Gina & Brad

I have always been in love with the relaxed style that the couples who share their days on Polka Dot Bride have, and this beautiful boho inspired New Zealand wedding nails it to a tee; from the gorgeous reception on the bride’s father’s front lawn, the first look amongst the gorgeous forest trees, the newlyweds’ baby girl toddling around the ceremony and the dancing and joy as the festivities got underway. It was all captured beautifully by Melissa Mills and I can’t wait to share it with you today.

The bride wore the “Woodrose” gown from Rue de Seine, telling “I look at lots of dresses online and always wanted a boho/hippie style – I have loved flared jeans and tops since I can remember and am lucky enough that that style is now cool and not hard to find.

I went to the more traditional dress shops first to ensure I didn’t want to look like a Disney princess and it was quite a comedy act really – you just know when you have a style and other styles don’t suit your personality. Well that was the case with all the traditional dresses for me – it was fun though and I’m pleased I did it.

When I went to Rue de Seine it was a breath of fresh air because what I thought I wanted was actually what I felt amazing in (relief!) I loved so many dresses I tried on there but as soon as I put on the Woodrose gown I knew it was the one. It was comfortable stretchy lace that was easy to move in and most importantly I would able to do the limbo in it! It had flared sleeves, a plunging neck line and an open back. My overall experience was great – the girls were awesome to deal with.”

 

Josie Cunningham styled the beautiful floral arrangements for the day, the bride remembering “My beautiful flowers were done by a very special person! I have had a very special friendship with her son Johnny since we were 5 years old. And it was just the best having her do the flowers for our wedding.
She knows me so well and made the bouquets, flower crowns, button holes and wedding arch amazing!
We wanted wild rustic looking flowers with deep reds/maroon and lots of green. The flower crowns and button holes were made out of a lot of dried flowers, twigs and some feathers here and there!! We absolutely were in love with them, she captured the style and mood perfectly!!”

 

Gina and Brad married on a private farm. explaining “We chose to have the wedding at my dad and Heather’s (my step mother’s) place in Waipu. It was tough decision to make – we looked at numerous venues and almost booked another one. But we felt like we would be one of many many weddings that were being rolled out at this venue and we wanted a much more personal feel to our day. It was going to be more work for us and the same if not more dollars but it was definitely the right decision.We choose to get married on the front lawn with a rustic arch in the middle. We wanted it all at the same place so guests could relax and we would have more time to mingle with them.”

The bride walked down the aisle to “Future Days” by Pearl Jam. The bride explaining “Brad chose the song and we loved it. It was Future Days by Pearl Jam – it was perfect. My wonderful daddy walked me down the aisle – it was beautiful – he did tell me just as we were walking down the isle “I think you made the right choice” I laughed thinking ‘gee thanks, dad imagine if you said otherwise’!”

Angela Gordon officiated the ceremony, the bride remarking “We wanted our ceremony to be relaxed; guests sitting on the hill with a drink in hand (it was a hot day we didn’t want people going thirsty). We also wanted some formalities and to take the time to express our love to each other.

It was perfect – our dog was whining and had to come join us and jump all over my dress – our daughter Marley (20 months) was running around our legs. It was perfect as this is a true representation of our lives.

Our celebrant Ange was awesome! She met with us the day before after lots of email contact and she set the scene perfectly. She added in some readings like “marriage is ugly” (I think that is what it is called). It was real, funny and loveable. We wrote our own vows and Marley was in the middle of our first kiss.”

“We had our great friends Katy and Baz be our MCs and they were just great! They organised special games for us that were all a surprise like pillow Ninja – Brad had to wear a ninja suit and be blindfolded and I had to direct him to a pillow to hit a fellow blindfolded ninja it was great. These games were so much fun.”

A white marquee welcomed guests for dinner, the bride remarking “Dad’s place is a modest kiwi “bach” (ie. beach house) on an awesome piece of land and we hired a marque and had bean bags, rugs, and couches around the place for people to chill out. The marquee was set up with wooden tables and bench seats and a spot for the amazing band White Chapel Jak.”

 

“We did all of our own styling. We collected vases, candles and fairy lights for the tables (along with flowers). I made dream catchers for around the marquee and the wedding arch. We bought our furniture from home to put around the venue and lots of blankets and rugs. I made my wedding cake too! It was not quite what I intended but it was still good.”

Guests enjoyed a dinner catered by the bride’s cousin Sherry’s Kitchen Catering.

 Of the first dance, Gina remembers “Our first dance was to Elton John “Tiny Dancer” – we had planned to have time to practice and add a few acro moves but that didn’t happen so we did a few turns, a dip, a kiss and everyone joined in! To what was an epic dance floor for the rest of the night”

Congratulations on your marriage Gina and Bad. Thank you for sharing the beautiful stories of your day. Thank you also to Melissa Mills for sharing today’s stunning celebration!