Ciara & Corey

Corey and I met at the Auckland International departure gate, our place of work, in 2015. From the first time I met Corey I knew I had to get to know him more. There was something about him. I had a burning curiosity about him and had to pursue the fire!

He never really spoke to me much at work and was very mysterious, so I was on a mission to get to know him! We eventually got to know each other over drinks on a few different occasions.

I knew we had a future together when we discussed our hopes, dreams and plans and they were very similar. Corey proposed to me very quietly at Muriwai Beach. We often play a game called ‘what are the chances?’ where every so often someone has to complete a challenge, often silly. We’d been playing it along the beach, when all of a sudden Corey asks, “What are the chances you will say yes?” and out came a ring box with a stunning ring in it.

We didn’t choose our date based on a season – we wanted a Saturday wedding and chose to have it on the day of Corey’s late Poppa’s birthday, so it has a special meaning to us. We chose St Mary’s chapel for our ceremony after Monsignor Kiely suggested it. It is a Sisters of Mercy chapel and I went to a Sisters of Mercy school. I had heard about Mantells Mt Eden and when I inquired about our reception they suggested Mantells On The Water which I hadn’t heard of but was better suited to the size of our wedding.

I would say our theme was clean, classic and timeless. I knew I wanted pale pinks and whites. Our floral arrangements were done by Wonder Florals – Alex was amazing. We had a lot of flowers and used orchids, antique roses, hydrangeas and peonies all in our colours. I didn’t want a lot of greenery in the bouquets or table arrangements and I wanted the flowers to be simple, yet beautiful and eye-catching.

I chose to have a timeless bridal look and knew I wanted long sleeves and a long train from the very beginning. The French lace gown I chose was off-the-shoulder with long lace sleeves and buttons at the cuff. It was fitted and had a sheer back with small buttons. The amazing train was four metres long and I paired it with a slightly longer veil and pearl earrings.

We had a sit-down dinner with nine shared dishes for the table with everything from beautiful salads to stunning meats. We had a lot of food! So much in fact that everyone kept commenting on how much there was! A dessert bar of petitsfours and our three-tiered cake were served after dinner.

Bets from Magnolia Kitchen crafted our cake which had different flavoured layers – rich chocolate, plum lemon and zesty lemon. I chose Magnolia Kitchen as I was impressed by Bets’ attention to detail when it comes to cakes – she decorated one of our tiers to look like lace.

Each of our guests was given a rose quartz as a favour. I love crystals and I especially love the meaning of rose quartz – the stone of universal love, they’re said to open the heart. I hope my guests remember the love that was shared when they look back on our wedding day. Walking down the aisle towards Corey is something that I’ll always remember. I was so happy with every part of our timeless, wonderful wedding – I have no regrets.

THE DETAILS

BRIDE’S GOWN Pronovias from Raffaele Ciuca, Melbourne, Australia. BRIDE’S SHOES Siren from The Iconic. BRIDESMAIDS’ ATTIRE Zimmermann, ASOS. GROOM AND GROOMSMEN’S ATTIRE Working Style, Double Oak Mills. PRIEST Monsignor Bernard Kiely. HAIR Hare & Hunter. MAKEUP Serenity Makeup. RINGS Walker & Hall. CEREMONY St Mary’s Old Convent Chapel, St Mary’s College, Ponsonby, Auckland. RECEPTION AND CATERING Mantells On The Water, Auckland CBD. FLORIST Wonder Florals. CAKE Magnolia Kitchen. MUSIC MIX IT DJ. STATIONERY Paper Rose. SIGNAGE Inkberry Calligraphy. HIRE Love Club Hire.