Laura, a hairdresser, and Cam, a farmer, had booked their wedding venue before they were even engaged! “Cam still managed to surprise me with his proposal, though. We were only officially engaged for five months before we got married. I think this was helpful as we got to make some big decisions before the pressure set in,” Laura tells us. Their “relaxed yet sophisticated” wedding day in beautiful Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island was caught on film by Acorn Studio and we can’t wait for you to see…

THE VENUE  “I had helped out on a photoshoot at Lochend when I had first met Cam, before they had officially opened, and I had thought how beautiful it was, never imagining I would get married there three years later. We went together to check it out, Cam fell in love with the towering macrocarpas and the rural landscape. I loved that you could see the beach in the distance and the brick woolshed was refurbished to look modern and a bit industrial. It suited us both perfectly.”

THE VIBE “We wanted the day to feel relaxed yet sophisticated. We had a strong theme of pastels – peach, lilac, pinks, pale blue with some pops of brighter colours. Florals were a strong theme on my mood board and I think that was definitely reflected on the day. A lot of inspiration did come from my dress and ring and we ended up building everything around that.”

THE DRESS “When Cam and I first started talking about getting married I decided to go back and look through anything I had saved on my Instagram over the years relating to weddings. I came across this sparkly, magical dress I have always loved, not thinking I would be able to buy it. When looking through some dress websites, there it was and still available, I couldn’t believe it. I saw that Paperswan Bride in Christchurch stocked it so off I went to see it in person. Bearing in mind I wasn’t officially engaged at this point, so I went by myself. I had the most incredible service from the beautiful Izzy. She made me feel so comfortable and although I was there alone, I found it easy to decide what I liked and didn’t, I also trusted her opinion. No other dress there compared, turns out I’m not a white dress type of gal. I went way to think about it and with the encouragement from my mum, we decided it had to be that one and it turns out KYHA were only making that dress to order for the next couple of months before retiring that style. It was meant to be.”

THE SUITLaura ‘gently’ pushed me in to wearing a tuxuedo. I was not comfortable with the idea of wearing one, but was told it was what would work best with Laura’s dress and that I would look like James Bond. So a tux from Rembrandt it was, and what better occasion to wear a tux than my own wedding, lo and behold it ended up being quite nice.”

STANDOUT VENDORSOur photographer and friend Erin and her assistant Kristy (who was heavily pregnant) from Acorn Studio went the extra mile for us. They were an integral part in helping our day run as smoothly as it did in the lead up and on the day.”

MEMORABLE MOMENTS “We both loved our mornings spent with our close friends and family, it is such a big part of the day it was important for us to have our most special people there to support us. A special moment was seeing Cam’s emotional reaction to seeing his dog Bailey being walked down the aisle, it was a surprise and I think it caught him off guard, there weren’t a lot of dry eyes left after that.”

Need a list of rockstar vendors on New Zealand’s South Island? Head to our directory here. Or if you’re after more wedding NZ wedding inspo, check out Charlotte & Matt’s wedding here and Leah & Bryn’s wedding here.

CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Acorn Studio Event Co-ordinator Encore Events Florist Estelle Flowers Stationery & Signage Simple Statement Ceremony & Recpetion Venue Lochend Woolshed Catering His and Hers Catering Food Trucks Pattis and Cream Cake Baked and Raised Wedding favours Makana Hire Items Encore Events, Lochend Woolshed Photo Booth, Lighting & Sound Hire Gravity Events Entertainment Alan Ned Gray Celebrant Gillian Townsley Rings Naveya and Sloane, Michael Hill Transport Otago Heritage Bus Society THE BRIDE Bridal gown designer Chosen by KYHA Bridal Boutique Paperswan Bride Pyjamas ASOS Shoes Pink Inc via The Iconic Accessories Creeps and Violets Hair Salon You Makeup Jade Brett Fragrance Jo Malone Bridesmaid Dresses Charmaine Revely THE GROOM Suit, Shirt, Tie & Groomsmen Suits Rembrandt Cufflinks Suits on Wall Street Shoes Merchant Grooming Loft Hair