Callum Bisset (32), Teacher, Dunedin.
We got married on January 5, 2013 in Dunedin. We are originally from Dunedin but were living in Auckland at the time of our wedding. We've now moved back.
When and where did you meet: We met just over seven years ago. We knew each other from around Mosgiel. I worked at the gym that Callum was a member of and we had mutual friends in a band together so would see each other at gigs. It took about three months for me to get him to go out with me, then when he asked I had actually given up and was hungover at the time so I think I was feeling and looking pretty terrible.
The proposal: It was entirely out of the blue! It was not long before we left London. We'd been there for a couple of years and it was a significant part of our lives together. Callum was quite grumpy in the morning but was unusually decisive. He told me we were going for a walk and we ended up going through my favourite parts of London, ending up at St James's Park.
We were lying in the sun and Callum asked "how much do you love me?" I jokingly replied "oh a bit", then he asked "do you love me enough to wear this ring?" as he pulled out my great-grandmother's old engagement ring. I managed to say yes before turning into a blithering mess (not like me at all). He had got up early that morning to ring my dad to ask his permission, but when I rang to tell my parents I wasn't at all intelligible so they had to ask if I had actually said yes.
Where was the wedding and why did you choose that venue: Grandview Gardens. We loved the beautiful grounds and relaxed atmosphere, we felt it matched who we are. We warmed to Jo on our first meeting and knew she was the right person to help us make our day the way we wanted. All the staff were just amazing, even her husband Wayne was there to help on the day.
The dress: From House of Kavina. It was the first one I tried on. After I had looked at many more in Christchurch and Auckland I ended up going back to that one. It was great.
The bridesmaid's dress: From Coast London. My sister (the only bridesmaid) was still overseas when we got the dress for her. We were just walking down the street in Newmarket and thought we'd pop in to the shop because I'd liked it in London. I saw the dress on the rack and thought it would be perfect so we just bought it. It was the most stress-free purchase of the whole thing!
The flowers: The flowers were a wedding gift from a friends mum. We've been friends since primary school and she doesn't really do flowers anymore so it was really special. I just loved them.
The caterers: BB Catering. They were so easy to work with and so helpful while we were making our choices. Our guests raved about the food afterwards.
Highlight of the day: Actually making it down the aisle! (see below) Our vows. We wrote them ourselves and they were quite funny. Having all our family and friends together after they had travelled from near and afar, including a friend from England who read the Guess how much I love you children's story book in our ceremony, and another friend who sang our first dance song. The weather on the day (the rogue 37degC day!)
I found out later I had contracted campylobacter the night before the wedding so I was really unwell, had had no sleep and lost 6kg overnight.
It took four attempts to get my makeup done, and about 40min to get me into my dress because I was so sick With about 30 minutes before we had to go we were thinking we'd have to delay the ceremony and shoot into the hospital, but the drugs my mum and sister had been giving me all morning finally kicked in enough that I was able to make it (they are nurses/goddesses). I didn't care about the rest of the day, as long as I could get through the ceremony! It was still such an amazing day even though I felt so terrible so I can only imagine what it would be like when you're actually feeling well!
Photographer and favourite photo: Craig O'Neill Photographics, aka "photography Ninja". Craig and Sarah were amazing. I'll never forget Craig's face when he walked in and saw me on the day, it was like he was gutted for us! I'm so happy with what he's done with the shots though, you mostly can't even tell.
