Tell us a little about yourselves!
We met at University in Auckland in 2011, so before tying the knot we’d been together for over 10 years already. Over this decade, our love has deepened, but we’ve also focused on our individual journeys - this is something that’s always been important to us having been together from such a young age.
For the past nine years, Hong Kong has been our home. It's hard to believe we’ve spent most of our twenties here, growing together and building our lives. Currently, Jamie is the CEO of Subway Sandwiches in Hong Kong and manages his own stores too. Becks is a Business Development Director, working with innovative companies that prioritize sustainability.
Outside of work, we enjoy our cosy apartment and appreciate the ease of exploring new destinations just a short flight away. We’re both very ‘all in’ - saying yes and open to adventures or doing absolutely nothing. Either way, we love each other's company.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
New Zealand is home to us, so choosing to get married here was an easy decision. The tricky part was deciding which town to pick. With many guests travelling from overseas, we wanted to share the beauty of New Zealand with everyone and create an unforgettable experience together. We envisioned the big blue sky, being surrounded by nature, quiet nights and starry skies.
The Coromandel holds so many special memories for us, making it the perfect location for our wedding. It was also relatively easy for most of our friends and family in NZ to get to as well!
We planned everything through video calls and entrusted our planner, Dena, to visit the venue in person.
Hillbrook Estate was the ideal choice, offering 180-degree, uninterrupted views of the sparkling ocean and far away from the main road so all we could hear was the wind, waves and cicadas.
How many guests did you have?
120 guests came from around NZ, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, LA, Chicago and London!
What was your budget?
We ended up going way over our budget. It got to a point where we realised our initial budget was unrealistic. Our planner, Dena, helped us to properly forecast so we knew what we were in for and we just closed our eyes and leant in. Honestly, this was a big chunk of our savings even with help from our family. But we don’t regret it one bit. This day, this weekend was truly the best of our lives. We’d never felt happiness like this before.
The price of Hillbrook Estate was a large chunk but it did include accommodation for 16 family members for 3 nights. Living far away, moments like this are few and far between. All being together was really important to us. We loved having out family together in one big house over the wedding weekend.
Tell us about your outfits.
My dress was gifted to me by a good friend as a wedding gift, it was a dream come true! I’d tried this dress on ‘for fun’ when I was searching and couldn’t believe it was the dress I got to wear on the day. I felt incredible in this dress! I wanted a second dress that was comfy and easy to dance in so after dinner I changed into the Taller Marmo dress. The longer sleeves were perfect for the cooler night and the feathers were very cute on the dance floor!
Jamie had both of his suits tailored in Hong Kong. He had a second ‘party jacket’ he put on after dinner too. I wasn’t involved at all with what we wore, I was a bit nervous when he said he was getting a ‘party jacket’ after hearing I was getting a second dress too, but he looked very handsome and stylish.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We live far from home and as much as our wedding was a love letter to one another, it was as much to every guest who was there. To have our New Zealand and Hong Kong worlds collide was truly magical. We wanted the day to represent us as a couple completely.
Regarding the actual planning, we knew what we wanted but planning from afar makes the execution side of things pretty daunting. Having a planner was imperative and we were so happy to have found Dena, she is incredible and we can’t imagine having created this day without her.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
The music we curated for the day and the incense we burnt were two key unique parts of the day and really helped to amplify the beautiful energy.
Music was one of the top priorities for us. We felt it told so much of our story together and had a long list of specific songs we wanted to play throughout the day. Our brief for Kulios the String Quartet, was 90’s R&B, which they played as guests arrived.
Kulios also played our isle songs with the flower girls and bridesmaids walking down the isle to Best Part by Daniel Ceaser and H.E.R. Becks walked down with her dad to Mac Miller - 2009. The renditions were beautiful. Kulios repositioned for cocktails while we signed our papers to FKJ - Vibin' Out with ((( O ))) - the sign was shining, and there was a soft breeze - this song captured the moment so perfectly.
We love burning incense at home and we wanted to share our favourite scent with everyone so made the day ‘smell’ like us too! We had a Chamomile and Calendula incense from Sagrada Madre burning. Each of our guests also took a few sticks of this home too. A gateway to all the memories we’d made together.
Any tips for couples getting married?
If you’re having a big wedding, consider a planner. This was the best money we spent.
Invest in photography (and videography if you can). We love ours so much, both Keryn Sweeney Weddings and Grey Area captured the energy of our day perfectly, it was so contagious and the footage brings the exact feeling right back.
Inject as much of yourself, as individuals and as a couple, into your wedding. Think about your shared joys.
What skills do you and your friends and family have - can they help? Ask for help! Beck’s mum made the cake, she is an amazing baker so anyone who had only heard her speak about this could know first hand! She also did the watercolours on the menus and all graphics were designed by Jamie’s sister/ bridesmaid. Hand-made touches like this were really important to incorporate. It’s special to have your friends and family involved in curating your day.
Where can you save? In addition to the cake and graphic design, a big saving for us was printing (not just paper but also stickers for the incense envelopes and the linen seating chart) - about 10x cheaper in HK!
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Kulios String Quartet - We were thrilled to find Kulios and have them follow our musical brief. A string quartet that would play modern music was hard to find! We were able to purchase sheet music for songs they hadn’t played before and they learnt them ahead of the day so we got exactly what we had envisioned.
Willow Lane Events - look no further for a planner or event hire. Such a stunning range of furniture and dinnerware too.
Grey Area Videography - I can’t imagine anyone else capturing our day more perfectly. The video is backed with all of our favourite songs from the day and has so many gorgeous moments of everyone. They have an option to shoot on 16mm film. We didn’t do this as our budget was already stretched, by the results on other videos i’ve seen are stunning if this is something you prioritise.
Keryn Sweeney Weddings - Made us feel so comfortable behind the camera. We didn’t even notice her and her assistant sneaking around getting all the best candid shots.
Photographer: Keryn Sweeney Weddings @kerynsweeneyphotographer | Planning & Styling: Willow Lane Events @willowlane_events | Flora: Isadia @isadiafloral | Videographer: Grey Area
@greyareaproduction | Ceremony & Reception Location: Hillbrook Estate @hillbrook_estate | Celebrant:
Miriama Smith @miriamasmith_ | Hire: Twelve Tables @twelve_tables (Chairs, Marquee) Flock Events @flockevents (Bar, Bar Leaners, Stools, Lounging) & TBLE @tble__linen__hire (Napkins, Linen) | Makeup Artist: NKD Make Up @nkdmakeup | Hair: Boutique Bride @boutiquebride | Catering + Beverages: Little Wolf @littlewolfweddings | Cake: Mother of the Bride | Stationery: Sister of the Groom/ Bridesmaid | Entertainment: Clint Roberts @clintstagramm | String Quartet: Kulios @kuliosnz | Ceremony Dress: Vivienne Westwood @viviennewestwood (Galaxy Cape Dress) | Reception Dress: Taller Marmo (Gina)
@tallermarmo | Suit: Beaux Tailor | Veil: Harriette Gordon @harriettegordon | Engagement Ring:
Custom Made in Hong Kong | Wedding Rings: Foo Hang Jewellery @foohangjewellery | Shoes:
Charles and Keith @charleskeithofficial & Loeffler Randel @loefflerrandall | Necklace: Sarah and Sebastian @sarahandsebastian