Jordan & Dieter

I was infatuated with Dieter from the moment I met him! We met through my best friend and got on so well that I became part of his friendship circle pretty quick. We both dated different people for a few years and would talk with each other about our relationships a lot. Our friends all went out together one night and I was the sober driver. He was my last stop before heading home and said it was too far for me to drive, insisting I stay “on the couch”. I finally managed to break out of the friendzone after about three years of being good friends and the rest is history!

We knew we would have a great future together because we were such good friends from the start – being together was really easy! Dieter and I both agree that we bring the best out of each other, and you know you are with the right person when you can be truly weird together! Dieter planned a date night for us in November 2018 and kept what he had planned a total secret. He put me in the car – blindfolded! – and drove me out to Bracu Restaurant. We went for a beautiful walk through the olive trees to the pontoon on the lake where he proposed. I definitely ugly cried, but he was too much of a gentleman to say so.

I happened to stumble across our venue, Matakana Botanicals, on a caterer’s website after hours of trawling the internet! Dieter and I both really love Matakana and its vibe, so it was pretty awesome to find a venue that we really resonated with up there. The building and its layout were great, plus we could really make it our own and it wasn’t too large for our smaller guest list. I always envisioned a summer wedding, and Dieter just didn’t contest it! We went for a rustic garden party feel and served G&Ts at our cocktail hour – we both enjoy one on a hot summer’s afternoon.

We loved our flowers! I gave Caro from Twig + Bloom full rein to do what she wanted with the flowers within our colourful and rustic style. She absolutely nailed it using a mixture of dried and fresh with bunny tails and toetoe. I love burgundy and originally wanted to have the bridesmaids wearing it but realised that they would probably roast in a darker colour! We brought the colour through with our flowers instead. The fresh burgundy blooms paired beautifully with the dried flowers and greenery.

Choosing my wedding dress was so hard! It was probably the most stressful part of the wedding. I researched what each store carried before going in and trying them on – I really wanted something quite unique. When I first tried my Jessica Bridal dress on it wasn’t fully made so they pinned me into it, and I just fell in love! Trying it on the second time when it was completed certainly helped me make my mind up! The dress wasn’t named at the time and we joked about naming after me, but Jessica Bridal actually did which was super special! The fit and flare dress was made in a sparkly floral lace with a plunge neckline and was paired with my sister’s veil and pink block heels.

Dieter found his jacket before we found anything else! We both LOVE khaki and had seen a blazer in Barkers that he tried on and we both fell in love with! It was unique and fit him so well. The colour meant that the jacket still worked with the more relaxed garden party feel we wanted to achieve! I left my four bridesmaids to decide what they wore, giving them a colour palette and budget and let them do the hunting instead. They all wore completely different styles and looked amazing.

Having plenty of food available was really important to us! We both come from families who are big eaters and enjoy a wide range of food, so we had a walk and fork set up and two food stations. We served DIY pulled pork tacos, a beautiful slow roasted beef rump with salads and bourbon sauce and a grazing table which included a delish cob loaf. Both the bourbon sauce and cob loaf were particularly raved about.

Our most memorable moment of the day was getting away at sunset to take photos. It was some of the only time we had to enjoy the day just the two of us. We both loved our photographer Fay. She made us feel so comfortable and special and took epic photos too! We hope our wedding reflected us as a couple and that our guests all enjoyed celebrating our love with us and look back on the day fondly! There wasn’t any part of our wedding we weren’t happy with! Our day was beautiful, fun and bougie!

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