Liberty & Andrew

Andrew and I met in Melbourne at a Variety children’s charity event. It was clear from the beginning that we had a lot in common – a background in property, a love of travel, an interest in health and nutrition, and close connections with family and friends. We dated for two months before we were ‘officially’ a couple and after six months, we moved into an apartment together in St Kilda, Melbourne. We love our busy and active lifestyle filled with activities, socialising and work; Andrew is the founder of a buyer’s advocacy company and my careers are commercial property and health coaching.

I said “yes” while on a two-week holiday in Bali. Andrew had asked for my dad’s permission before flying out of Melbourne. It got to the final night and Andrew still hadn’t asked so my parents began to think he had changed his mind. After our dinner Andrew suggested we go for a stroll along the beach, we walked down to the water’s edge where Andrew got down on one knee.

We did a lot of research into venues around the Queenstown and Wanaka region, and Edgewater ticked all the boxes. We loved that the venue was situated lakeside, had spectacular views of mountains and ocean, a beautiful reception space, and accommodation on-site.

Our wedding date fell on a couple of public holidays – Australia Day and Auckland Anniversary. This meant that many of our 85 guests could take an extra day to enjoy spectacular Central Otago. My family and I have holidayed in Wanaka for a number of years, and Queenstown was the first place Andrew visited in New Zealand, so the area holds special memories for us – and now even more!

We loved the idea of a summer wedding, for the warmth and bright photos. We decorated the glasshouse-style reception space with hanging greenery as well as greenery on plinths for each table. Roses, peonies, freesias made up the floral dome-style bouquet.

The morning of the wedding, the lads enjoyed lunch and beers, while us girls had a relaxing brunch together before starting on hair, makeup, and then getting into my Mylene Marie dress by Maggie Sottero. I chose my dream gown for its beaded bodice, V-neckline and square back detail. The skirt was sleek and A-line with a touch of volume created by tulle, and featured a princess seam split. I accessorized with a veil, Badgley Mischka shoes, diamond earrings and a garter gifted to me from my mother-in-law.

My bridesmaids and maid of honour all wore an ankle-length dusty blush hued ‘fable’ dress from Acler, which was made of silk and had high neck crossover detailing, which flowed delicately over a fitted and boned bodice.

To complement the light, lakeside environment, Andrew wore a linen suit jacket, white shirt, navy chinos and brown leather accessories and a bow tie. His groomsmen wore the same, foregoing the bow tie.

A pre-function was arranged so we could personally welcome our nearest and dearest before the proceedings began. This idea meant that we were more relaxed when it came to the official proceedings.

We said our nuptials in front of the ocean and wonderful Otago scenery, as the sun shone down. Andrew’s brother was his best man, and older brother was our MC for the event and my younger brother wrote a poem, which he also recited before we said, ‘I do’.

Immediately after the ceremony we had family and bridal photos and then took a helicopter ride to Coromandel Peak for photographs. The view was spectacular and it made for incredible and memorable images to treasure forever.

Upon return to Edgewater, we joined our guests having drinks and canapes before a surprise Maori Welcome. We chose to do this to honour our country heritage and allow the Australian guests to witness a live haka for the first time. Our guests and the bridal party enjoyed a three-course sit-down dinner of modern Australian cuisine including Akaroa salmon, eye fillet and creme brulee. Our celebration cake was a white two-tiered creation by Peppermint Kitchen; we chose a Whisky date caramel & a blueberry white chocolate layer, knowing they’d be crowd favourites.

We did a few months of dance lessons and our wedding dance was a mash of a few songs: ‘L.O.V.E’ by Nat King Cole and ‘I Gotta Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas, to name a few. After our first dance, the live band got the crowd involved with a range of songs that all age groups enjoyed – and we danced the night away!

THE DETAILS

BRIDE’S GOWN Maggie Sottero. BRIDE’S SHOES Badgley Mischka. HAIR Biddi King. MAKEUP Loren Russell. RINGS Ralf Fisch Fine Jewellery. GROOM’S ATTIRE Oxford. BRIDESMAIDS’ DRESSES Acler from Myer. GROOMSMEN’S ATTIRE Country Road. VENUE AND CATERING Edgewater, Wanaka. CELEBRANT Niki Osborne. FLOWERS Blooms of Barker. CAKE Peppermint Kitchen. MUSIC Calico Band. VIDEOGRAPHY Stefan Godman. HIRE Wanaka Party Hire. HELICOPTER Aspiring Helicopters. HAKA Joe from WanaHaka.