Todd and Charlotte share their country wedding with the ODT.
Todd is 31, a builder and support worker. I am 28 and a nurse. We have a nearly 3-year-old son, Louis.
Todd and I met in August 2008 on a night out at the infamous Sammy's, Dunedin. Todd was moving to Australia two days later, but I had a strange feeling I would be seeing him again. Sure enough he returned to Dunedin a few weeks later and we began seeing each other.
On holiday in Naseby we were sitting in the sunshine with a cup of tea watching our then 1-year-old play when Todd got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was nodding and crying but Todd wouldn't put the ring on my finger until I gave a clear 'yes!!!'. It was a complete surprise for me.
We had been in Mexico for 3 months and Todd had been searching for a ring but in typical Mexican style the designs were very cheesy. We returned to Dunedin and planned to head to Naseby the next day. In the morning I was getting annoyed with Todd for taking ages to get organised to leave. Turns out he'd been to see Dunedin jeweller John Z. Robinson, who made the ring overnight for Todd and it was to be ready at lunchtime, thus his delaying tactics.
We chose to have the wedding in Naseby where Todd's family have had a holiday house since he was a baby. We wanted it there so we could get our guests away from everyday life in Dunedin and force them into relaxation mode as there's very little to do in Naseby but go for walks and drink endless cups of tea. We found a glade among the trees in the forest which we thought would be perfect for the ceremony (though logistically troublesome). The town hall was perfect for our reception. Quaint and old-fashioned, it suited our unpretentious style to a T.
After umming and ahhing over various traditional dresses that weren't my style I found a beautiful pink ballgown online by New York designer Betsey Johnson. The brief for the bridesmaids was 'somewhere between mint green and turquoise that you love and will wear again'. They were happy with that.
My bouquet was made by the incredibly creative and talented Jolene Wilkinson of Estelle Flowers. I wanted a bird in a nest but otherwise I gave her full artistic licence. She created the perfect arrangement with vintage mint green ribbon, moss and other flora. My sister made the bridesmaids' bouquets and my mum did the hall flowers.
We did all the food preparation ourselves but had the Lions club do presentation and barbecuing duties on the day. They did a fantastic job and the food was beautiful. It all went smoothly but for an unfortunate incident with an exploding spit roast and the loss of eyebrows and a new hairline for one of the Lions guys!
The highlight of the day would have been the ceremony. Todd made a bridge over the river to the ceremony site complete with bubble machine and deer antlers. Louis was the ring-bearer and carried the 'ring skull' to Todd and shook his hand. Various 'cowboys' among the guests let off surprise shots from cap guns when we had our first kiss and a girlfriend of mine cracked her stockwhip. Our first dance was a freaky disco number to 'Daddy Cool', by Boney M. A definite highlight for the guests.
We had two photographers, Chris Stephenson, who got covered in scratches creeping around in the trees trying to get the perfect shot, and one of the bridesmaids, Dunedin photographer Isabella Harrex who hadn't planned on taking photos but of course couldn't help herself in the end. Ultimate multi-tasking! My favourite is one of us kissing, taken through the trees.
