Wow right? What a location! Beck and Jamie got married right in the midst of the South Island’s jaw dropping mountains and had Jim Pollard alongside them to document their special day. On top of the incredible ‘venue’ and the most magical day, my favourite thing about this wedding is that the couple found out the sex of their unborn baby on the day… I can’t possibly tell this story any better than the glowing bride herself so I’ll had you over (be sure to scroll down and read about the proposal as well!)…
“Our most memorable moment was finding out the sex of our first child on the day of our wedding! I had a surprise gender scan preformed at 16 weeks (4 weeks before our actual planned gender scanning) unbeknownst to Jamie, I found a place that would do it earlier so that I could surprise my love and myself on our wedding day… a gift of sentimentality that cemented our bond and union. I didn’t want to take away from the wedding day and ceremony itself so I had our wedding planner take a sealed envelope and small gift box to place on Jamie’s seat at our reception. I had no idea what was in the envelope as when I was tested I explained what I was doing and why and had them write the baby’s sex on a piece of paper and conceal it. I had been painfully sitting on the envelope for over a week. I wrote a beautiful story to our child and gave it to Jamie as a wedding gift. Together we opened the envelope and were in awe at the words before us… Congratulations… it’s a boy!”
Tell us about your proposal: Sorry to let you down on any grand proposal stories, but ours was simple, real, honest and just perfect. With me being married before and Jamie and I being fairly serious travellers we always knew we would elope, we knew we would just come home from a holiday all hitched one day. We were planning a trip to Europe this year and had fantasies about marrying on the cliff tops of Santorini. But this little thing called life threw us a curve ball. In March we found out we were expected our first child. There went the Europe plans. But we were elated with the news, and getting married prior to the birth of our child was important to both of us. After a discussion in bed we talked about Queenstown, how cool would it be to marry on the top of the snowy mountains in a place not only close to home but close to both our hearts. The next day we called a wedding planner, within three days the wedding was organised and paid for! There’s no mucking around when you’ve made up your mind that’s for sure. So yes, you see, there wasn’t much room for a proposal… or so I thought!
Jamie and I both picked a simple wedding band for each other and had it personalised with a special engraving. We had decided not to show each other the rings until our special day. Two days before our planned wedding Jamie suggested that we take a walk through Queenstown Park and find a nice spot overlooking the Remarkables to sit and write our vows. What better inspiration than looking towards the very place we would marry in just a few days. Being a girl I was more than up for it! And I was in no way suspicious that my gorgeous fella was carrying a ring…. An engagement ring in his pocket the whole day… Nope, I missed the nerves, the clammy hands, the romantic gestures, all the signs plain for me to see because the clever and always breathtaking Queenstown kept me blissfully distracted.
We found our spot, and sat quietly cuddled together staring out into the distance. The walk had tired me slightly so I say to Jamie “I’m too tired to write, I just need to close my eyes for a minute” I lay my head in his lap, take a moment to stare up at the clouds and close my eyes, I remember feeling a few rain drops on my face. I was so comfortable surround by nature and this beautiful country side.
I wake, Jamie’s put something over my heart, my eyes flutter open. “Will you do me the honour” I’m speechless and confused. ‘But darling we said we’d wait until we were on top of the mountain’ ‘you have two rings Beck’ OMG, I can’t believe it! He got me! Engaged two days before our wedding! I had no idea what could be in this pretty white box, but I am amazed in my husband to be, proud that he knows me well enough to choose for me the ring I will wear with pride for the rest of my days.
And it was nothing short of spectacular…..
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: For the most part planning a wedding in just three weeks had been a breeze. Until it came to thinking about an outfit! For me being a second timer and marrying in the show I was quite happy to don a cute white cuddly Eskimo suit. But I had to remember this was Jamie’s first time and he still wanted all the traditional wedding trimmings… arrrrr the good ol’ compromise! So a pretty dress for a pretty girl it was too be. I knew I didn’t want to get married in white, I knew it was going to be cold, I knew I didn’t want to spend thousands on a dress I’d wear for only a few hours most likely to be trashed in the snow. I knew I was going to be four and a half months pregnant and inevitably bigger, I knew I had to get over the fact I was not my normal size and was going to look at little more, well, ummm well rounded? Voluptuous? I knew I had no friends to help me because this was a secret elopement wedding, I knew I was on a major time restriction with just three weeks including having alterations done. Yep, there were tears.
On the plus side I did know I wanted a champagne colour and I was going for a vintage feel so I set about on my mission to find ‘the’ dress. What I found was a gorgeous sequin full length gown in a luxe gold with a rosy undertone that ticked all the box’s (mainly because it was stretchy) It made my skin glow and my eyes sparkle.. This was the one.
I teamed the dress up with a gorgeous rabbit fur coat from green with envy, yes it cost probably double the price of my dress, but it was a lust have that I will continue to wear forever and probably pass down to my kids. A pair of caramel rose leather gloves from country road, a billabong beanie and I am perfectly accessorised to get married… in what like minus 2 degrees!
Describe your wedding flowers: Our wedding flower supplier, The Flower Room, was spectacular. They made our choice super easy with hundreds of thumbnails on their website showcasing their work! You know that feeling when you open a website and get that first ‘wow’ impression. Yep, it was like this will do me just fine.
So with all the hard work done and a couple a minutes browsing I found what I was looking for, a bouquet of gorgeous vintage roses in hues of cream, dusty rose, barely beige and mauve. I choose a surrounding silver leaf and twine binding and I had the perfect companion to my dress (after my husband of course!). We asked for a simple button hole for Jamie encompassing rosemary, twine and wheat to work alongside my bouquet but also have a hip but not so feminine finish. What was delivered to our hotel on the morning of our wedding was perfection.
Favourite detail of the day: Arriving by helicopter to an untouched location. Greeted by a view out of this world, pure white, sparkling snow twinkling beneath the sunlight. Bright blue skies with snow-capped mountains in every direction. Standing above the clouds, I’ve never felt more like I was on top of this world. The feeling of stepping out of the helicopter lead by the hand of my to be husband into another dimension. Knee deep in virgin snow… A true bucket list moment…Unforgettable.
Photographer | Jim Pollard, Videographer | Sunshine Wedding Films, Cake | Cherry Blossom Cakes, Florist | The Flower Room, Ceremony Venue | Vanguard Peak, Reception Venue | Eichardts Private Hotel, Brides Attire | Dress from Vivid; Fur Coat from Green with Envy; Gloves from Country Road; Beanie from Billabong, Bride’s Shoes | Heels from Peeptoe; Snow boots from Timberland, Jewellery | Parev Jewellery, Hair | Hush Spa, Make up | The Bride (Beck Keros), Grooms Attire | Blazer and Shirt from Soho Workshop; Chinos from Topman; Belt from American Tailors, Suit Vest from Calibre, Bowtie from Declic
Grooms Shoes | Bally, Planner | Simply Perfect Weddings, Caterer | Eichardts Private Hotel
Celebrant| Kathryn Ormond, Transport | Glacier Helicopters