Golden hilltops and a ceremony in the olive grove at Tironui Farm

Time to whisk yourself away from your thoughts and delve into this gorgeous summer wedding - just for a minute or two!
A perfect outdoor setting for a wedding ceremony amongst an established olive grove, then onto the shimmering golden hilltops up from Martinborough, through to the cooler evening and dance floor celebrations.
Jess and Ali share some of their wonderful images and some of their experiences, from their amazing day.

Jess and Ali on the golden hilltop, on their wedding day. Images by Lisa Maree Photography

The proposal:
It was super low key, but perfect as we are both pretty low-key people.
Ali proposed at home with our almost 1 year old son. Flowers and a ring were waiting for me when I returned home from my first week back at work after maternity leave. Ali had taken the day off and gone to speak to my parents, which was super important to both me and them. We then enjoyed a lovely dinner out to celebrate at Boulcott Street Bistro in Wellington.

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What did you always envisage for your wedding day?
The most important thing was to celebrate our love with those who are most important to us and those who we have shared our 12 year relationship with. And we wanted a party! We didn’t want it too formal, making sure we had lots of time to mingle and enjoy our day with our guests. It was also important that our son, nieces and nephew were involved. Tironui Farm had the perfect relaxed and beautiful setting for this, meaning not a lot of work was needed to decorate.

Did you have any special features at your wedding (sentimental, funny, or otherwise)?
The most funny and sentimental features were probably the signs that we gave the kids to walk down the aisle with. Our son came down the aisle before me with a sign that read “Dad, here comes your girl!” Definitely brought a tear to the eye!

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What was favourite part of the day, what will you always remember from the day?
Our ceremony was hilarious- I (Jess) put the ring on the wrong finger, our celebrant (who’s a good friend of ours) pronounced our MOH and Groomsmen’s names completely wrong out of sheer nerves, and my niece vomited! I wouldn’t change a thing - I love thinking back to it and how all of the things that happened kept us relaxed and laughing in what was the most nerve wracking part of our day. My other favourite part was the dinner and speeches. Everyone spoke so well, and it was really humbling hearing people talk so nicely about Ali and I.

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Can you give us one or two tips for couples who are planning their celebrations right now?
One thing that helped us keep the stress down during planning was booking all of the “big” things (venue, photographer, band) first. This gave us plenty of time to sort things like decorations and seating plans etc., which are smaller cost-wise, but take up a hell of a lot more time!

It’s cliché but I would also just say try and relax and go with the flow. Your day will be perfect for you both and it goes so fast. Be present, laugh, enjoy the moment and have fun!