Sequoia & Lucas

When I moved to New Zealand, I was invited on a hike. I’m told Lucas was distracted by me there! We made eye contact after the hike: our first connection. It wasn’t until I landed a job where he worked in Auckland that we saw each other again.

We quickly moved from work colleagues to friends. Lucas started to teach me his first language, Brazilian Portuguese. We fell in love and later, we discovered how aligned our values were, as well as our dreams for the future and our love of Jesus. Eventually, he asked me on a date. By that time, we knew we had a future together.

Lucas picked me up and drove to Mission Bay. He surprised me by going to a park where he had organized the perfect sunset picnic, amid the trees, overlooking the water and the Auckland skyline. Later, he took my hand, dropped to one knee and proposed. I didn’t know it but Lucas had also planned for a photographer to be there, who couldn’t make it on the day. We were pleasantly surprised by a random man who captured the moment on camera and shared the photos with us!

Neither of our families could travel to the wedding because of Covid. His family lives in Brazil and mine in Australia. We decided to forgo guests altogether and focus on just us: our love and the commitment we were taking. Only the two of us were present at the wedding but we had more than 100 guests attend via live stream!

I had saved a picture of Stoneridge Estate in Queenstown on Pinterest when I was 19 years old. On our arrival there, it was such a pleasant surprise to recognise this as the place I had pinned all those years ago. It was our dream spot to have the reception dinner and honeymoon. Our ceremony was on Coronet Peak and we took a helicopter to the top of Cecil Peak for the photos. The backdrop was remarkable! Also, the temperature at sunset on the mountain was perfect.

I would call our theme ‘classic elegance with a rustic touch’. The rugged mountains and earthy tones of Queenstown’s scenery added a rustic touch. My earthy-toned bouquet with orchids, roses and foliage was elegant while my gown was classic. I found it difficult to find my perfect dress but when I walked into Vinka Design, there it was. It had a hand-stitched lace bodice and long sleeves, a low neckline and a silk A-line skirt. I walked out of there beaming. Lucas wore a tailored navy suit.

Our favourite personal touch was writing our vows by hand and placing them inside our custom-made vow booklets. These life-altering promises of commitment will always be cherished and remembered.

Our family members wrote speeches that were read by our celebrant during the ceremony. To know that our parents were watching our ceremony was truly special.

Later, we had a private five-course dinner at Stoneridge Estate. Lucas’ mother arranged for a cake as well as a traditional Brazilian dessert called Brigadeiro to be left in our room as a surprise. The cake was a single-tier vanilla cake with decadent layers of chocolate frosting. We honeymooned in Central Otago afterwards.

We’re so glad we didn’t wait to get married until our families could travel as we still don’t know when that will be!

Chase the dream wedding but remember that if the whole world comes tumbling down, your dream is the person standing by your side at the altar.

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