Stuff's wedding of the week

Stuff's wedding of the week

When Joelle New and Kayne Dunlop married in the beautiful King Country, their day went off without a hitch. Almost.

Even the most organised bride couldn't have expected their ride to the ceremony would turn up late - but the slight oversight was nothing in what sounds and looks like a day that was magic on every level.

A sweet-as-pie engagement story, an incredible wedding day and a honeymoon surprise arranged by the groom. Amazing! But we'll let Joelle tell you the rest...

How did you meet: We met in university in 2009. Acquaintances through mutual friends, we ended up hanging out as a group a handful of times. One night in particular, our friends will tell you there was obvious flirting going on in both directions, definitely denied at the time. He moved back to the Manawatu and I stayed in Wellington. Fast forward two years later to a friend's birthday party where were reunited and the rest became history.

Tell us about the proposal: When Kayne decides he's going to do something, rest assured it gets done by the deadline he made for himself. So as a teacher he decided the summer holidays of 2013/14 he was going to propose, unbeknown to me. Between our hectic lives, the ring he chose being ready and asking my Dad (good man!), the last day of the school holidays had arrived. I raced home from work on a Monday night so we could get out to his parents' place for a family dinner he had forgotten about. On the way home he seemed a bit nervous. I put it down to him having a university assignment due by midnight that he still hadn't finished - until he took me on a 10.30pm detour. At a look out, with a view spanning the Manawatu, under a very beautiful star-filled sky, he put his arms around me, whispered in my ear and asked me to marry him. It was perfect, low key, just us, jammed into the craziness that is our life together and all in time for him to start work again the next day.

Location of wedding: We got married near my home town in the village of Waitomo. The ceremony was held in beautiful gardens at Roselands and the reception in the spectacular outdoor venue Waitomo Conference Centre. It was a great way of showcasing where I come from to out of town guests and new family.

Describe your wedding day: It was a beautiful autumn day in Waitomo, a rather large affair and like the days that surrounded our wedding day, was filled with family and friends. We both had so much fun with our parents, siblings and very best friends in the morning. We did the girly, but necessary, thing while boys found a batting cage - only fitting Kayne passed the time with sport.

The ceremony was the perfect amount of country and elegance. The celebrant, a family friend, held a beautiful personal ceremony that was a touch traditional, involved a declaration from our parents, individually written vows, a few laughs and a fair few happy tears.

The fun we had! As soon as the formalities of the ceremony had finished and we had danced our way back down the aisle as husband and wife, hugs were had, cake was devoured and games were played. In our stunning reception venue, that wowed the guests, good food was eaten, the bar was busy, lovely words were said, (a wee song was sung to the groom - I put that down as the most brave moment in my life!) and then we danced and laughed and laughed and danced and had the most fun, with the people we love the most, on the most perfect day!

The dress: It only took going shopping once to find my perfect dress. I went shopping with Mum, when I tried it on it was just what Mum always thought I'd wear and it made me smile like never before. I chose a stunning lace Venus gown from Bridal Gallery in Hamilton. It had a beautiful long train a sweetheart neck line with a lace bodice and a just a touch of bling in the belt – beautifully classic.

The flowers: Christine from The Flower Fairy was so incredibly helpful! As the bridesmaids wore two different purples all I asked is that the bridesmaids bouquets tie everything in and are a bit organic and that I have a natural looking cascading bouquet. Man, did she deliver something spectacular! She also did the boys' button holes and wristlets for the mums and grandmothers, the aisle arrangements and the table arrangements - so much work that looked beautiful!

Highlight of the wedding: While spending a long weekend with both our families was special, the morning with the girls was fantastic and the ceremony was beautiful, you couldn't beat dancing the night away with your husband, family and friends! We had a great DJ and it was so difficult getting everyone off the dance floor at the end of the night. It's the part of the day were we could all relax and everyone could have just an incredible amount of fun.

Was there any drama? It wasn't dramatic - and I wasn't too worried, however it certainly wasn't planned: Kayne was convinced I was going to be late - no way, I was way too organised for that! On the Wednesday before the wedding I rang him to make sure that he told his friend who was driving the third car that he knows to meet us at Mum and Dad's on time. When his friend turned up to the ceremony, 20 minutes and a lot of road works away from Mum and Dad's, Kayne pretty much had his guess in the bag. An awkward conversation between the groom and the father of the bride, a very quick dash back into town from his friend and 30 minutes late I arrived at the ceremony venue.

The honeymoon: It was all a surprise, all planned by Kayne. Making our way down the country we tramped in National Park and stayed at the Chateau, continued to Wellington, crossed the Cook Strait and stayed four nights in a lodge in Kaiteriteri followed by a few nights in Blenheim. Such a beautiful part of the country to explore! After a horrific ferry crossing, so rough it made the news, we stayed one more night in Wellington where Kayne treated me to a night at the theatre (my favourite thing to do!) where we saw Singing in the Rain.

Your photographer and favourite photo? Our photographer was Laura Taylor from Laura's Studio. She was great, relaxed which we needed on a hectic day and produced such beautiful photos of our day. My favourite photo was taken on a limestone driveway, it was one of the last formal photos taken. I'd say by that stage we were over posing for photos that we just ended up looking at each other the way we normally would as if no one was looking at us and it shows in the photo - quite beautiful.

Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing well those you hold. keep your friends close,but your enemies closer.