Shanniya and Alex got married under an ancient oak tree, amongst the picturesque Waikato countryside, surrounded by their loved ones.
Astra Bride Shanniya wore the stunning Destiny dress by Rebecca Ingram, and altered it to have spaghetti straps attached with matching lace and beading. It looks gorgeous! The beautiful Destiny dress is sadly no longer available but we have linked the equally as gorgeous Shoshanna dress by Rebecca Ingram which is similar in style.
We hope you enjoy scrolling through their day as much as we do!
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
It wasn't a dress that I would have picked for myself at all. But I loved how elegant but also sexy it was! The dress had boning in the hips which helped shape my body and really emphasise my figure. It drew attention to the areas I love most about my body which was important to me to feel good on the day. It was super easy to move in and made me feel like the most beautiful bride in the world. I got so many compliments about the dress and how it fit me like a glove. We ended up replacing the straps with leftover lace from the dress, and had the remaining lace sewn onto the ends of the veil. This dress truly made me see just how beautiful I am and made me feel like a million bucks!
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
I'm not a big fan of dresses and I'm quite picky, so I was a little nervous that I might not find something I loved. Sarah, my stylist, listened to what I was looking for, my concerns with wearing a dress and ideas for veils etc. I chose a few that I liked the look of. I found that I liked certain features of each dress but could not find one that felt right. Sarah offered to pick a dress she had in mind which was the Destiny dress by Rebecca Ingram. The moment I saw myself in the dress I was in love and I knew I had to get it, I didn't want to take it off! Sarah adding the pearl veil really completed the look, she understood how I wanted to feel as a bride to be and brought that to life.
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
We actually met on Tinder and he was the only guy I swiped right on! I joked about only swiping right because of the dog in his profile, and we had a few laughs before having our first date. The proposal was perfect and very much me. At the time he was building a home in Waihi. We went to have a look and decided to do a walk up the Waihi Trig trail that overlooks the beach and Waihi homes. Such a stunning view! I was catching my breath and admiring the view when Alex bent down to "Grab a singlet'. He has a nickname that he calls me and never calls me by my first name, so when I heard him say Shanniya, I turned so quickly in confusion and he was already on one knee proposing with the most beautiful ring ever! I was of course in tears as soon as I realized what was happening. It was just the two of us and will forever be a special moment we keep to ourselves.
What was your favourite part of the day?
By far the ceremony. It had this beautiful church wall overlooking the countryside with a large oak tree that covered the vintage white pews. It felt as if we were in an entirely different venue. It had all the traditional and relaxed aspects that we wanted for our big day. A bonus was seeing the sunset through the church window, absolutely breathtaking!
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
We actually had a forecast for thunderstorms so you can imagine I didn't get much sleep the night before stressing about the weather! We woke to beautiful clear skies at a Country Villa where myself and the bridesmaids got ready. I was the last to get my hair and makeup done so the nerves kicked in real quick! We did a reveal to my Dad which really got the water works going. The ceremony was perfect and my now husband did shed a few tears on the reveal and during our vows. The rest of the night was filled with music, speeches and the cutting of the cake. During photos our guests participated in the many games available at the venue. We actually did a last dance rather than a first dance and I would totally recommend this because it allowed us to really soak in the special day as it goes so fast.
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
Don't stress about the small things. As long as the day ends with you and your partner at the end of the aisle, that is all that matters. Soak up the moment as much as you can.
