Splendour in THE GRASS
31.03.2018
OAKLEY SALTON and JAMES LASH focused on modern style with a classic twist for their quintessential Kiwi wedding.
James and I met through mutual friends. James messaged me one day when I was about to come home from university and sparks instantly flew between us. On a warm Nelson summer’s evening, James, myself and my sister and brother were out with our dogs at the beach in Tahunanui. We had all been out swimming and were sitting around having drinks and watching the sunset. It was here that James asked me to marry him. It was so special to have my siblings involved – I don’t know who was more shocked – me or my siblings!
We got married on Easter weekend at our family friend’s farm on the outskirts of Richmond, near Nelson. We held our ceremony down the road at Redwood Hall. It was a huge hall with a small stage at one end and white walls and timber floors. It was a great space to work with and decorate. We’d thought about having a destination wedding so that we could enjoy a few days of festivities with all our loved ones, and a long weekend worked out perfectly, as it meant we didn’t have to leave New Zealand either.
We didn’t really stick to a theme, but wanted to focus on wooden and floral elements throughout the wedding. This mainly extended to the fresh vine and eucalyptus garlands that were strung up in the hall, and our bouquets, all created by the talented Willow Florist.
James and I are very family orientated. It’s one of the most important things for us, so it was really special to have our grandparents as our ring bearers. James’ Poppa pranked us by pretending he couldn’t find the ring and pulled out buttons instead!
I’d already been following Grace Loves Lace on Instagram, so knew they had the gown for me. During a trip to the Gold Coast, I visited a Grace Loves Lace store and, after much deliberation, decided on the Paloma gown. It was the perfect mix of bridal classic, but also something a little different, with silver beading throughout the gown. I had four bridesmaids, three of my closest friends and my sister. They wore duck egg blue dresses by Amber Whitecliffe. They accessorised with blush tie-up Windsor Smith heels and earrings from Tassels by J.
All the suits for the guys were from Hallensteins. We decided on navy, as it was easy to coordinate with the bridesmaids’ attire.
Georgia from Blackbird Cakery created our dangerously
delicious cake. It was two-tiered – lemon yoghurt and curd, and dark chocolate and salted caramel. Not only is Georgia a fantastic baker, she’s an artist and the cake looked as good as it tasted.
Being a dancer, there was a lot of pressure to put on an extravaganza. I think most of my family expected I would put on a musical. Our first dance was to Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon. The first part of the song was just James and I and then, during the second part, the bridal party joined in. Two days out from the wedding, we sent an instructional video to a select group of people. They learned the dance and then, when the time came, they jumped up on the dance floor with us. It was a really fun way to get people involved and also got lots of people up to dance.
The best thing about the day was that we were able to have fun! Mingling with everyone after the ceremony was perfect, the band was excellent and we danced all night. It was such a fun day!