Krichelle Cunliffe (nee Feron, 23) finance manager, Dunedin.
Luke Cunliffe (25), builder, Dunedin.
Where and when did you meet?
We met during high school. We didn't hit it off at the start as Luke thought I was far too immature for him . . . ha ha. A year or so went by and that's when the relationship started.
The proposal
It was six years later. Luke asked if I would spend the rest of my life with him when we were away for the weekend in Kaka Point. He wrote "Marry Me" in the sand, got down on one knee and had a beautiful ring in his hand. I had tears running down my face and could hardly get "yes" out.
Where was the wedding?
We chose Wanaka as our wedding location as it is a special place for both of us. Spending a lot of time there with our families growing up, it held many memories. And who could resist the beautiful scenery and surrounds.
Why we chose the venue and caterers
We had looked at a couple of venues but as soon as we walked into "The Venue" in Wanaka we looked at each other and knew instantly it was where we wanted to be married. It was great having the ceremony and reception at the same location, it made it so much easier for guests and a lot less stressful for us. The Venue has its own catering company, 63b, which is well known. Everyone raved about the delicious food, the service was amazing and Maxine and Brent were there throughout the planning process to answer any questions and help us along.
The dress
I didn't want to spend a fortune on a dress so I opted to get one tailored through the internet and shipped from America. Luckily it looked exactly like the picture, and I was so happy with it. A little big, but nothing some minor alterations couldn't fix. I loved the unique neckline and how I was able to bring the train round and tuck it through the ruching on the front, which almost made it look like a new dress.
The bridesmaids' dresses
I got the bridesmaids' dresses from the same place. The first lot I ordered weren't so nice so I risked ordering another set in a new style and colour one month before the wedding and nervously awaited their arrival. They were perfect and looked amazing on the girls.
The flowers
A family friend and guest at the wedding is a florist so as our wedding gift she made the flowers. I had a white cascade bouquet of lilies, peonies and roses. The girls had a small bouquet of white lilies.
Highlight of the day
Wanting to have a special time to ourselves to be able to really appreciate the moment and each other we decided to see each other before the ceremony and let our photographer capture it on camera. This is one thing I really loved about our wedding and would definitely recommend it to future brides. Getting our bridal party photos before the ceremony meant we could spend more time with guests in between. For us, our wedding was special because we made it "our own". Special touches reflected us as individuals as well as a couple.
Sharing one of the best days of our lives with our closest friends and family is a truly touching experience that we will never forget.
Our photographer
Simon Darby of Wanaka did our photography. He likes to capture the "natural" shots mainly. He did a full day shooting from 9am till around 10.30pm. I loved that he stayed on to get photos at the reception. We were so happy with how the photos turned out, they couldn't be more perfect. Our favourite image would be the shot of us walking down the paddock. We just love the way it came out.
