Wedding Showcase - James and Talia's Story

Planning a wedding is so much fun. It’s the anticipation to your big day and that overwhelming excitement tied up in one of the biggest and most enjoyable parties of your life.



One of my friends bought me the New Zealand wedding planner. It’s a beautifully presented wee book full of tips for the day, including budgeting tips, what needs to be done and in what order. As well as that it has small pockets in the front of each chapter which was great for keeping fabric samples, quotes from hire companies, menus from caterers etc. Whenever I felt slightly overwhelmed by the planning I would refer back to it and it would clear up a few things! I can’t recommend it enough, however if that’s not in your budget (about $39.95) then most of the information can be found in wedding magazines and little booklets full of great tips are available all over town.

Wedding magazines are also great for dress and reception decoration ideas. Sit down with a friend, a glass of wine and some post it notes and book mark anything you like. Keep referring back to it to make sure you’re still on the right wavelength. The fun part is the research, and trying to keep the budget down as much as possible while still being creative. It’s quite amazing what you can achieve.


In terms of organising the day – if you’re doing most of it yourself and are trying to get your head around the logistics of it all, it can be quite bewildering! Just ask questions. The catering and hireage companies are professionals but they forget that you haven’t done this before, so ask questions. Keep the communication going as it reminds you where everything is at and keeps the stress at bay.


Try and organise as much as possible as early as possible because the last thing you want to be doing is rushing around the week before. I recommend taking a few days off work leading up to the wedding.


Talk to friends or family who have been married before. They can tell you more than most people – the most important tip I received from friends and family was ‘take time for yourselves on the day. It goes fast so try and slow it down.’ We did just that and had the most perfect day.


And last but not least; don’t expect too much of your beloved. You may not think so but he’s actually quite nervous too and usually, we girls are the best at organising things anyway.
This doesn’t mean plan your own wedding. Always make sure you ask his ideas on important things and talk about what it is he wants but don’t expect too much out of him. Boys don’t analyse things the way we do and pushing too much on him can only lead to arguments!


Dresses
In terms of dresses, try some on. They may not be your style but it’s good to get an idea of what suits your shape, especially if you’re having one made. It’s also a fun way to spend an afternoon with a friend before heading to lunch and laughing about the awful ones afterwards…If you are having one made, I recommend scouring wedding dress designers’ websites. Print the pictures of the ones you like and hold onto them. Look at them every now and then to see if you still like them. It’s interesting the transition from your original idea, to your final dress.


The day
Don’t fret about things that you can’t control like the weather or your cars breaking down. You’re going to get married either way – so make fun out of it. At least you’ll have funny stories to share with your family someday. Remember too that the wedding is just that: a wedding. One small day in the grand scheme of your life and the most important part is afterwards – your marriage, and working on it together.


Our Day…
The morning I woke up for our wedding was one of the most special days of my life. It was like that feeling you got as a kid; waking up on Christmas morning but multiplied by about a hundred. However I felt no nerves, perhaps a slightly dry mouth, but nothing that I couldn’t handle.


My girls’ were amazing and kept me on time as I kind of drifted through the morning and couldn’t really think clearly (it is quite bizarre how you completely lose your train of thought that entire week leading up to the wedding). Having a glass of champagne (but only one) certainly helped!


It wasn’t until we were in the car heading to the venue that I got a moment of sheer terror – but I breathed deeply and reassured myself with the thought that my husband to be was far more nervous than I.


Carol and Ian were amazing on our day. We had met with Carol a few times prior to the wedding and this gave her the opportunity to see us together, gauge our feelings about each other and the wedding and in turn, shape the ceremony we wanted. We aren’t big on public speaking, and Carol understood this, reading what we felt, and wanted to say, for us. Something I appreciated greatly.


It was the best day I’ve ever had and James and I often mention that we’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

A lovely way of personalizing a wedding ceremony is weaving ‘your’ story into the intro – a wonderful example of this an extract taken from James & Talia’s wedding ceremony………


When James and Talia were discussing their wedding ceremony with me, I suggested that it may be rather nice to include their story into their ceremony. It was James who sent the story to me; it was so lovely I decided to read it verbatim – these are James words…….


I remember when we first met; it was the middle of 1996 in the old Westpac arcade. I was 17 and thought I was pretty cool; you were 15 and very shy. I remember you were walking with a group of friends, I was with Mark and when they all stopped to talk, you and I shot nervous glances at each other.


The first time we talked was at Rolly’s after ball party. Isn’t it cool that both those two are here with us today. You were the most beautiful girl there and as far as I was concerned you were the only girl there. I was hit by the thunderbolt of love and the rest as they say is history. And what a history it has been. A roller coaster ride that I wouldn’t change for anything.


I was so crazy about you I didn't mind picking you up from ballet class in front of all the ballet mums, and I thought that climbing to the top of Mount Misery, the highest hill in town was a great idea for our first date. Do you remember when we sold your bike to Cash Converters so we could go and have a picnic at McLarens Falls, do you remember the days on the beach at Cathedral Cove and the drunkin nights at Viki's grandma's batch at Hahei?; do you remember going to the Dave Dobbin concert? I used to think he was singing about us!?


We both disappeared off to university to follow our dreams but our paths would often cross, fate would find us again and in summer time we would always be together. I'd write you love poems and some poems that would make you scared, and you'd always be dancing, even in my head you'd be dancing. You'd take me back when I crawled almost every time. I remember you talking in your sleep, I remember steaming up the back of my Mercedes, but of course I would remember that. Each time we'd break up it would feel like a little piece of me was missing.


I’d write you emails and letters from the farthest corners of the world. Then in the middle of India from the Taj Mahal I sent you one that would change our lives forever. It eventually led to our beautiful life in France together and a bond that wouldn’t be broken ever again. Well I was crazy about you then but the craziest thing of all, nearly 13 years have gone by and I still feel like we are 16. I still think you’re the most beautiful girl at the party. I still feel like we just fell in love……….