On an overcast April day (luckily no rain to be had!), Siobhan and Koby celebrated their love at the beautiful Markovina Vineyard Estate in Auckland, New Zealand. We're obsessing over every photo because their day looked truly beautiful!
Siobhan looked ethereal in her Danielle dress by Forget Me Knot, and paired it stunningly with our whimsical-inspired gold leaf crown (WH3632) in her timeless updo. We loved reading the process of how she came to choose this beautiful dress, all of which, including insight into her and Koby's beautiful day, can be found throughout this blog post.
Enjoy!
What was it that made this particular wedding dress catch your eye and fall in love?
The dress I picked was the Danielle by Forget Me Knot Label. I chose this dress because it really made me feel like a bride - as cliché as it sounds! A lot of other dresses I tried on were so beautiful but they just didn’t really give me that wow factor, or I wasn’t 100% comfortable in it. I love the off the shoulder straps which I had altered to sit a little tighter to the shoulder, the sweetheart neckline and soft tulle skirt are so flattering. I initially thought I wanted a fit and flare, and I also knew that I didn’t want a full ball gown skirt so this was the perfect in between for me. I also ended up picking the Gold Leafy Crown as my main accessory which I absolutely loved! I remember saying I didn’t really see myself as someone who would wear a crown on their wedding day, but my family encouraged me to try one on just in case and to my surprise, I really loved the whole look! (So I also did a 180 on this haha).
Tell us about your search for the dress and the experience at Astra Bridal.
Like a lot of others I had always thought about what I wanted my dress to look like, I definitely went in with a certain style in mind. Funnily enough I ended up doing a complete 180. I had been to one other bridal shop prior to Astra and I really just wanted to try a bunch of different styles on to get a feel for what I liked and didn’t like to narrow down my decision. I remember going to the appointment and telling my friends & family, that I didn’t think I would be picking a dress that day as I was still so unsure of what I wanted. I ended up saying yes to the dress at that appointment! When I tried on my dress, I knew that it was the right one. The experience at Astra was so much fun! It was a very memorable part of the build up to the big day. All of the staff were so helpful and knowledgeable about all of the dresses and options available. It can be quite overwhelming walking into a dress shop and seeing hundred of dresses to pick from, so having someone with you who knows exactly what’s going on definitely made it significantly less stressful!
Tell us your story, how you both met, and the proposal.
I went to uni with one of Koby’s best friends, we became fast friends and she introduced us at her birthday later that year. We hit it off straight away and the rest is history really! Now we are all best mates and always said if we ever got married that she would be a groomsman, and we stuck true to this!
Whilst on a trip to Queenstown, him & I had planned to take a scenic helicopter ride with an alpine landing on the Remarkables. On the day we had this booked in, I received a call from the company giving us a weather check and letting us know that we could still go ahead but the weather wasn’t looking amazing and we wouldn’t see the sunset, so was up to us whether or not to go up that day or reschedule. Koby was in the shower getting ready at this point, and so I made an executive decision to reschedule for later in our trip so we could make the most of the view and sunset. Little did I know that I had just reschedule my own proposal haha. When Koby got out of the shower, I let him know that we were going later in the week and not today. He seemed really disappointed and was off the whole night, when I eventually asked him what was wrong all he said was “I just really wanted to go in a helicopter today” Haha!
Fast forward a few days later, and the weather is perfect - not a cloud in the sky and we are up in the helicopter and about to land on top of the Remarkables. The pilot asks us if we would like a photo, and then Koby gets down on one knee and proposes! It was the most surreal feeling ever, I remember feeling so incredibly happy and in love.
What was your favourite part of the day?
It’s so hard to pick just one, it was honestly such an incredible day - but it would have to be when I was walking down the aisle and finally saw Koby standing at the end waiting for me. There’s so much anticipation building up to that exact moment and when it finally happened, it was just the best. Not sure how else to describe it! I’ll never forget the look on his face, he just kept smiling at me (and a few tears which is very unlike him) and I felt so ready to get down there and get married.
Tell us about your wedding day as a whole.
The wedding day was incredible - hands down best day of my life! The weather forecast wasn’t great, it was supposed to be gale force winds and rain so I was trying to mentally prepare myself to have the ceremony moved indoors but as our luck would have it, we didn’t get one drop of rain and no wind! It was still quite overcast but this worked in our favour for photos so no complaints from me. I was super excited getting ready, watching all the girls getting their hair & makeup done - I felt quite relaxed. Once it was my turn to sit in the chair the nerves did creep in a little, there’s so much anticipation for the whole day so it can be quite overwhelming. But once I was walking down the aisle and saw Koby waiting for me at the end, I felt so excited and ready to get married. My sister and Matron of Honour, Tierney had just given birth to my nephew 3 days earlier and she managed to stay until after the ceremony and photos which I am so incredibly grateful for, made the day all the more special. The reception was so much fun, had some great speeches followed by a lot of dancing!
Finally, what is your biggest piece of advice for brides to be?
The wedding day honestly flies by! I wish I could relive it over again. I think my biggest piece of advice would be really try not to sweat the small stuff and be present with each part of the day, it just goes so fast! Enjoy it all, it’s your special day.
