Recollections

Celebrity chef Michael van de Elzen and his wife Belinda’s 2006 wedding theme was ‘food’ – even the bouquet included fresh herbs! here she shares their love story

Imet Michael when he hired me as an apprentice chef at a restaurant in Mt Eden, Auckland. I worked for him for about a year, then he headed to London. Mike always told me travelling was one of the most rewarding things a chef could do to further their career. So around six months after he left New Zealand shores, I decided to do my big OE. He was my only contact in London, and let me sleep on a mattress on his floor. A year later, our friendship had turned into love and we travelled around India for three months – a big test, which clearly we passed!

The proposal was amazing; Mike had rented one of those little wooden baches at Pakiri Beach, north of Auckland. I walked in and there were stunning hibiscuses all over the room and a bottle of champagne in the fridge. Then Mike got down on one knee and presented me with a beautiful yellow sapphire, which he had bought in India. Of course I said ‘yes.’

We spent a year planning the wedding, but we were so busy with our restaurant, Molten, that we approached the organising quite casually and fitted it in around work. We were really lucky as everything went to plan; if we were to do it again, we would take a bit more time concentrating on the little things.

We wed on March 11, 2006, at St Mark’s Church in Remuera, in front of 120 family and friends. Our reception was at Pinot in Orakei.

I took a quick holiday to Perth to pick out my dress with Mum, who lives there. The simple cream silk gown had shoestring straps, and was ruched from the top to the waist before falling straight to the ground.

I wore a short veil, pearl earrings my dad bought me and my mum’s pearl necklace. My two bridesmaids wore green, floor-length gowns with shoestring straps. Mike and his groomsmen wore suits from Frank Casey in Newmarket.

The white and green colour theme was reflected in my bouquet, made with roses, lamb’s ear and lots of rosemary and other herbs; my bridesmaids had smaller versions. All the bouquets were very fragrant.

Being chefs, our theme was ‘food’. We had little herb pots on the tables, green bridesmaid dresses and the guys wore green ties. The meal was banquet style – lots of platters on tables so guests could pass them to one another.

On the day I was nervous, but more excited that I was marrying the person I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Wagner’s traditional ‘Wedding March’ played as I walked down the aisle, and our first dance song was U2’s ‘With or Without You’.

The most memorable moment was definitely the best man’s speech; he was the only one who knew how Mike and I felt about each other prior to us getting together. It was a highlight to have both my mum and dad there celebrating our day, since they’d been divorced for 28 years! Mum also tried to catch my bouquet – I hadn’t seen her move that quickly in years.

For our honeymoon we went to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands; it’s a gorgeous paradise and we had so much fun together.

My one piece of advice for brides to be is: don’t let other people make decisions for you. It’s your day – and a very special one at that. Also, be 100 per cent sure about the person you are marrying. Marriage is a very serious commitment. I loved saying my vows to Mike, and I meant every word.

Seven years on and we are still working hard, having opened our second Auckland restaurant, The Food Truck Garage. Our commitment to each other is just as strong, especially now we have a family. We needed IVF treatment to have our two gorgeous girls, Hazel and Ivy, and not a day goes by that we don’t think how lucky we are to have each other and the two of them. Even at such young ages they make us laugh, stop what we are doing and take time out to be together as a family. They make us appreciate the little things in life.