together a selection of the city’s most beloved vendors to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity worth $30,000.

Launching the competition, Welles & Good asked for couples to tell their stories...and boy, did they! There were so, so many beautiful, incredible tales of love conquering all, and we wished we had many more weddings to give away.

We picked four finalists, all incredibly deserving, and asked the public to vote via Instagram. The winners were Jess & Cody, an amazing duo who personify positivity, support and love. Thanks to the generosity of all the vendors as well as the epic love we got to celebrate, this wedding was nothing short of a fairytale and we are thrilled to share it with you!

Our Love Story

Jess & I met through one of Jess’s longest friends (and bridesmaid), Camilla, as she was dating my flatmate (also a best mate and groomsman) at the time, Hayden. Camilla came over one night after dinner with her newly single friend, Jess. She showed me a photo and I instantly knew that I needed to message her. I spun some crook chat over Facebook and things just unfolded from there! We just fit so well and balance each other out perfectly, Jess knows exactly what I need from her and I know exactly what she needs from me. We have been so lucky to travel the world together through Wheelchair Rugby, although that slowed due to Covid, so with the extra time we chose to begin starting our family. Due to my spinal injury, we chose to take a different path and started the first stages of IVF. We now have our wee embryos chilling in the freezer for when we are ready to transfer them.

I knew when proposing to Jess that I wanted it to be a big surprise and also involve all our friends and family. Let me start from the beginning - I love being different so my first task was finding Messi (Jess) a beautiful ring. I messaged Jess’s best friend Aimee and told her my plans. We hit it off straight away with Joachim at Love in a Jewel and I instantly knew wanted him to design the ring. Not only was the ring design perfect and crafted to perfection, Joachim & Tracy also have a beautiful plot of land overlooking Christchurch that they were kind enough to let me propose on. To begin the planning, I had a manly chat with Jess’s father, taking him for a beer and asking for permission. Obviously, he said yes!

The day of the proposal, Aimee asked Jess to go to a cocktail party with her in Sumner telling her it was a white theme and managed to get Jess into her proposal outfit. I asked everyone to come early and hide up on the balcony so when Jess came up the hill she wouldn’t notice. As she appeared I had her favourite song playing, a floating candle pathway and I was waiting in front of the most epic view with an arch and a bottle of champagne. Jess instantly started crying and I said some soppy words before asking her to marry me. When she said yes everyone jumped up cheering on the balcony and that was absolutely the biggest surprise for Jess. We spent the evening celebrating with family & friends and enjoying the magic. We then stayed in their beautiful glamping pod overlooking Christchurch for the night before following with more celebrations the next day at our local watering hole - Aikmans.

2021 has absolutely been our year - we got engaged, started our IVF journey, we won our dream wedding, went to Tokyo for the Paralympics, survived a MIQ stint and then got married! We can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store for us.

Our Wedding Planning

Planning a wedding that was fully our own vibe was so important. We felt so loved when we won the wedding giveaway and just wanted our family & friends to celebrate the day with us by having the most epic time! We love a party, love a drink and love dancing so we just wanted to celebrate and get Messi. We wanted to stay true to ourselves when it came to planning our wedding but almost got lost and went down the rustic country farmhouse vibe which is beautiful, but not us. Thanks to the giveaway we got to have that bar vibe at Welles & Good which drew in heaps of other factors to fit perfectly. Looking back, it was 100% us and that’s what was key.

Through winning the giveaway, we had 2.5 months to plan our wedding and boy was it easy! It was so easy and stress-free because Lucy of Christchurch Weddings was our saviour! We were so fortunate to win the competition which meant most of the vendors were already locked in and ready to go. However, we had zero clue what else needed to be organised, what additional things we wanted or needed to add to our wedding, where to start or what to do. Lucy was so knowledgeable and knew exactly what needed to be sorted and when. We made life more challenging for Lucy as not only had two and a half months to plan, but we also went off to Japan for the Paralympics and had a MIQ stint in the middle of planning. New Zealand also went into Lockdown and Christchurch only just came out of the strict Level 2 with capped guests at events a couple of weeks before the wedding. Nothing was a problem, Lucy was a champ and made sure everything was taken care of and that we had plans b,c&d…z for if and when we needed them. Lucy pulled off the incredible and we can not thank her enough, a massive shout out to Lucy!

Our Wedding Day

The morning of the wedding, Jess and her girls stayed and got ready at The Salisbury Hotel. The girls morning was nice and chilled, they got into matching pyjamas, sipped champagne and got dolled up by such an epic crew. We lads chilled at the house, had some beers and toasties and reminisced on how got here to this moment. When we got to the venue the anticipation and magic in the air was so apparent.

The ceremony started and everything ran like clockwork. Lucy gave us the nod for when to walk out so we could just take in the moment and wait for our cue. The ceremony was absolutely stunning, Hannah our celebrant was incredible and it was all so very us. We popped a bottle of champagne after our first kiss as husband and wife and we walked back down the aisle, bottle in hand, with confetti and bubbles - it was truly magic.

We opted to stay relatively local for photos as we didn’t want to be gone for too long. We had a packed picnic basket of yummy canapés and wine and the photo sessions were made so fun. After a few failed bottle popping attempts, attention from friends at bars and onlookers, we knew that the city was absolutely our vibe and we’re stoked we chose to stay local and channelled our personal vibe.

We got back to the venue and mingled with guests before the reception started and it was so incredible. Our MC Cam (my longest friend and groomsman) did such an amazing job, it was perfect. The speeches were beautiful and the atmosphere was great. The food was next level and a massive talking point for our guests - being at Burger Burger we just had to get burgers for the starter and wow, they were epic! As I’m in a wheelchair we didn’t want to do a first dance, it’d just be awkward and not us. So we cut the cake, Messi and I spun some crook chat and we had His & Hers cocktails - the guests demanded we necked it, so naturally, we obliged!

Following this, it was party time and everyone was up dancing and having the best night. DNB and amazing tunes kept us all vibing right until the end where my wife & I went back to the hotel to soak in the magic while most of our guests carried on celebrating.

My most special moment of the day was seeing Messi walk down the aisle. WOW, she looked stunning! My most unique and fun moment was after we said I do, Messi popped a bottle of champagne poured me a glass then drank from the bottle, what a vibe!! Jess’s were the same too, although she was terrified walking down the aisle! She tripped on her second step out but saved it, clinging to her Dad’s are for dear life. She says when she saw me she was instantly calm and felt like she was home. We had both our Mum’s sign the certificate and we had an acoustic version of DNB playing which was unique to us, the guests even said it was a perfect touch.

Our Advice

If something traditional isn’t your vibe - change it. We changed so many things from the ceremony, to the reception and in between. It worked for us and it was just magic. Stick to your vibe and get creative - it’s your day!

Also, get a Wedding Planner - better still, get Lucy! Not even just for the planning of the wedding but for the day itself. Imagine on the day of your wedding that you’re not in the moment enjoying it, but instead organising, worrying about details and making sure everything is happening when it needs to. Having a planner meant we could just turn up and enjoy the magic with each other and our guests.

How did you use Christchurch Weddings to help plan your day and what was your experience?

Lucy at Christchurch Weddings was everything we needed and more! We were so lucky to have the Full Planning package and have help for literally everything. Most of the vendors were already sourced because of the competition so that was absolutely amazing! But then she helped us with what we needed to add on, change and additional features. She was so transparent with the extra costs to bring our vision to life and extras along the way and set us up with tools to budget and record expenses. It wasn’t just the planning leading up to the wedding that was crucial for us, but also on the day itself. Everything was organised and set up perfectly and we just had to turn up and enjoy it. Lucy ensured it was all taken care of. Also, the flow and timing of the wedding were immaculate. We literally didn’t have to worry about a thing and it was all done for us. It was absolutely amazing and we had the best experience having Lucy help plan our day.

Our Dream Team

Literally, all of our vendors were stand out. We were so fortunate to win an amazing package with the best of the best vendors already locked in and secured. Every vendor was a dream to work with.

Christchurch Weddings was literally our most stand out vendor, we couldn’t have done it without Lucy! She made the planning process so enjoyable and easy, thank you, Lucy!

Welles & Good put on an amazing competition which we are eternally grateful to have won! It is such a great event space and they put on an amazing event that truly fit our vibe.

Burger Burger catering was incredible, especially the entree burgers which were a modern, unique and tasty talking point for the guests!

Hannah Duder was the most perfect celebrant for our perfect day. Hannah brought kindness, humour and an easy-breezy approach to our ceremony, matching our vibe perfectly. Through her, we experienced such magic and comfort.

Hannah Bird is a super talented photographer and her work is unreal! She captured our day amazingly, made us feel incredible in front of the camera and has given us the most amazing pictures.

Kasia Stanicich made us all look and feel incredible. She brought the best vibe to the morning of our wedding and produced such flawless makeup work. We all looked stunning and it was exactly what we imagined and more.

Monique of Graceful Hair Art absolutely nailed our hair and lived up to her reputation as ‘Queen of the Glam Wave’. The glam waves, it was exactly what was envisioned for our day and the bridesmaids looked stunning with their perfectly messy low ponytails. Nailed it.

Sally Anne did our videography and it was such a great experience. She brings amazing energy and brings you to life in front of the camera. She’s produced such a beautiful and fun wedding video and it’s absolutely perfect for us.

Designer Wardrobe is an amazing platform to buy, sell and hire clothing and homewares. They have so many incredible pieces from designers to hire and it’s made easy using their website or app. The bridesmaids all wore stunning matching Leo & Lin dresses and it was just a perfect way to find dresses to suit so many different body shapes and styles.

Paul Mckessar is an incredible DJ! He listened to our requests prior to the wedding and put together the most epic set for us. Not the traditional wedding playlist but more DNB and house music mixed in with classics. It was so us and everyone was on the dance floor from the minute he started right up until the end.

Our cake from Full Time Tart was stunning to look at and to eat! The flavours were amazing and the leftovers have kept so well. We have it in the freezer and it tastes just as great all this time after.

Rattle & Strum offer a range of live performers to suit a wedding day. We opted for an acoustic guitarist and WOW! Alex had a voice of an angel and he literally gave us goosebumps. He set the scene and magic.

Mrs Bottomley’s Flowers created absolutely stunning florals for us, which fit in with the style of our venue yet stood out with their own x-factor. They were perfect and literally better than what we imagined.

The styling and mood boards by Truly Yours were incredible, and their range of furniture to hire meant we could style an epic wedding to suit the venue and atmosphere we wanted to create. The prices were good and clear and it included set up and pack down so we didn’t have to worry. They truly created an absolute dream space.

Our Vendors

Venue | Welles & Good

Catering and Stationery | Burger Burger

Full Planning | Lucy, Christchurch Weddings

Marquee, Styling and Hire | Truly Yours & Truly Yours Design Studio

Photography | Hannah Bird

Videography | Sally Anne

Celebrant | Hannah Duder

Florals | Mrs Bottomley’s Flowers

Cake | Full Time Tart

Disco Balls and Lighting | Event Hire

Rigging | Theme Productions