Theresa and Shavin vowed to spend the rest of their lives together at Brackenridge. Photos of the day show the gorgeous couple celebrating their big day together and looking utterly in love with each other.
Theresa stunned in Isabel by Forget Me Knot, an elegant satin A-line with a romantic sweetheart neckline and crossover collar detail. She is the perfect classic gown! Theresa paired her gown with our mixed pearl cut edge veil, an accessory that perfectly complemented her look.
We hope you enjoy seeing their photos and reading about their wedding day just as much as we did! Congratulations to them both x
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
From the dresses I tried on, I liked so many different parts of them, but I hadn’t found one that brought all those pieces together. Then, Ilyese remembered that a new dress had arrived that day still in the box. She went out to grab it, and I instantly teared up when I put it on. I was at a lost for words. Whilst the dress was both too big and too small, the fact that I felt so beautiful and confident in it made me think, ‘Yup, this is definitely the dress.’ I went back a few weeks later, tried it on again, and said ‘Yes to the dress.’ At first, I was a little in disbelief that I'd found the dress so quickly, but it was definitely the one.
What I loved about the dress I chose is that it felt timeless and classic, but at the same time ‘me’. I don’t typically love having my arms out, so I was so surprised I went for a dress like this, but the off the shoulder pieces framed by arms, shoulders and back. It just gave me the lick of confidence that I needed. Also, the big train was just stunning and we paired it with a pearl veil of the same length. It’s a dress that I will hold on to, as it has so much sentimental value to me now and I also just felt so good in it, that I can’t ever get rid of it.
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
I had one of my closest friends find her wedding dress through Ilyese at Astra Bridal in Auckland, and I went along to one of her dress fittings. My friend and I couldn’t stop singing praises about Ilyese and we made sure that when it was my time to look. I went into my first appointment not expecting to find something that I loved, as I had done some research on dresses, but not a lot. Ilyese just made the whole experience so comfortable and enjoyable. She was patient with me trying on various different styles and with all of my questions when the dresses I thought I’d love ended up not being my favourites. She had a very calming presence about her which allowed me to speak about areas of my body that I wanted to feel comfortable, and that allowed us to land on the dress I said yes to.
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
I was an event photographer at the time and I was hired to photograph a 21st birthday in Wellington, which Shavin was an attendee of. We got talking that night, as he also had his camera out, getting some candid and funny shots of their friends. We had a lot of banter back and forth about competing camera brands and our shared mutual love for photography. We left that night, not really thinking much of it. Then, we bumped into each other the following night and picked up where we left off. Conversation just flowed so naturally and we couldn’t get enough of spending time with each other.
It was New Year's Eve 2020 and we went away with some of our closest friends. They all knew Shavin was planning to propose that morning and they had a whole game plan sorted. The couple went off into town to have ‘breakfast’ together and our other friend went out for a ‘morning run’, two things that were not out of the ordinary. We had decided to all meet up at the beach afterwards, as that was where Shavin and I were headed first (still blissfully unaware that he was planning to propose.) We got down to Waitete Bay in the Coromandel, had a swim, lay in the sun, and before you know it, the proposal was happening, with just us on this little quiet cove beach, nothing short of perfect. Whilst this was all happening, little did I know, one of our friends was hiding in the bush taking photos of the whole proposal and the other two were back at AirBnb setting up a full celebration for when we got back. It truly couldn’t have been more perfect.
What was your favourite part of the day?
It’s so hard to just pick one! So I have a few:
The moment just before we left the bridal cottage to walk down to the ceremony. I went from cool, calm, and collected to trying to hold in a stream of happy tears and to stop my whole body from shaking with adrenaline. It was like the big ‘it’s finally happening’ moment, and everything we’d be planning and looking forward to was finally here. I was so excited to see Shavin (and vice versa).
Our vows, I mean I’m biased, but I think we totally nailed them and we couldn’t stop laughing and crying out of sheer happiness.
Walking back down the aisle after getting married and looking at each other like, “We did it, we’re now married!"
Lastly, when everyone hit the dance floor after our first dance. It was just the best feeling to party with so many different groups of people in our life and to see them all blend so well together and have just as much fun as Shavin and I. Then, after the wedding all our groups of friends and family members couldn’t stop talking about how much they all loved each other and wanted more time to hang out haha.
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
The day before our wedding the weather was awful! We tried to do our ceremony rehearsal and it just chucked down with rain and the most intense hail. We were feeling really unsure about how the weather was going to be. However, we woke up on Saturday morning and it was beautiful! We had a late afternoon ceremony, which gave time for the cherry blossom trees at the ceremony space to open up too.
We all got ready in separate cottages at Brackenridge and it was just the most chilled morning. There wasn’t a stressful moment. It was full of laughter, happy tears, good food, and music. We were all just soaking up being pampered by Jaymie and Rachel for our hair and makeup. The boys had a later start, so they managed to get breakfast out and a swim in the pool before getting ready.
Shavin and I also didn’t do a first look, we kept that moment until I walked down the aisle and it honestly just created the most exciting buzz amongst everybody across the morning and walking down to the ceremony. I bawled like a baby walking down the aisle, but there was no better feeling than when we saw each other for the first time that day.
Our ceremony was beyond our expectations and it went by so quickly! What felt like 5 minutes was actually 25 and we were so in disbelief that it was actually that long. We had the most amazing husband and wife duo, Jaymee on photography and Karl on video, for our day. The photos of our day just captured the raw feelings and moments so perfectly, and having our ceremony on video was the best choice we made, as we are able to relive it and remember the bits that went by so fast.
We had a photobooth for our cocktail time too, which was one of the best decisions we made! We have this huge stack of photos, as our guests all left us one and they all got to take copies home too, along with the digital versions. It was a perfect way to keep our guests busy whilst we were off doing our bridal party photos. It was awesome to see the different blends of our friends and family getting in the booth together to take photos.
The rest of the night went off without a hitch! The food, speeches and dancing were honestly just the best! You could just feel the most infectious energy just radiating off everybody and none of us wanted it to end.
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
Firstly, delegate! Take people up on their offers of help. It makes the lead up to the wedding so much less stressful. You’ll be surprised at what people can help with and what they have up their sleeves! I wish I did it sooner in the planning process.
Secondly, do what you and your partner love! The day is about you two, don’t do things just because they’ll make other people happy. At the end of the day, people are there to celebrate with you and your love. If you’re both happy and having the best time, that will radiate to your guests. Make sure you don’t miss out on things that are important to you both!
