Katie & Carl
Photography by Nigel John
Dress
Katie The Bride: Both Carl and I agreed that my attire had no need to be traditional, but approached simply as “buy your dream outfit for a celebratory event” - White was always an option but when I saw and tried on the Karen Walker evening dress it spoke to me! I had no vision of what colour I might end up wearing and the fact that it was navy was just a bonus as it fit in with my already chosen colour theme for the wedding styling.
Venue
‘Mann House’ - An award winning home designed by Australian Architect James Grose, The venue was chosen for it’s distinct minimalism which I found to be the perfect canvas for the simple styling I had in mind - it’s location was also of specific importance as some of our guests flew all the way from the UK and we wanted their experience to be one which highlighted New Zealand’s beauty with views of the ocean.
Colour Scheme/Decor
Watercolour pale green + Navy paired with a simple botanical styling of whites and greens. We hired rustic vintage English wooden trestle tables with all the styling done by myself. I hand dip dyed linen placemats for each table setting and cast our own concrete candle holders whilst Carl handmade veg-tan leather keychains with each guest’s initials embossed on them as favours and also handmade embossed leather belts for each guest who had contributed substantially to the wedding.
Flowers/Florist
Florist - Katie Rosati (bride), of Noble Nature. Bouquets and centrepieces were made up of classic white Avalanche roses, White lisianthus and loose greenery with added foraged elements from the local surroundings. The room was largely decorated by a single milano ruscus garland which bordered the entire room / ceiling and was accompanied by edison festoon lights (purchased from Mr Ralph Lighting)
Ceremony
Held in New Zealand’s oldest standing church named ‘Christ Church’ I studied jazz singing at university, and so composed my own lyrics + music which I walked down the aisle to as a surprise for Carl. We also both wrote and revealed our own vows on the day. It was important for both of us to write vows that represented what we wanted to offer each other in our commitment of marriage.
Entertainment
Basking in the company of just our very best friends and family with a guest list total of 29 people. An array of lawn games were set up including petanque, croquet + frisbee.
Food & Drink
Wedding Cake made by my good friend Meg Wyper Beer - IPA + Pilsner brewed, bottled and labelled by Carl + I. Carl; a Graphic Designer, created the labels to coincide with our wedding stationery which he also designed. Canapes , Mains , Dessert + Day After Brunch catered on site by Full Circle - a food collective that my brother Thomas co-founded in Sydney - Full Circle Community All food and beverages at the wedding were prepared and made either by us or close friends and family who were also guests at the wedding. Not a single element or part of the wedding was created, or taken care of by an outside vendor and this was an important aspect in our eyes in enabling us to create a truly personal and non-conformative day to celebrate our commitment to one another.
Photographer
Nigel John, lso a dear friend to us but ultimately chosen as a photographer for his trusted eye and ability to capture a moment in all its sincerity. We could not possibly have been happier with the images he captured from our day.
