On an early spring day, Kayleigh and Henry vowed to spend the rest of their lives together in front of their family and friends at the beautiful Pemberton Gardens. Photos of the day show the gorgeous coupe full of love and enjoying their special day together.
Kayleigh wowed in Wallis by Maggie Sottero, a gorgeous A-line gown with a traditional swirling lace motif decorating the bodice and the dreamy tulle skirt. She also paired her gown with our cut edge veil and regency earrings, simple touches that perfectly compliment her gown.
We hope you enjoy scrolling through their day and get some insight from Kayleigh about her experience with us at Astra Bridal and the process of finding her wedding dress.
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
I originally fell in love with the Wallis dress by Maggie Sottero online. I fell in love with it because it was beautiful, elegant, traditional and flattering.
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
My husband-to-be knew I wanted to go to Astra Bridal to try on wedding dresses. Before he proposed, he contacted Astra Bridal for an appointment 2 weeks after the proposal. He booked my flights up to Wellington, and arranged for my mum and sisters to join me, and told me about the surprise after he proposed.
I had a specific dress I had fallen in love with online, but I was nervous it would look terrible on me and I was extremely anxious as a plus size bride. The team at Astra were so amazing from the pre appointment video call to when I picked up the dress. They never made me feel bad about being a plus size bride and offered their best advice the whole way through. I couldn't have asked for a more positive dress experience.
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
We meet online on Bumble in May 2019. Henry asked to go for drinks/dinner 5 different times, but I was too nervous that he wouldn't like me and kept stalling. I'm so glad he didn't give up though because after messaging back and forth for a few months, we had our first date in August and there was an instant connection. Our relationship became official in September 2019.
Fast forward to April 2022, Henry planned a "surprise" weekend away to Larnach Castle in Dunedin. I was fully aware what was happening. As we were walking around the grounds in the morning, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. We spent the rest of the day together exploring Dunedin and made a wish in the same wishing well his parents made a wish in almost 30 years earlier on the castle grounds.
What was your favourite part of the day?
My favourite part of the day was the ceremony. Having not seen my husband since the night before, there was anticipation and excitement as we saw each other when I walked down the aisle. This was the first time I'd seen my husband cry, and sharing our vows with each other was such a beautiful moment. It seemed like we were the only 2 people there in that moment.
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
Leading up to the day, I was getting more and more nervous about the weather as we were due for rain. The day before the wedding, we arrived at the venue for the rehearsal and the outside area was flooded all the way up to the steps of the reception building, and it rained even more that night. The morning of the wedding, they had to bring in a truck to pump out as much water as they could so we could access the building, but unfortunately the grass and garden area were still too wet to use. However, when I woke up on the day, I felt so calm and while getting ready I was extremely relaxed, my hair and makeup artist commented on how calm I seemed.
I had a beautiful morning getting ready with my mum and 2 sisters who were my bridesmaids. The sun was shining on the day, which helped relieve the stress of the weather. Everything about the ceremony was incredibly beautiful, personal, and such a special moment. Our reception was a relaxed event full of so much laughter, but the sister and dad's speeches had the guests in fits of laughter at my expense of course. The food was delicious and so many people commented on how much they loved the food. After dinner and some sunset photos, my husband and I surprised everyone with a dance. We were complete amateurs, but had been taking lessons to learn a dance. We pulled it off without a mistake, and danced the night away. It was an incredibly beautiful day and was perfect in every way. I wouldn't change a thing.
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
Many people told me to slow down, that I had plenty of time to plan and organize things. Having everything planned and sorted in advance made the week of my wedding so calm and stress free. My advice to any bride would be that it's your day, don't let other opinions and timelines dictate your day. Do what makes you happy and don't leave everything close to your wedding. Get on to it, and get it done and out of the way, so you can relax and soak in every moment leading up to your wedding.
