Tara & Steven

Steve and I met through mutual friends on the North Shore before we started dating in July 2007. From the moment Steve first kissed me outside the St James on Queen Street in Auckland I knew that we would be together for a very long time. We were into the same things and my family loved him straight away. I knew he was a keeper from day dot.

In November 2015, Steve dropped down on one knee in our first home in Perth, Western Australia. I did not expect it at all as we had just bought the house. It was such a magical moment and he blew me away with a beautiful Vera Wang engagement ring that he’d hidden in the roof for six weeks! We were engaged for three and a half years before our wedding and decided to have our little boy Andre during that time.

Bali has always had a special place in our hearts. We go there often for mini breaks to chill out, relax and wine and dine. We spent months researching online and, of course, visited Bali on numerous occasions in the hunt for our wedding venue. We wanted a private villa wedding on a clifftop. Sinaran Surga Resort (now The Surga Villa Estate) in beautiful Uluwatu was exactly that.

Secluded with turquoise water, the infinity pool sold it for us and served as the perfect backdrop to our ceremony. Our ‘elegant grande’ theme perfectly suited sunny Bali and the stunning venue. We are forever grateful for our wedding planner Deasy from Bali Villas Lifestyle Weddings and Events. She was my fairy godmother in the lead up to the wedding, not to mention how fantastic she was on the big day itself. She is truly amazing at her job. She provided flowers from the in-house florist – ivory roses for a classy and simple colour palette. Deasy absolutely nailed the styling and we received so many comments on it, and still do to this day.

I knew all along I wanted a mermaid wedding dress and looked at styles for months, trying on many dresses at different stores before having mine made by a family friend. My gown had lots of pretty lace, beautiful handmade beading and layers of tulle for the volume in the skirt and train. The ivory beaded lace bodice had a corset back and beaded spaghetti straps and was underlaid in a champagne fabric. Adamant that I did not want a veil, I instead went for a pretty fishtail plait with a lot of height and volume accessorised with elegant jewel slides. My three bridesmaids all wore pretty elegant dresses from ASOS. The taupe blush gowns had round necks, sequin-embellished bodices and tulle skirts. Pretty rose gold diamante earrings from Forever New and nude block heeled shoes with thin straps completed the look. All of the boys wore Politix – white shirts with cufflinks and grey fitted trousers that we had cropped ever so slightly to show the ankle. They went really well with brown slip-ons from River Island and ASOS bowties that tied in with the dresses.

Our ceremony was followed by divine Indonesian-style food; beginning with an hour of free flow canapes before a barbecue buffet. The biggest hits were the suckling pig and, of course, the grill station. Steve’s uncle kicked off the speeches with a beautiful karakia and powhiri. Later in the evening Steve’s cousin started an emotional and extremely moving Haka. It was very special for us.

We worked on the music for months and had lists of tracks for each part of the evening; from iconic NZ tunes to family favourites and upbeat beats, through to our party time playlist that ranged from the 80s and 90s hits to R&B and old school dance tracks. Our first dance was to ‘Stay with You’ by John Legend and fireworks lit up surrounding us for a ‘wow’ factor. It was pretty cool, to say the least!

The whole day was so special and memorable! You honestly can’t get better than Bali. We are so glad that we had a destination wedding. Everyone was so relaxed, and it was the best time. Our guests got to experience paradise. It was a day full of aroha and really was our dream wedding.

THE DETAILS

BRIDE’S GOWN Adore Bridal Alterations, Perth, Australia. BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Pandora, Novo Shoes. RINGS Vera Wang. HAIR Lisa from Salon Sienna, Manchester, UK. MAKEUP Renee Pettit. GROOM AND GROOMSMEN’S ATTIRE Politix, River Island. BRIDESMAIDS’ ATTIRE ASOS, Famous Footwear. VENUE The Surga Villa Estate. CATERING Lumbung Catering. WEDDING PLANNER Deasy Fatmawati from Bali Villas Lifestyle Weddings and Events. PRIEST Father Thompson. CAKE Ixora Cakes Bali. FLOWERS, STATIONERY, SIGNAGE AND HIRE Bali Villas Lifes.