Jolanta & Nicholas met through a mutual friend and both admit it wasn’t love at first sight. For their special day, they wanted a relaxed and rustic beach wedding at Surf and Sand in Ohope, adding a marquee to the reception which romantically and perfectly looked out to the sand dunes with 53 of their 85 guests flying in from Australia to New Zealand. We love the DIY personal touches of this beautiful relaxed rustic beach wedding! Take a look at the details captured by Michael Shultz Photography
How did you and your partner meet?
We met the day Nick arrived in Perth from New Zealand through a mutual friend. We met up for lunch but let’s just say it wasn’t love at first sight.
How did he propose?
It was 2 days before Christmas, we had spent the day on the lake fishing and had set up camp for the night. After dinner, we took the boat to a secluded hot pool where I received an early Christmas present. With my hands in his he asked me to be his wife, he then presented me with the most beautiful ring. We spent the evening lakeside with a bottle of champagne.
What’s your most important piece of advice for creating and maintaining a strong relationship?
Be open and honest with one another, say what’s on your mind. Although sharing interests is important to us, we feel that having some separate hobbies and interests really help us to explore more and be open to new experiences together.
Tell us about your wedding gown and how you chose it:
My dress was a Stella York design. It was champagne lace over Ivory, strapless and fishtail style. I knew I had found my dress when I began to get teary, I then tried on my veil and burst into tears. I lost my mum 4 years earlier and for me this was a sign from her that this was the one.
What sort of style did you envision for your wedding?
We wanted a relaxed, rustic, beach wedding on the beach, we added a marquee for the reception which had clear windows behind us overlooking the sand dunes. We collected sand, pebbles and driftwood to create our own decorations and center pieces.
What was your favorite moment from the day?
It’s hard to choose a particular moment, they were all incredible. The speeches were full of emotion and love and the photos were loads of fun. But a very special moment would have been taking 20 minutes time out half way though the reception to have sunset photos with my new husband. It gave us time to reflect on the day so far and be alone.
Any DIY décor elements?
We collected driftwood to make our wedding arch and center pieces and added sand and pebbles to our candle holders and vases.
If you could do it all over again, what would you change?
I wouldn’t change anything but I would add a second photographer and have a clear plan of what kind of photos we wanted (groups, sunset, bridal party etc) and where we were having them.
Any tips that you can give to future brides?
Your wedding day is about you and your husband not anyone else, don’t feel pressured to do something you don’t want. Take time to stop and soak up your day, it goes by so fast. If your day allows, spend 10 minutes alone with your new husband and reflect on what has happened. That for me was one of the most special moments of the day.
Photographer: Michael Shultz Photography
Brides Dress: Stella York Dress from Tuscany Bridal
Brides Accessories & Shoes: Michael Hill Jewelers and Betts Shoes
Bridesmaid Dresses: The Gown House
Grooms Suit & Accessories: Hallensteins and Number One Shoes
Rings: Michael Hill Jewelers
Wedding Invites: Adorn Invitations
Accommodation: Ohope Top 10 Holiday park
Flowers: Honey Bee Wild Flowers
Venue: Surf and Sand Conference Centre, Ohope
Catering: Kiwizine
Hire Company: Absolute Party Hire
Menus & Place Cards: BWedding Invitations
Hair: Bespoke Hair by Chloe
Makeup: Staci Edwards
Cake: DIY from Nick’s sister
Celebrant: Natalie Sandifer – www.ohopebeachcelebrant.weebly.com
Music: Nick created playlists, we asked our guests to add a song request to their RSVP
