Brendan and Andrea Greer (nee Tan)
Ages: 28 and 29
Occupations: Farmer and Social Worker
Region: Southland
When and where did we meet: Brendan's sisters were my flatmates about seven years ago. The Greer family treated me like their daughter when I first came to New Zealand seven years ago when most of my immediate family were in Singapore. The Greers would often invite me along to their family celebrations and holidays. Brendan and I started knowing each other as friends and that grew into a relationship.
The proposal: Brendan took me out to a cafe in Invercargill for breakfast and then said we were going on a drive. He did not want to tell me where we were going, and I kept guessing it wrong. I didn't think he was going to propose as we would often go on day trips. We ended up in Glenorchy (which is one of my favourite places in New Zealand), where he prepared a picnic lunch by the lake. While we were having our lunch, Brendan proposed to me and asked me to marry him. He then drove us back to his parents' place, where he had organised his family and mine to be there for a "surprise" dinner, and we announced to everyone that we got engaged!
Where was the wedding: We held the wedding at The Hideaway 201, Lochiel, Southland.
Why did you choose the venue: After going around to several church buildings and different venues, we fell in love with The Hideaway the moment we got there. We both love nature and the venue was perfect with beautiful gardens and a pond with a waterfall. It had been my dream to have a garden wedding and that was it! The Hideaway also had a lovely reception venue so we did not need to worry about booking another venue. There were lots of pretty spots at The Hideaway so we could have all our photos taken their.
The dress: I got my dress from House of Kavina in Dunedin. I saw a dress I liked in a wedding magazine and House of Kavina stocked it. Mum and I made a trip to Dunedin from Invercargill. When I got there, they did not have that particular dress in stock, but I tried on another one and fell in love with it immediately.
The bridesmaid's dresses: As I am from Singapore, I wanted to have some of my culture represented at our wedding. Our bridesmaids wore cheongsams, which are traditional Chinese dresses. I got these from Malaysia when I was on holiday with Brendan.
The flowers: I got my flowers from House of Tudor in Invercargill. The florist, Anna, was amazing. She was very creative and the way she put together the flowers was spot-on in terms of colour and theme. I wanted to have some Singapore orchids in our bouquets, as they are the national flower of Singapore. Anna worked her best to get those flowers in and did a beautiful job! She also delivered the flowers to us on the day.
The caterers: The caterers were Country Manor in Winton. Their food was delicious, service was friendly and the price was reasonable. We had a buffet meal with mains, salads and desserts.
Highlight of the day: The highlight of the day was getting married in the garden in front of a beautiful pond. The weather was perfect on the day, as it had been raining heavily for the entire week! It was lovely to have a lot of my family and friends travel from overseas (UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and all over New Zealand). My grandmother, who is 80 years old travelled from Singapore to be at the wedding, that was pretty special to us! Most of all, I am happy to be married to my best friend.
