Sarah and Samson
16 JANUARY, 2021
‘
A Although we’d known of each other for a while, Samson and I met through mutual friends in Christchurch, at the opening night of his café.
‘He proposed on the waterfront at Pigeon Bay during what I thought was a day trip. He had organised some canopy camping accommodation overlooking the bay for two nights following our engagement.
‘I chose my dress because of its simplicity and elegance, and I knew it was perfect for me. I had a trip to Sydney booked with my mum and some of my bridesmaids but due to Covid we were unable to travel. Instead, we made an appointment at a local studio in Christchurch and the dress I chose was the second one I tried on.
‘Samson took me to The Church of the Holy Innocents early into our relationship, so it’s always been a special place for us
‘Samson took me to The Church of the Holy Innocents early into our relationship, so it’s always been a special place for us.’
and when we knew we wanted to marry one another, we knew it would be in that church. And we were extremely fortunate to come across the Peel Forest Lodge for the reception, too.
‘Our wedding date came down to the best time for Samson’s restaurant to close for the weekend as many of his colleagues from 5th Street Restaurant were guests and/or catering the event. ‘The ceremony was unique to us. Our celebrant was Samson’s dad. We are very close to our parents. Martin knows us so well that we basically left it up to him to create vows and a ceremony that told the story of our love and commitment. He was incredible. He handled the 30-degree day inside a small church with poise and humour – including when one of the bridesmaids fainted during the ceremony.
‘We had some photos taken straight after the ceremony in front of the church, then we travelled to Samson’s family bach in Peel Forest for some relaxed photos with the bridal party, and had some final photos taken on Brake Road in dappled light. We opted to keep this part of the day short and sweet as we wanted to join in with all of our guests back at the wedding.
‘Our reception was full to the brim with love. So many conversations and games on the lawn, so many beautiful heartfelt speeches, so many laughs, two amazing MCs, the most incredible buffet spread from 5th Street Restaurant, and finally an incredible band who continue to be talked about as a highlight from many of our guests.
‘We had cheeseburgers and negronis come out at 10 pm and the bus arrived to take guests back to Geraldine just after midnight.’
‘We travelled to Samson’s family bach in Peel Forest for some relaxed photos with the bridal party.’