"We felt full of joy and surrounded by love; our day was perfect for us."

We got engaged in Queenstown in Winter 2020, which wasn’t the biggest surprise for me as I had already accidentally discovered my ring buried in a safe at work, but that’s okay as I don't like surprises!

Zoë and Ian had secret meetings at Odettes to plan the ring, it’s a combination of my two favourite designs, the Mon Cheri and the Eros.

They did an absolutely amazing job, I adore my ring and I love even more that it was designed together by two of my favourite people. 

 

We had been trying to navigate planning a wedding with lockdowns, border closures and overseas family, but felt inspired by some of the brides I had spoken to in the Zoe & Morgan showrooms to do something smaller and more intimate which immediately eased the pressure for us. 

We stayed at Hotel Britomart as a belated treat for my birthday in January and fell in love with the space. 

The hotel gave us a New York feel with the surrounding city skyline and its minimal aesthetic. 

We had been wanting to get married last January, which was pushed out due to Covid. The time felt right now, so we decided to have the wedding at Hotel Britomart and started planning there and then.

We had always wanted a spontaneous, fun wedding so decided to plan the wedding for 10 days time. 

The next morning we messaged a calligrapher, photographer, a makeup artist who I’d met through work.

We booked our cake right there and then because we knew the Caker would be delicious. We walked over to Commercial Bay after breakfast and spoke to Blush about doing the flowers.

I already had a dress that I had ordered online, and Ian chose an outfit from Working Style a few days before the wedding.

We had a tight timeframe and luckily everyone we’d hoped could be involved was available at such short notice. 

We felt so lucky with our celebrant, she just 'got' us. We met with Carla at Hotel Ponsonby for an after work drink and it felt very natural. She did an amazing job at making us feel at ease and even with such limited time she contacted friends and family both overseas and in NZ to get some personal stories and pulled together the most incredible personal ceremony. 

On the day, a small group of our friends and family joined us in the Wairoa Suite at Hotel Britomart to watch us get married.

We shared champagne and cake afterwards. Unfortunately Ian’s family couldn’t be with us in person, but they had their own celebration and were with us on zoom for the ceremony.

We followed our celebrations with an early dinner with family, came back to the hotel and phoned my grandparents in the UK. 

We wanted to save something special for our Melbourne family and friends, so when we’re able to we’ll exchange rings over there and celebrate again! Even though it wasn't what we had originally planned, we felt full of joy and surrounded by love; our day was perfect for us.

Photographer: Claire Mossong at Wildwood Photography