Fashion Quarterly

REAL WEDDINGS Stylish Kiwi couples tie the knot, from NZ to the Italian coast

From Central Otago to the Italian coast, five stylish Kiwi couples share the details of their wedding days.

- INTERVIEWS JESSICA-BELLE GREER

FLORA & MARC CHOROMANSK­I

Flora Chen (the e-commerce manager and assistant buyer at Workshop) and Marc Choromansk­i (a consultant ecologist) tied the knot in front of the breathtaki­ng view at Kauri Bay Boomrock in Auckland, to the smooth sounds of a personalit­y-packed playlist, including Childish Gambino, Lauryn Hill and Wiz Khalifa. Sharing the day with 120 guests, Flora describes the ceremony as relaxed and intimate. “Being Chinese, we included the traditiona­l tea ceremony to honour our parents and grandparen­ts and, in turn, received their blessings.”

JOSEPHINE & DAVID SUTTON

Living in Central Otago, Josephine Greer (managing director of Nutrition & Life) and David Sutton (winemaker and general manager at Te Kano Estate) chose to make the most of their location in the heart of the wine region surrounded by flowing vino and rolling golden hills. Everything had a personal touch, with many of the 130 guests helping to make the day happen. “Everything from the signwritin­g and decorating to the drinks and music were donated or homemade,” says the couple. “A testament to how good friends will be there when you need them in your life.”

ISABEL PEARSON & ROBERT HUYSER

Visual artist and part-time psychology student Isabel Pearson met seafarer Robert Huyser when working on boats overseas. When it came to picking the perfect location for the Aucklander­s’ destinatio­n wedding, it all centred around the dress. “We have family from all over the world and knew it would be impossible to pick a location where everyone lives, so we went for a holiday. In all honesty, I got the dress first, then thought, ‘Where would this dress look good?” says Isabel. The answer was “Italy!”

JAMES KNAPP & ALEXANDER POLGLASE

Brand manager James Knapp proposed to art director Alexander Polglase in the middle of the drop-off lane at Auckland Airport while heading off for a business trip, and they wed just six weeks later. After an overwhelmi­ng number of suggestion­s for their wedding flew their way, the couple decided on an elopement to Scotland and celebrated over aged port and greasy fish and chips. “I’ve always loved the romance of an elopement. The romantic, runaway, ride-or-die nature always melted my heart,” says James.

HANNAH & DONALD HANSON

Hannah Jackson and Donald Hanson base themselves between Auckland and Queenstown to work on their New Zealand knitwear and merino brand Kapeka. On a quintessen­tial Queenstown summer day, the couple wed on a private plane of Queenstown Hill, with views of The Remarkable­s mountains above and Lake Wakatipu below. “Toetoe and tussocks were hugging the hills, we had family and friends standing until the music began and one by one the bridesmaid­s walked down… followed by a very excited, shaky bride,” tells Hannah.

?? ?? THE DRESS “I always knew my dress wouldn’t be very ‘bridal’ and I wanted something modern, elegant; sans lace. I went to the Celebratio­ns team at Ruby and they custom designed and made my dream dress. Cut on the bias, the dress had thicker shoulder straps, a cowl front and back, and draped so beautifull­y. I loved that it was minimal in detail but special and felt like me.” BRIDESMAID­S “I actually bought gold shiny midi dresses online eight months out from the wedding. I’m not sure what I was thinking. As we got closer to the day, I disliked them more and more. Three days out, I stumbled across these dusty beige cowl-neck dresses from Glassons and they were perfect.” ACCESSORIE­S “My rings were custom made by Melanie Kerr Jewellery. Marc’s band is a family heirloom passed down from his grandmothe­r. My beautiful baroque pearl earrings were from Anni Lu, and I wore Dior J’Adior slingbacks – I’ll keep both as future heirlooms.” FLOWERS “Blush Flowers worked their magic for the ceremony, reception and my bouquet. Our ceremony pillars were wild and undone with beautiful orchids, blush-toned roses and silver dollar leaves. We kept our reception decoration­s minimal and dressed the tables with pillar candles and place cards with mānuka twigs. We had a floral garland made for the ceiling, which hung alongside festoon lights.”
THE DRESS “I always knew my dress wouldn’t be very ‘bridal’ and I wanted something modern, elegant; sans lace. I went to the Celebratio­ns team at Ruby and they custom designed and made my dream dress. Cut on the bias, the dress had thicker shoulder straps, a cowl front and back, and draped so beautifull­y. I loved that it was minimal in detail but special and felt like me.” BRIDESMAID­S “I actually bought gold shiny midi dresses online eight months out from the wedding. I’m not sure what I was thinking. As we got closer to the day, I disliked them more and more. Three days out, I stumbled across these dusty beige cowl-neck dresses from Glassons and they were perfect.” ACCESSORIE­S “My rings were custom made by Melanie Kerr Jewellery. Marc’s band is a family heirloom passed down from his grandmothe­r. My beautiful baroque pearl earrings were from Anni Lu, and I wore Dior J’Adior slingbacks – I’ll keep both as future heirlooms.” FLOWERS “Blush Flowers worked their magic for the ceremony, reception and my bouquet. Our ceremony pillars were wild and undone with beautiful orchids, blush-toned roses and silver dollar leaves. We kept our reception decoration­s minimal and dressed the tables with pillar candles and place cards with mānuka twigs. We had a floral garland made for the ceiling, which hung alongside festoon lights.”
?? ?? VENUE “Central Otago has an abundance of beautiful and historic halls, each run locally by a hall committee. We chose the Bannockbur­n Church and Coronation Hall because they are in a very beautiful and historic spot and gave us total freedom to invite as many people as we wanted.” THE DRESS & KILT Josephine chose a dress from Juliette Hogan. “Light and easy to wear on a summer’s day, I felt so elegant and comfortabl­e. During the day, I wore my late grandmothe­r’s sun hat – she was an incredibly graceful and kind person and it was nice to have something of hers with me. Just Kilts in Mosgiel made Dave’s kilt in Southern Lakes Tartan by Shona Johnstone.” RECEPTION “We kept it very simple. Our wonderful friends foraged eucalyptus leaves for the tables and strung the fairy lights. The food was a team effort, with meat on the spit and salads all catered by guests. The local hockey club ran the table service and drinks throughout the day to fundraise. We just let our hair down and partied! Bubbles flowed and lots of hugs and kisses were shared.” THE CAKE Josephine’s sister Juliet (who runs Instagram account @MondayCake­s) made an incredible elderflowe­r and lemon cake. “We spent weeks picking prickly elderflowe­r for the cordial to be added to the cake mixture and to the elderflowe­r gin fizzes we had with it.”
VENUE “Central Otago has an abundance of beautiful and historic halls, each run locally by a hall committee. We chose the Bannockbur­n Church and Coronation Hall because they are in a very beautiful and historic spot and gave us total freedom to invite as many people as we wanted.” THE DRESS & KILT Josephine chose a dress from Juliette Hogan. “Light and easy to wear on a summer’s day, I felt so elegant and comfortabl­e. During the day, I wore my late grandmothe­r’s sun hat – she was an incredibly graceful and kind person and it was nice to have something of hers with me. Just Kilts in Mosgiel made Dave’s kilt in Southern Lakes Tartan by Shona Johnstone.” RECEPTION “We kept it very simple. Our wonderful friends foraged eucalyptus leaves for the tables and strung the fairy lights. The food was a team effort, with meat on the spit and salads all catered by guests. The local hockey club ran the table service and drinks throughout the day to fundraise. We just let our hair down and partied! Bubbles flowed and lots of hugs and kisses were shared.” THE CAKE Josephine’s sister Juliet (who runs Instagram account @MondayCake­s) made an incredible elderflowe­r and lemon cake. “We spent weeks picking prickly elderflowe­r for the cordial to be added to the cake mixture and to the elderflowe­r gin fizzes we had with it.”
?? ?? CEREMONY ”It was held at the old church ruins of the Basilica Sant’Eustachio in Scala. We all walked to the ceremony – the pathway zigzagged through lemon groves and had spectacula­r views along the way. We set up Prosecco and lemon granita refreshmen­ts to cool our guests on arrival. Our vows were so heartfelt and personal.” THE DRESS “My gown was by Steven Khalil. At 8kg, it was not your typical destinatio­n wedding gown (all hand-beaded lace applique right down the train). In fact, I walked all the way to the church ruins for the ceremony (in the highest heels may I add!) as there are no roads in Scala and everything is transporte­d by donkeys. I don’t do simple...” RECEPTION “Our reception was in Ravello, a quaint picturesqu­e town on the Amalfi Coast. Our dinner was held at the beautiful Belmond Hotel Caruso in a garden under olive trees, lit up with lanterns and overlookin­g the sea. We had 25 guests and loved the intimate celebratio­n – everyone was on holiday!” MUSIC “After dinner we ended up in the piano bar drinking cocktails, dancing and singing along to a white grand piano with tambourine­s. Other holidaymak­ers were there and joined in on the fun! I’ll never forget spinning around in my dress, listening to everyone singing “I-I-I-Isabelleee” with thick Italian accents.
CEREMONY ”It was held at the old church ruins of the Basilica Sant’Eustachio in Scala. We all walked to the ceremony – the pathway zigzagged through lemon groves and had spectacula­r views along the way. We set up Prosecco and lemon granita refreshmen­ts to cool our guests on arrival. Our vows were so heartfelt and personal.” THE DRESS “My gown was by Steven Khalil. At 8kg, it was not your typical destinatio­n wedding gown (all hand-beaded lace applique right down the train). In fact, I walked all the way to the church ruins for the ceremony (in the highest heels may I add!) as there are no roads in Scala and everything is transporte­d by donkeys. I don’t do simple...” RECEPTION “Our reception was in Ravello, a quaint picturesqu­e town on the Amalfi Coast. Our dinner was held at the beautiful Belmond Hotel Caruso in a garden under olive trees, lit up with lanterns and overlookin­g the sea. We had 25 guests and loved the intimate celebratio­n – everyone was on holiday!” MUSIC “After dinner we ended up in the piano bar drinking cocktails, dancing and singing along to a white grand piano with tambourine­s. Other holidaymak­ers were there and joined in on the fun! I’ll never forget spinning around in my dress, listening to everyone singing “I-I-I-Isabelleee” with thick Italian accents.
?? ?? LOCATION “We married at Neist Point, Isle of Skye, Scotland on a quiet clifftop. It was cold, windy and we could see rain rolling in. It felt like the edge of the earth. It was so Scotland and everything we were after. One of the witnesses, a woman called Fiona wearing tramping gear, threw confetti when we kissed. It was so windy it just flew everywhere.” THE SUITS “We wore matching tailored suits from Working Style. Both of our wedding rings are super sentimenta­l. James’ is a 1960s signet ring in rose gold that belonged to his grandfathe­r. Alex’s is a handmade yellow gold signet ring that James’ sister, Sydney-based jeweller Anna Knapp, made.” CEREMONY “We met our celebrant Viv over Skype and fell in love straightaw­ay. She was so kind, excited and very Scottish. She was perfect and brought a friend with her to be a witness. Our photograph­er Sarah Burton served as a second witness. We’d never met before, which felt a bit ridiculous, but fun.” AFTER PARTY “We raced to the closest town, Portree, to register our marriage before they closed for the weekend. The old lady at the council was so happy for us. We followed up with dinner on the docks. For our wedding meal, we celebrated with 37-year-old port made by Alex’s dad and ate fish and chips from the grubbiest chip shop in Skye. It was fabulous!”
LOCATION “We married at Neist Point, Isle of Skye, Scotland on a quiet clifftop. It was cold, windy and we could see rain rolling in. It felt like the edge of the earth. It was so Scotland and everything we were after. One of the witnesses, a woman called Fiona wearing tramping gear, threw confetti when we kissed. It was so windy it just flew everywhere.” THE SUITS “We wore matching tailored suits from Working Style. Both of our wedding rings are super sentimenta­l. James’ is a 1960s signet ring in rose gold that belonged to his grandfathe­r. Alex’s is a handmade yellow gold signet ring that James’ sister, Sydney-based jeweller Anna Knapp, made.” CEREMONY “We met our celebrant Viv over Skype and fell in love straightaw­ay. She was so kind, excited and very Scottish. She was perfect and brought a friend with her to be a witness. Our photograph­er Sarah Burton served as a second witness. We’d never met before, which felt a bit ridiculous, but fun.” AFTER PARTY “We raced to the closest town, Portree, to register our marriage before they closed for the weekend. The old lady at the council was so happy for us. We followed up with dinner on the docks. For our wedding meal, we celebrated with 37-year-old port made by Alex’s dad and ate fish and chips from the grubbiest chip shop in Skye. It was fabulous!”
?? ?? See more from these weddings at FQ.co.nz/ weddings. LOCATION “A friend of ours told us a cancellati­on had come up at the NZ High Country venue - so we nabbed it! You have to be in quick. The location was perfect – it showcased some of the best views in Queenstown and was private enough that it felt like we were the only ones around for miles. We invited 140 of our most magic friends and family, mostly from Auckland, overseas and Queenstown.” THE DRESS “My dress was easy and I loved that it was completely me – I wore the dress rather than the dress wearing me. I have always loved Paris Georgia – I feel so effortless­ly good in their pieces. We worked together to create something effortless­ly sleek and chic.” ACCESSORIE­S “We chose a matching set of Love rings from Cartier, with inscriptio­ns inside, paired with my engagement ring. I was wearing royal blue sapphire and diamond earrings handed down from my granny to my mother. My headband was a surprise from Donald’s mother Joan who saw it on my Pinterest board. It’s handmade by Mignonne.” STYLING “Our wedding showcased local toetoe, flax heads and other foliage in touches of burnt yellows and rust. The flowers were mostly Cafe au Lait dahlias. Our florist, Sarah from The Flower Room, really listened and delivered the most perfectly effortless florals for the day.”
See more from these weddings at FQ.co.nz/ weddings. LOCATION “A friend of ours told us a cancellati­on had come up at the NZ High Country venue - so we nabbed it! You have to be in quick. The location was perfect – it showcased some of the best views in Queenstown and was private enough that it felt like we were the only ones around for miles. We invited 140 of our most magic friends and family, mostly from Auckland, overseas and Queenstown.” THE DRESS “My dress was easy and I loved that it was completely me – I wore the dress rather than the dress wearing me. I have always loved Paris Georgia – I feel so effortless­ly good in their pieces. We worked together to create something effortless­ly sleek and chic.” ACCESSORIE­S “We chose a matching set of Love rings from Cartier, with inscriptio­ns inside, paired with my engagement ring. I was wearing royal blue sapphire and diamond earrings handed down from my granny to my mother. My headband was a surprise from Donald’s mother Joan who saw it on my Pinterest board. It’s handmade by Mignonne.” STYLING “Our wedding showcased local toetoe, flax heads and other foliage in touches of burnt yellows and rust. The flowers were mostly Cafe au Lait dahlias. Our florist, Sarah from The Flower Room, really listened and delivered the most perfectly effortless florals for the day.”

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