Michelle and Tom vowed to spend their lives together surrounded by their closest friends and family at the beautiful Bridgewater Country Estate. Their day was filled with love and joy, with photos capturing the couple savouring every precious moment of their special celebration.
Michelle captivated in the Lagos gown by Forget Me Knot, a crepe fit and flare dress featuring a crossover cuff detail and delicate buttons cascading down to the train. Our Forget Me Knot collection is fully customisable; Michelle chose a custom fit and added a stylish split to her gown. She completed her look with our Gabriel veil, a fingertip length veil edged with pearls and diamantes, adding an elegant finishing touch.
Keep reading to discover more about Michelle’s dress shopping journey and find inspiration for your own wedding day.
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
Because of the slight time pressure, I ended up going with a dress from Astra Bridal's Forget Me Knot range, which I was able to have customised to my measurements. After my first try on, I had sent a few friends pictures of all the dresses I tried and asked them to choose which one they thought I would go with... lo and behold, they all ended up choosing the right one haha!
At my second try on, I was still thinking the dress was missing something that the others had, and it was a leg slit. Sarah from Astra Bridal said, "No problem!" Because I was ordering a Forget Me Knot dress in a customised size, they could do the leg slit also! I was then sold on the dress and the price to have it all custom made!
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
I had looked at lots of gowns on the Astra Bridal website. Some were in store to try on and some were not, so I went through all the stock in store to find styles I thought I would like! I ended up trying on and choosing a completely different gown to what I thought I wanted! I didn’t have much time to organise my dress, as I set our wedding date only seven months in advance. I had two try ons at Astra Bridal North Shore and had to make a decision at the second try on to make sure the dress would arrive in time and still leave time for any alterations!
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
We met in early 2016 when we both worked at Auckland Airport and were waiting for the staff bus back to our cars. When we saw each other again a couple of weeks later, Tom bought me a coffee and slipped me his number, and the rest is history, haha! We got engaged along the Great Ocean Road in Australia, at a place called Apollo Bay, in November 2022. I had started to organise our wedding not long after we got back from the holiday, but then found out we were actually expecting our first baby! We ended up getting married exactly two years after we got engaged.
What was your favourite part of the day?
Being able to marry the love of my life in front of our son and our closest family and friends.
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
We didn’t want a big wedding, so we opted for a four hour all inclusive package that Bridgewater Country Estate offered, and it was perfect. We didn’t have bridal parties, so it was just my mum and me who got ready on site. We had a late afternoon start, and the clouds cleared for the most stunning afternoon! We had our ceremony in the forest location, which was so beautiful that our guests couldn’t stop talking about it. We also had a live band, which just added that extra bit of specialness!
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
Do some research into styles you may like, but don’t be surprised if you end up choosing something different! Have a budget and try to stick to it. As for the big day, try to take it all in, as it does go by so quickly! I am still reminiscing about our day through all the photos and videos a few months later!
