Organic New Zealand Mountain Wedding: Anna + Sam

New Zealand Wedding

Anna + Sam are two people with incredible hearts and an insane calibre of achievements through the work they have done in some very needy places around the world. When planning their stunning mountain wedding in Anna’s home country of New Zealand, they aimed to capture the rugged beauty + laid back nature of the country and its people through deliberate, organic details + decor. Although they maintained hectic work schedules throughout their planning, by working long-distance with designer + planner, Kath, of One Fine Day, they were able to achieve their dream celebration without the added stress of organizing a wedding from afar. A + S tell us more below:

Given a lot of our friends and family would be traveling from overseas to be with us for the wedding, we wanted our day to capture some of our most of our favourite things about New Zealand, like an outdoors ceremony at the foot of some mountains, followed by a champagne picnic in a field, eating local cuisine from shared platters, drinking wine from the local vineyard and dancing in an old wool shed! We then focused the styling of the wedding around the landscape, with lots of greenery and wood, to give an organic, rustic feel.

Thanks so much to Danelle Bohane for the gorgeous photos and congrats to Anna + Sam on such a beautiful day!

New Zealand Wedding

wreatch invitation

white bouquet

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

My dress was from the Parisian designer Laure de Sagazan. I initially had very little luck finding anything that felt like ‘me’ in London, where I was based at the time, and that was appropriate for a laidback outdoors wedding in New Zealand. While looking at wedding blogs I stumbled across Laure de Sagazan, whose effortless bohemian Parisian style I immediately loved and thought would work with the outdoors wedding we wanted. 

New Zealand Wedding

ceremony sign

New Zealand Ceremony

New Zealand Ceremony

New Zealand Ceremony

We had a karanga, which is a traditional Maori (indigenous) welcome call, prior to our ceremony welcoming guests onto the land. A conch shell is blown and then two female callers (kaikaranga) representing the host and the visitors lead the visiting party onto the land. The calls between them pay homage to the tribe’s ancestors, the land and the mountains and those that have recently passed away. This was a very special way to include Anna’s heritage into our day.

vintage car

New Zealand Ceremony

New Zealand Ceremony

New Zealand Ceremony

New Zealand Ceremony

Our Favorite Memory From The Wedding

It was very meaningful for us to have our families there. Sam’s Dad has brain cancer, and in the lead up to the wedding we were not sure how is health would fare, or whether it would be possible for him to make the trip to New Zealand. This reality was always at the back of our minds while we planned everything, so it meant a lot to both of us to be able to have both sets of parents in the front row while we said our vows.

We both love getting off the beaten track, so taking a helicopter up to a remote mountain area just after we were married and going for a walk among the alpine tussock, looking out across the mountains and lakes and not being able to see any other signs of civilization was pretty amazing.

New Zealand Ceremony

flower girls

New Zealand Ceremony

New Zealand Ceremony

champagne

picnic

helicopter

Post vows, Anna + Sam jetted off for a quick helicopter ride, which was (naturally) one of Sam’s most favorite moments of the day!

helicopter

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

white bouquet

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

New Zealand Wedding

vintage car exit

New Zealand Wedding

seating chart

New Zealand Centerpiece

hanging greens

Roses Florist worked their magic with the dreamiest hanging greenery in the woolshed, along with perfectly imperfect wildflower-inspired centerpieces on every table.

New Zealand Centerpiece

plate setting

New Zealand Centerpiece

plate setting

naked cake

new zealand reception

new zealand reception

Our Advice To Those Planning Now

Make a weekend of it. It is a very rare occasion (for us probably the only occasion) to have so many friends and family in one place, and it’s nice to make this time last. We had a welcome drinks at a local pub the night before we got married (with a cash bar) and a post-wedding brunch the next day, which turned into a long lazy afternoon in the sun eating leftover cake and reliving the best moments of the actual wedding day with all our favourite people. By the end of the weekend we felt we had really had the chance to catch up with all our guests in a meaningful way.

photography: Danelle Bohane // venue name: Moke Lake and The Old Woolshed, Peregrine Vineyard, in Queenstown, New Zealand // event design: Kath MacKenzie of One Fine Day // planning: Kath MacKenzie of One Fine Day // florals: Roses Florist // wedding dress: Laure de Sagazan // bride's shoes: Chloe // bridesmaid dresses: Liam Collection from Ruby // hair stylist: Hush Spa // makeup artist: J.E.T Makeup // groom attire: Zeglio // groom's shoes: Allen Edmonds // catering: Karuna Fine Cuisine // cake: Cup & Cake // flower crown: Roses Florist // decorative elements (bunting: One Fine Day, The China Cabinet // straws: One Fine Day, The China Cabinet // plates: One Fine Day, The China Cabinet // balloons: One Fine Day, The China Cabinet // garlands etc): One Fine Day, The China Cabinet // signage: POP Creative // entertainment: L.A. Social Club // celebrant: Tracy MacLaren // veil: Girl with a Serious Dream // accessories (earrings: Stephanie Brown // bracelets: Stephanie Brown // anklets: Stephanie Brown // barefoot sandals etc): Stephanie Brown // groom's shirt: Hugo Boss

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