Tell us a little about yourselves!
We met while studying at Otago University in Dunedin and working at the same restaurant and have been together 10 years. We live in Wellington with our greyhound, Pepe. Dean owns 3 restaurants, while Ella works in the public sector. We both love food, art, animals, and travel (pre-pandemic of course!).
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
We both love Queenstown and have many happy memories there together. We chose Amisfield Restaurant because there is not better place to eat, drink and celebrate! Dawn Thomson captured our day.
How many guests did you have?
We had 19 guests, including us.
Tell us about your outfits.
Ella: I knew I wanted to wear pants from the outset and I love Toni Maticevski's style and tailoring so it was a no brainer. I bought the outfit online and it fit like a glove. I knew my shoes would be on display with the pants so wanted to go with something fun – when I saw the hot pink Amina Muaddi shoes it was love at first sight. I colour coordinated the whole wedding around them. I had the veil custom made by the amazing Stephen Jones Millinery team in London and shipped over to New Zealand. All of my outfit was organised online during successive lockdowns so it was no mean feat. Dean: I wanted clean and classic but with a bit of flair. The suit was custom made by Mandatory which was a really enjoyable experience. It’s something I will wear again.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
That we could celebrate with our closest friends and family in a place that is special to us. Also that it was low key but fabulous - and represented us as a couple.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
Food and drink are very important to us so we wanted to treat our guests to a feast like no other. Also because we couldn’t have our greyhounds there with us we incorporated them into the details with the handkerchiefs and place cards. Also Ella’s brother was able to come from London which was really special!
Any tips for couples getting married, particularly during the pandemic?
Covid has really changed the way people think about weddings and what is important to them. We decided that having an intimate wedding and the act of marriage was our priority , so with the global situation being so uncertain we went ahead and did it. We also highly recommend a micro wedding - less chance of it being cancelled!
Photographer : Dawn Thomson @dawnthomsonphoto | Ceremony Location : Thomas Brown Art Gallery | Reception Location : Amisfield Restaurant @amisfieldrestaurant | Celebrant : Gleynns Logan Live @livelovewed_ | Styling, Planning + Fresh Flowers : One Fine Day @onefinedayweddings @kimonefineday| Dried Flowers : Church Confetti Churchconfetti.co.nz Makeup : Paige at Eve Beauty @eve.makeup.artistry | Hair : Pure Hair Queenstown @purehair.studio | Place cards : Etsy @etsy | Personalised Handkerchiefs : Broiderie Stitch Groom's Suit : Mandatory (custom) @mandatorynz | Bride's Outfit : Toni Maticevski @toni_matcievski | Rings : Tory and Ko @toryandko | Groom's Shoes : RM Williams @r.m.williams_official | Bride's Shoes : Amina Muaddi @aminamuaddiofficial | Bride's Engagement Ring : Vintage via Dunbar Sloane @dunbarsloane | Veil : Stephen Jones Millinery @stephenjonesmillinery | Handbag : Jacquemus @jacquemus