Bronya and Shane

Our Love Story

Shane and I met when at 16 one new years in Whangamata through friends as I went to Hamilton Girls High, and Shane went to Te Awamutu College. We were together for three years before going our own separate ways - I went and lived in Australia for two years and worked in Europe on super yachts for another two, but we always kept in contact. Shane also moved to Australia to do the harvest and worked in the oil and gas industry. When we both moved back to New Zealand we picked up where we left off. Following Shane shattering his ankle in a Wakeboarding accident, we made the decision to move to the South Island so Shane could move into farm management (we planned on being down here for a couple of years). This led us to get our first 50/50 job in Timaru and here we are eight years later with two kids and our own farm which has been a dream come true.

Our Proposal

It makes me laugh thinking of our proposal! We were heading to my parent’s place at Cardrona for the weekend and they were having the kids for us so we could have a night away and a dinner out in Queenstown. All of our family live in the north island so this is a rare occurrence! We had just come out of our first lockdown but before going into this Shane had a massive motorbike accident at a trial ride where he had broken his neck and back and had him in a hospital bed in our living room for the next three months. He had lots of time to think and said sh*t, I really need to pop the question. Here I was, just overly excited to have a night away and dinner out! As we were leaving Cardrona he said oh, have you ever stopped to see the view at the top of the crown range? I thought it was a weird question, but yes, of course, I had. Shane pulled over and was going to do it there but it was cloudy and there were people there so it put him off. We went to Amisfield for lunch which was such a treat child-free and I witnessed Shane down two drinks pretty fast! We followed lunch up with a booking at Onsen and at this point, I’d never seen him so nervous as he popped the question in the pool! Of course, I said yes we had bubbles to celebrate and dinner out at Botswana Butchery.

Our Wedding Planning

When it came to our wedding day, top of our priority list was having our friends and family there to celebrate with us. If I’m honest, planning wasn't really my thing but our vendors were amazing and made it such a breeze.

Our Wedding Day

Our day was so much fun, I remember laughing all day. I felt so relaxed going into it and didn't let anything phase me. I think because we got Covid on our original date in April and I was all stressed out about little things like saying my vows, and walking down the aisle (I don't like being the centre of attention) then having the wedding not go ahead after two years of planning was such a horrible feeling. I made a conscious decision not to let any of that get to me on our new date. People thought I was crazy for having had always wanted a winter wedding so when we rebooked for June 17th, six weeks after our original date I was stoked and we went for it given that it worked for all of our vendors.

Our Highlights

Saying our vows was so special having our two kids be there with us to witness it. Also, going on a Heli-adventure and having photos taken in the snow was awesome.

Our Advice

If we have anything to offer, it would be not to sweat the small stuff, and just enjoy the day as it really does go so fast!

Our Dream Team

Venue | The Winehouse

Photography | Carla Mitchell

Florals | Bespoke Weddings and Events

Catering | In2 Food

Celebrant | Megan Mckenzie

Signage & Stationery | Smitten With Love

Hair | Beautiful Bridal Hair

Makeup | Eve Beauty

Dress | Karen Willis Holmes, from Paperswan Bride

Bride accessories | Earrings were my everyday diamond studs. My necklace was a string of diamonds from the 1930s from New York from my stepdad's side of the family.

Shoes | Chaos & Harmony

Garter | Bronya’s Nanas

Fur | Makarora Fur Co

Bridesmaid Dresses | Shona joy

Shoes | Mi Piaci

Groom Suit | Sergios Menswear

Groom Shirt | 3 Wise Men

Groom Shoes | RM Williams

Groomsmen Suit + Boots | Hallentsteins

Groomsmen Shirts | 3 Wise Men

Groomsmen Accessories | Socks - Barkers, Ties - Ballantynes, Belts - RM Williams

Rings | Partridge Jewellers