Laura-Jane + Jeremy

First Look
Jul 27
8 min read

Updated: Sep 3

Let's start at the beginning of your love story. How did you two meet?

Jez and I met on the Christchurch tram, which I think is super cute. We were both invited to a Dog Point wine tasting and shared lots of Dog Point Chardonnay along with many other wines. It was a really cool day. We stayed friends for many years before eventually getting together and starting a relationship.

Tell us about the proposal. Was it a total surprise or did you see it coming?

I’ve never been so shocked in my life! Jez proposed on our anniversary, and the setting was really romantic. We were on holiday in Dubrovnik, having a lovely dinner at a restaurant tucked into the walls of the old town - it was so beautiful. I remember the sky looking magical because it had rained a little that day.

But despite the setting, I really wasn’t expecting it at that time in our relationship. I totally blacked out - I don’t even remember what he said. I was just staring at him, and it felt like we were the only two people in the world.

After the surprise hit me, all these beautiful, lovely feelings came flooding in. We then celebrated with Croatian wine and tried a champagne we’d never had before.

Going on to planning the big day. What kind of wedding did you originally envision and did that vision go through or did it change as you went?

Other than wanting my family and all my favourite people around me, I’d never really thought about what I wanted for my wedding day. I’d never really dreamt about it, which was kind of cool because it meant I had a blank canvas.

Once I started looking into things, I realised I wanted the day to really reflect Jeremy and me - a true mix of modern and Old English traditional.

Did you have a wedding planner, or did you take on the planning yourself?

Being an event coordinator, I felt like I knew all the operational stuff, and I’ve attended a lot of weddings and been a bridesmaid many times (lol). But even with that experience, I still felt like I didn’t really know the wedding world.

So, I called upon two very good friends, Kate and Jon Holmes from Soirée, who I do some contract work with. I trust and love them, and they have such a great eye - they’re literally killing it in the wedding world.

They looked after the full wedding day coordination and styling for the event. I was quite hands-on with the planning initially but handed everything over to them about a month out. That was the best decision ever. Being able to hand it over and know they’d deliver was such a relief.

How did you choose your venue, and what made it the one?

When we were looking at wedding venues, we both knew a few people who had got married in Christchurch, which was both good and a bit tricky—we didn’t want to get married somewhere that felt too familiar or like a place a lot of people we knew had chosen.

We were guided by Soirée, and after describing our vibe, vision, and what we wanted, they suggested a few venues we might like. We checked out several around Christchurch but absolutely loved Ōhinetahi.

We actually visited there the year before on 4 January (our chosen wedding date) on a beautiful, sunny, warm day. For us, it just had everything: stunning architecture, gorgeous manicured gardens, and such a magical feeling. It had that classic English garden vibe but with a real Kiwi essence. That mix of English and New Zealand felt perfect to us.

Did you have a particular theme or colour palette you were going for?

We really wanted to give all our friends and family a great excuse to dress up to the nines, so we chose Black Tie, with our wedding party in black and white. We carried that theme through in the venue setup with white flowers, black and white signage, and décor.

With the beautiful outdoor setting at Ōhinetahi, there was plenty of natural colour from the greenery and flowers, which complemented everything perfectly.

Any standout details in your day that you absolutely loved?

Two words: Moët bathtub. We had a Moët bathtub filled with magnum-sized, gold champagne bottles on ice!

Going on to your style, let's talk fashion. Tell us about the dress and how did you find it?

I quickly ruled out designing my own dress because I knew I needed a base frame to work from. I couldn’t create something out of nothing, and honestly, I didn’t really have a clear vision... So, I tried on every dress known to mankind! There are so many talented designers out there, and I love that every dress is designed to make you feel amazing.

I ultimately went up to Auckland to visit a specific store because there was a dress I’d seen online that I thought was beautiful. I went in to try that dress on but ended up trying another one they had—and that second dress is the one I bought! I think every bride probably says this but, you often go in thinking you want one thing and come out with something completely different.

Moving on to the main character, Jeremy. Tell us about what he wore and how he landed on his look?

Jeremy was influenced and guided by his now brother-in-law to go with a tailored suit from Thom Sweeney, and I think it made Jez’s experience the best thing ever.

We went over to LA when they were launching their latest store, and he did his first fitting there - Negroni in hand - having the time of his life. It was the coolest thing ever. I think he felt a million bucks. So much so, he ended up with three outfit changes!

You always hear about the bridal experience, but I think it’s really cool for a groom to have that experience too.

What was the morning like? Nerves, excitement… chaos?

The vibes were really on. My makeup artist had such great energy, and my bridesmaids had done so much behind the scenes to make me feel calm and cared for. Nothing felt like a problem - everyone was just so supportive.

While the bridesmaids were getting ready, I had some downtime which I used to write my vows and practise them with a friend. She gave me some helpful advice, and it really helped me get into the right headspace and made everything feel even more real.

One of the most special moments was seeing my dad pull up. He lives in the UK, so having him there was just incredible. That father-daughter moment is something you dream about, and I’m so grateful he could be part of it.

What did you love most about your ceremony?

I loved looking around and seeing all these people we know, and they just looked so stoked and happy for us. The energy was beautiful.

Walking down the aisle and seeing Jez in his suit, looking all smart, was such a moment. It felt formal, but still really intimate. I loved that we made the ceremony feel really “us.”

We were so lucky with the weather - it was stunning. The sun was out, and it was just a beautiful, beautiful day. There was one specific moment I’ll never forget: everything just went still. No wind, no noise, just this complete calm.

I remember looking across at Jez, and he was beaming. The birds were chirping, and I looked to my left and saw these gorgeous mountains and I just thought, is this real life? It was honestly so beautiful..

And then the reception - walk us through it…

Yeah, we actually wanted a long lunch, but with timing it was a bit tricky– so we made it a “dunch”. We were aiming for that relaxed, European lunch feel, with a DJ playing while we ate, and honestly… the vibes were on!

Ōhinetahi has a 10pm curfew, and something that’s really important to me - both in events and in life - is getting the timing right and making sure the flow feels natural. So, we [prior to the day] decided to shift things forward and wrap up at 8.30pm to make the most of the day.

Our venue was quite small, and we knew that if the weather was bad and we had to move everything inside, we’d be restricted to a smaller number of guests. After Ōhinetahi, everyone jumped on buses and we headed into town to Mr. Brightside, a rooftop bar in the centre of Christchurch.

Shifting to Mr. Brightside meant we could invite even more people who meant a lot to us to the "afterparty" of our wedding. I was also excited for the change of scenery; going from a traditional English garden to a modern rooftop bar felt like the perfect transition.

We had a DJ/Saxophonist, espresso martinis, champagne flowing, a photobooth, light-up sticks and cowboy hats on the dancefloor—it was a full-on party. The reception was such a vibe with loads of dancing, mini burgers and fries for late-night snacks... It was just really, really fun.

Tell me about yours and Jez’s second outfits.

I always knew I was going to have an outfit change, but initially I thought I’d wait until later and go up [to Mr Brightside] in my original wedding dress so that those guests could see it too. But by the time we’d done photos and the day had finished up the formalities, I was honestly just ready for a change, and it ended up feeling way more impactful to make a full entrance in the new outfit.

We were a bit less traditional in our approach. We didn’t pause for a first dance, we literally burst into Mr. Brightside with it. Came in hot, dancing and just setting the tone from the get-go!

I changed into a little beaded Trish Peng mini dress, boob tube style with feather details. It was super cute, fun, and I just felt really free in it. Jez switched things up too, he changed into a white shirt with his white jacket for the rooftop reception. Then later on, for round three, he went full party mode: black shirt, black jacket, and a cowboy hat. He had three outfit changes and I only had two!

One piece of advice you'd give to couples planning their wedding?

Don’t think badly of yourself if you're feeling really stressed or not actually enjoying the process. There were definitely moments where we had amazing planning sessions and were in the mood for it but there were also a lot of times where we’d sit down to plan and it was the last thing we wanted to do.

And then you feel guilty, because you’ve got this idea in your head that you should be sipping wine, playing music, and planning together, but in reality, you're working full-time, trying to go to the gym, maintain your friendships, be a good partner, do life… and then also plan a wedding.

I think brides often underestimate just how full-on it is. Planning a wedding can honestly feel like a full-time job. So my advice is: give yourself grace. You're not going to love every minute of planning, and that's okay.

You’ll love the day itself and it is worth it, but it’s okay if the lead-up doesn’t feel like the dream everyone portrays online.