Sarah & cameron
1 MARCH, 2020
Groom Cam was the boy all the girls liked at primary school and bride Sarah had a secret crush on him. In the final year at high school, Sarah’s family moved to the same neighbourhood as Cam, and she invited him to their housewarming party. It was here that Cam began to take notice of Sarah, and started a strong personal friendship, before they started dating a few years later.
Cam took Sarah to Hanmer, where he set up a picnic in a secluded park with all of her favourite things. ‘He played my favourite song and, as I was obliviously stuffing my face, I realised he wasn’t eating at all. When I asked what was wrong he took the ring box out and proposed to me.’
Sarah carried out some careful research online before trying on any wedding gowns. ‘Originally, I didn’t want a tight-fitting dress, as I was insecure about my curves. But every dress I tried on didn’t feel right. It wasn’t until one of the staff members at Paperswan Bride suggested I try a tighter dress that I found the one. It happened to be the last dress.’
‘It turned out to be a very visually unique and modern wedding which I was so pleased about.’
TOP The bridal party having fun at a photo shoot around the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. BOTTOM The three beautiful Makarious girls in front of the stunning flower wall from Christchurch Decor Solutions.
TOP The couple recommend scheduling an earlier ceremony so there's no rush when having bridal photos taken. BOTTOM This striking red floral backdrop was handmade by Sarah for her business, Christchurch Decor Solutions.
Ilex at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens was the perfect location for Cam and Sarah as they wanted a white, modern, airy room with an outdoor feel for the ceremony, not wanting to risk an outdoor ceremony in the rain.
They had over 130 guests at the wedding – mainly family and friends, but they also invited their old school teachers who also went to Cam’s family’s church. Their celebrant was Sarah’s family’s church pastor. ‘It was really nice to see people who knew us from when we first met and watched us grow individually and together. ‘Even though there were a lot of people, almost everyone knew each other as Cam and I had the same mutual friends and went to the same school, so it had a very intimate feel to it which was so nice.’
As the owner of Christchurch Decor Solutions, Sarah focused a lot on the styling aspect of the ceremony and reception, utilising all décor items from her own company. Her theme was modern, bold, luxurious and elegant. ‘As lovely as Ilex is, it was pretty empty and was a strange choice for a ceremony if not decorated correctly. It turned out to be a very visually unique and modern wedding which I was so pleased about.’
Sarah walked up the aisle to ‘Canon in D’, and it’s here that her favourite image from the day was taken. ‘Koru Photography is especially known for capturing emotions and human expressions, so in true fashion, Tamara captured really authentic shots of Cam’s reaction to me walking up the aisle.
‘I was so nervous at the time that I was looking at the ground and at the guests so I didn’t even get to see his reaction until I got the photos.’
The couple had a lot of fun incorporating Sarah’s Egyptian culture into the reception through Arabic dancing. ‘A lot of the Kiwi guests really enjoyed it and by the end of the night everyone was dancing together in one huge circle.’
They also had a flower wall behind the dance floor, so people could take photos and socialise.
‘The most memorable moment would be holding Cam’s hand during the ceremony and looking out at everyone who’s been in my life sitting in front of me and thinking about how special this moment is and how blessed and lucky I am to find an amazing man like Cam.
‘[We were grateful] to have so many loved ones celebrating with us and to be in a position that allowed us to have our dream wedding on a beautiful day.’