Stuff's wedding of the week

Stuff's wedding of the week

They met as kids, dated as teens and fell in love a few years later. And on the day their son was born, Adam got down on one knee and proposed to Lana right there in the hospital.

They got married under beautiful blue skies at Manly Beach in Whangaparaoa - with their son playing a special role in the big day.

But we'll let Lana fill you in on the details...

How did you meet? Adam and I met when we were kids, as our fathers ran the local squash club where we grew up together. We dated in our early teens but being young, we went our separate ways. It wasn't until a few years later (2007) when I was living in Christchurch that Adam tracked me down via Facebook. A week or so later he booked a flight to Christchurch and the rest is history!

Tell us about the proposal: Our son was born 10 weeks early on January 9, 2014. A couple of hours after his arrival, Adam headed home to freshen up. During this time he realised he wanted to propose... so after a quick call to my Dad (at 6am!), he made a mad dash to Michael Hill.

The shop didn't open until 9am, so he had breakfast at a nearby cafe but soon found himself knocking (or maybe it was banging!) on the door before the store had even opened. After sharing his story (of our son arriving prematurely and making all the MH staff crumble), he purchased the ring and headed back to the hospital.

He tried to find the right moment, hoping to propose next to our son's incubator, but with too many nurses around he decided to wait until I was back in my room. When I did head back to my room, I recall him asking me to sit down - next minute he was on one knee with a ring. It was certainly the best surprise ever and a day we will both never forget!

Location of wedding: We got married at Manly Beach in Whangaparaoa and had our reception at Carpe Diem in Gulf Harbour.

Describe your wedding day: Our wedding day, for us, was perfect. We had the best Friday in October with a picture blue sky and sunshine. It was everything we wanted, simple with a touch of traditional and without the huge cost!

The dress: I wore Anna Campbell, a Melbourne-based designer. I fell in love with so many of her dresses but instantly fell for the Amity Dress. It is absolutely stunning, very unique and suited me and my wedding perfectly.

The flowers: I was lucky enough that one of my bridesmaids' mother-in-law is a florist so I happily let her create my bouquet and the ones for the girls. I gave her my ideas and a budget and what she came up with absolutely blew me away.

Highlight of the wedding: Our son, who was 21 months at the time, had a special role in our wedding and that was giving Adam our rings. The night before our wedding, Adam had been practising with him that he would "ta" for Daddy the box when asked. So when it was time on our big day, he did exactly that, walked up to Daddy and gave him the box, turned around and walked back to his Nana. It was certainly the most adorable thing and a highlight for sure.

Was there any drama? Nothing major. I was the most relaxed bride throughout the whole journey as I didn't see the point in getting stressed. I knew it would all fall into place and it did, just perfectly!

The honeymoon: We knew it would be difficult to have a honeymoon with a toddler so we decided to take a family holiday instead. We plan on heading away next year, just the two of us.

Your photographer and favourite photo? Our photographer was the very talented Greg Campbell (of Greg Campbell Wedding Photography). He was everything I wanted and more in a photographer. He knew exactly what I wanted and captured our day just perfectly. I absolutely love my whole album and have pretty much shared all my favourites with our story.

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