Tell us a little about yourselves!
We first got together at a wine and cheese night (not as classy as it sounds) in 2015 in Wellington, New Zealand. We’ve lived together in Wellington and overseas in London and now call Auckland home. Mitchell works in the decarbonisation space and I’m in financial services. We have different personalities but share the same values, music taste (we’re both wannabe Gen Z pop girlies), love for travel, and appreciation of a delicious snack and a glass of good wine.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
Our venue, Ozone, is a coffee roastery and cafe in the middle of Auckland.
New Zealand is a beautiful country and there is no shortage of scenic spots that would be the perfect backdrop for a wedding. As tempting as a coastal or mountain setting was, we didn’t want to worry about our notoriously unpredictable weather putting a damper on things.
In the end, it was an easy choice to go with Ozone – we love the coffee, and their London and Auckland cafes have creative and delicious food and great vibes. The setting was urban and industrial and fitted perfectly with our relaxed plans. We carried the coffee theme into the drinks with a drop of cold brew negronis after the speeches ended which were the perfect primer for the back-to-back DJ sets performed by our friend and Zoë’s brother that followed. And, yes, it rained – but it didn’t matter one bit!
How many guests did you have?
We initially discussed having a small event with just 30 guests. Of course, when we wrote a list we ended up with 94 people on it. Mitchell described this as ‘scope creep’, but what it really means is that all 94 guests are very special to us and we quickly realised we couldn’t cut any of them. Trust us, we tried!
What was your budget?
Enough to prioritise great food, fun drinks and a cool venue – but we did our best to not go overboard.
Tell us about your outfits.
I was insistent I didn’t want a white dress, or even a wedding dress. I searched for months for a blue, green, pink or yellow alternative, but nothing jumped out at me and I didn’t want to look like a bridesmaid. Inevitably, the only dress I really loved turned out to be white – the Sculpted Tube dress from Swedish brand, House of Dagmar. It took months to track it down, but I eventually sourced it from the amazing Lesser Store in Adelaide, Australia.
It was nerve wracking buying a dress online from overseas but with the help of a talented seamstress it ended up being the perfect party dress. My shoes were a fun pair of slingbacks from Australian brand, Senso – I loved the pewter colour and the bows on the toes.
Mitchell also wore a Swedish label – a vintage style suit from Filippa K, purchased from Workshop. He loved the boxy, 80s style fit and the wide legged pleated suit pants were a fun nod to the party vibe. He paired his formal double breasted suit with a tailored white t-shirt by Workshop and a pair of Doc Marten loafers.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
We never thought we’d have a wedding. We didn’t ‘get engaged’ – there was no proposal and no ring – but we together decided to host a really good party for our friends and family. We landed on this decision many moons before the event took place, but only planned and sent invites out for ‘the party’ a few months in advance. We aimed to keep everything as relaxed and low key as possible and didn’t want our friends and family to feel any pressure from us to travel to attend.
In the end, ‘the party’ turned out to be exactly that – but with a short, informal civil union ceremony held in the evening after a round of Aperol spritzes. Our ceremony was fun and relaxed and felt special – we walked in together to Fred again’s “Adore u” and ended it to “Romeo” by Jungle; both songs delivered the fun, celebratory vibes we were after.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
The best parties are those where you make new friends and have an unexpectedly fun night. We tried to encourage this by handing out prizes for the best ‘minglers’, best dressed and a DJ’s choice award. The prizes were ‘merch’ in the form of embroidered dad caps made by our friend Jon, who owns The Print Room in Dunedin. The hats turned out to be highly coveted items and we’ve had to order more for those who missed out!
Our amazing photographers, Zara Staples and Jared, also suggested bringing in a backdrop for photos. Our guests loved having their photos taken in front of the Barbiecore pink wall.
We also booked a large karaoke room for the after party. It was incredible – the room had 4 microphones and our friends and family were belting out Natasha Bedingfield, The Backstreet Boys and Macy Gray until 1am. The best!
Any tips for couples getting married?
Don’t feel constrained by expectations – a wedding can be whatever you want it to be. Spend money on the things you care about and don’t worry about the rest – no one else will either.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Our talented photographers, Zara Staples and Jared Tinetti, were incredible to work with – they are creative, fun, open minded, and even gave us a ride to the venue. Our photos are everything we could have hoped for and more, and perfectly encapsulate the party that was.
Our celebrant, Kate Rodger, was an absolute legend. She stepped in to help us after other plans fell through and did a beautiful job of guiding us through the ceremony, which was the part of the day we were most nervous about. Kate is funny, warm, and wonderful to be around. Highly, highly recommend to any couples based in New Zealand.
I thought for a long time I wouldn’t bother with flowers or have a bouquet. When I decided quite late in the piece that I wanted both, Kelly from Blush was super happy to help and created the most beautiful standalone arrangement and bouquet. The flowers were a work of art and – as promised – not too “wedding-y”.
My hair and makeup artist, Alexandra Stanworth-Brown (Beauty by Alexandra), was a star. Alex has a beautiful, calm manner and is incredibly talented. I joked that I wanted to look ‘unrecognisably good’ and I think she actually did it!
Finally, Ozone was the perfect venue. The cafe usually closes at 3pm and they don’t often host weddings but the team could not have been more helpful – the food, drinks and service were all perfect and we are very grateful to the team for agreeing to have us!
Photographer: Zara Staples @zarastaplesweddings | Flora: Blush @blush_flowers | Ceremony & Reception Location: Ozone @ozonecoffeenz | Celebrant: Kate Rodger @kate_rodger | HMUA:
Beauty by Alexandra @__beautybyalexandra | Cake: Butter Butter @butterbutternz | Entertainment:
Our friend, Ben, and Zoë’s brother, Will | Merch: The Print Room @printroomnz | Dress: House of Dagmar via Lesser Store @houseofdagmar@lesserstore | Suit: Filippa K @filippa_k @workshopnz | Tailor:
S Y Stitching, Parnell | Shoes: Senso @senso & Doc Martens @drmartensofficial