A Natural Wedding in Boomrock Wellington

Tell us more about the proposal that led to this Wellington wedding. 

Dee proposed to Alice at Larnach’s Castle, in Dunedin, after Alice had been dropping some pretty heavy hints. In saying that, Alice wasn’t expecting it to happen at the time. Not only was Dee thwarted by Alice’s intense attention to detail, but there was also a group of Canadian tourists who wouldn’t leave the top tower where she wanted to propose. Eventually Dee had to resort to proposing on the lan, and we celebrated with a (horrible) 20km mountain bike ride. 

We were engaged seven years, because we knew we wanted to have a bougie wedding. 

Tell us about wedding planning. 

We had some hard moments leading up to the wedding with family members choosing not to attend because of our love. We relied on our chosen family to help us through the pain and grief.

Ultimately, we wanted a wedding where guests felt well cared for, and was a beautiful space for our friends and whanau (family) to come together. 

We didn’t feel that we had to dress up the venue too much, Boomrock blew us away in its rawness and beauty. We chose flowers and decor that reflected that incredible environment and extenuated its beauty. 

Tell us about finding wedding day outfits that reflected your personalities. 

Arrun Soma (our MC and queer eye) came to all of our fittings, ensuring a seamless look on the day. Considering we hadn’t actually seen each other’s outfits this was no mean feat!

Alice’s outfit was all about her personality – and showing off her favorite assets (her ankles!). Alice wanted an outfit that had spunk and character and in true lesbian form, the ability to use components again in other outfits. A tailored suit enabled the best fit and made her feel one million bucks. 

Dee wasn’t really sure what she wanted. But Arrun encouraged her to pick the most extra dress possible, which was achieved in full! The princess floof was stunning and showed off her back. Her fox tattoo was on full display, showing family pride.

Tell us about the native plant unique wedding favors you made for gifts.

We made our own wedding favors using locally sourced native plants. We had people put their name tag on their chosen plant so that wait staff knew where they were sitting, and we made care cards for the plants so our guests knew how to care, and love them. 

It’s been fun, we’ve had regular updates on our love plants (including the ones who have accidentally been killed)! 

Now that you’re married, what does marriage mean to you?

Being treated the same as any other couple. We recognize that there are areas of the world where people cannot publicly love who they love. It is important to be out and proud – to show people that we love the same as everybody else and to give hope to those who are unable to love and be who they truly are. 

We stand in awe of the rainbow communities that have gone before us and have helped to achieve marriage equality. 

And, do you have any wedding planning advice for others planning their wedding?

Take the time to find an amazing venue.

Utilize your friends’ knowledge and expertise – we had friends make our signs and invites which saved us so much money. We also had a friend make our gluten free wedding cake which was brilliant. 

Weddings are still really heteronormative so you may find you have to educate people about gendered forms, traditions and roles. Don’t let this put you off – the more visible we are as consumers, the more the market will respond!