This month newlyweds Sarah and William give us a sneak peek into their beautiful wedding album...

Name: Sarah Ward (now Sarah Geel!)
Partner's Name: William Geel
Ages: I’m 25 and Will is 26




Where was the ceremony held? 
Eastview Baptist Church, Howick, Auckland

Who designed your dress? 
Jane Yeh – it was the first style I tried on (it’s amazing how often that happens!).

Who took your photos?
Issac and Amber De Reuss from Instant Wedding Photography.

Which is your favourite shot?   
A black and white shot of us with our arms around each other on One Tree Hill – looks like we are the only people there and it was an unposed shot (they always seem to turn out best!).

How long did you spend organising the wedding?
We got engaged in February 2008, so we had 11 months in total to plan everything. 




Did you decide to change your name? 
Yes, I’m Mrs Geel. My friend said the other day that they wanted to have dinner with “The Geel’s” and I thought it was weird that they were having Will’s parents over for dinner! Really hard to get used to, but I’m proud to take on Will’s name.

How did you spend the time leading up to the ceremony? 
I spent the days leading up to the wedding organsing the final details - having my hair and makeup trial (these are essential as you get a really good idea of what you’ll look like on the day, and if you’re anything like me you might change everything you thought you wanted!) and finalising all the reception details. I also took some time out to relax so I had a manicure and pedicure, worked on my tan, had my hair coloured and did a final hair treatment.

What moments brought tears to your eyes?
We had our wedding rehearsal two days before the ceremony and I found that a really emotional experience - it was such an intense moment when the music started playing and my Dad walked me down the aisle towards Will for the first time. On the day my parents did a blessing for us at the ceremony and my Mum shed a tear so that got me started a bit as well. And then in the speeches when my best friend Paula spoke, I got a bit teary again. I sound like I cried all day! But they were all tears of happiness!




What song did you dance to? 
'Everything’ by Michael Buble.

Any funny moments from the day?   
Not as much funny as dramatic, my sister-in-law gave birth to our gorgeous niece, Eden, the night before our wedding! My bridesmaids were all over and we were so excited we ended up staying up till late to hear the news of her arrival, rather than getting the early night I had planned!

Any advice for brides to be? 
It all goes so quickly – take in each moment and don’t worry about things you can’t change on the day. And delegate, delegate, delegat (people will want to help you, so let them!)

Flowers by?
The Flower Company

Cake by?
We had two tiers of cupcakes and a small cake on top made by Niki MacKay. Our guests loved the cupcakes!

Hair and makeup by?
Soma Day Spa, Howick

Number of attendants?
200 at the church and 80 at the reception

What was your bridal car?
Three silver cars – luckily my family all have nice shiny silver cars so we just used them for the day!

Any Bridezilla moments?
A teeny freak out when we heard they day before that no pale pink roses were in stock for the bridesmaids and the florist was going to proceed with hot pink flowers instead! But we changed florists and they sorted out white for the bridesmaids and all was right with the world again.

Furtherest travel for a guest?
My friend Julia come over from London and Will had family travel from South Africa. Impressive commitment!