By 
Simon and I met in France (where we’re from) in the city of Toulouse more than 11 years ago. Five years ago we moved to New Zealand for work and quickly fell in love with the country.
We got engaged on Waiheke Island and were married at Chateau du Croisillat, in a little town called Caraman in the South of France.
We didn’t really have a theme, but my Father’s side is from Spain, my Mother was born in Morocco and Simon and I come from different religious backgrounds, so I really just wanted to create a vibe that incorporated all of our cultures.
I searched for a dress both here and in France and when I found Rue de Seine I felt like the brand was created for me. My heart was captured with the first gown I tried on. It had a figure-hugging silhouette with a low back, made with a fine mesh and delicate embroidery, beading and fringe trim.
I accessorised with my favourite Zoe & Morgan earrings, a delicate flower crown I made myself and my grandmother’s ring. She had passed away five months before the wedding, so it meant the world to me to have a bit of her with me.
I created all the floral arrangements with my bridesmaids, we pulled together dry plants we had foraged close to the beach along with lisianthus, anthurium, gypsophila and my favourite, toe toe (which I’d brought to France from New Zealand).
We had 5 extraordinary little flower girls who were our cousins and nieces. My god daughter also carried the rings.
Simon wore a lovely blue suit (like his eyes) from Barkers, a white shirt and soft brown leather shoes and made him a soft brown leather bow tie.
The gardens were breathtakingly beautiful, ideal for our outdoor ceremony and the interior of our reception space had exposed wooden beams and red bricks which reminded us of our home city (Toulouse is known as the ‘pink city’ because of the red bricks).
We wanted a sit-down dinner but nothing too fancy, as it’s just not us. We went for a traditional confit de canard (duck confit) with potato gratin and wild mushrooms.
We went really traditionally French for our wedding cake too, having three Pièces Montées. I’m personally not a huge fan of this cake, but Simon really wanted it, which I loved, and it was made by a patisserie in Revel called Lopez, who had created all the cakes for his family’s weddings, so it meant a lot to him.
We also created a guest book on a surfboard – we painted it white and people could write on it in brown marker. Simon is a passionate surfer and his love for it brushed off on me – so it’s something that means a lot to us.
We had an incredible, fun time dancing with all our guests – we literally danced the night away, the party went on until 7am
The Details:Bride’s gown: Rue de Seine; Hair and Makeup: Sarah (the bride); Groom’s attire: Barkers, De Fursac, Zara; Bridesmaids’ dresses: Miss Crabb, Maje Boutique; Bride’s accessories: Zoe & Morgan; Bride’s shoes: Seed Heritage; Rings: Zoe & Morgan, The Diamond Shop; Cakes: Patisserie Lopez (Revel, France); Catering: Pierre Banquet ( Revel, France); Music: DJ Evenement; Videography: Clement Sollier; Photographer: Tkt Photography
