On a sunny spring day, Katie and Ben said "I Do" at Waikato's renowned Red Barn, surrounded by friends and family.
Katie wore the elegant and timeless Charlie dress by Forget Me Knot, an off-shoulder satin beauty with pleated A-line skirt, and that split! What a sexy and sophisticated statement. We absolutely love how she changed into her sneakers for some sunset shots.
We hope you enjoy seeing their photos and reading about their wedding day just as much as we did! Congratulations to them both x
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
I loved how I could see the complete picture and look I was going for, pointed toe shoes, pearl accessories and glam waves!
I loved how simple but stunning it is, and that the “wow” was in the minimal features, like the split which you could step in to or keep discrete, the pockets to give everyone a chuckle as I pulled my vows out at the ceremony and most of all how timeless and elegant it looked!
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
The Astra Bridal team were awesome! So warm and real, I felt so comfortable.
I’d been to a shop before Astra Bridal and tried on what felt like a million dresses and was disappointed by them all and felt a little disheartened. When I walked into Astra I instantly felt the weight lifted and knew the dress for me was here and the hard part was going to be deciding which! After saying “woah I love this dress” to every dress I tried on I managed to isolate it down to two dresses but went away to sleep on it just to be sure! Soon after I popped back in to try them both on again and before the dress was even zipped I new it was the one!
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
Ben and I met in 2014. I’d just started at Waikato Uni and moved in with who happened to be Ben's best friend. Shortly after moving in we were introduced to each other and before we knew it we were dating, buying a house and then engaged 7 years later, in 2021.
The proposal was all things beautiful and private, we were staying in an Air Bnb in Raglan. Imagine candles, festoon lights and an outdoor bubble bath set in the middle of a pine forest and you’ve pictured the proposal!
What was your favourite part of the day?
The ceremony, especially
hearing Ben's vows! I had no idea what to expect and they blew me away, I felt
like I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. Our first dance being a close
second!
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
The bridesmaids and I got ready at The Rocks, a beautiful place across the road from the Red Barn. After a week of very patchy weather we were so pleased to wake up to a beautiful sunny day!
The day started with a first look at The Rocks Accomodation, followed by all our bridal party photos. Our photographer Clare had me spinning in the sun till my heart was content.
Our ceremony was set inside the barn, filled with all our family and friends. We walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of John Legends “All of me”. The reception followed, complete with outdoor games, canapés and drinks along with a shoe change into some comfy sneakers and some amazing sunset photos, then back for speeches, dinner, another shoe (and dress) change, then dancing! Ben and I had taken some dance lessons leading up to the wedding so had an awesome time being able to do that on the night under cute festoon lights and the outdoor fire.
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
Do a dance! Maximise your day
by leaving more time than you think you’ll need between key moments so you have
time for yourselves to take in the day, have laughs and relax.
