This month newlyweds Lauren and Reece let us take a sneak peek inside their wedding album and share all the goss from the big day...

We've followed Lauren's wedding countdown for the past year, click here to check out her very first entry!

Name: Lauren Andrews
Partner’s Name: Reece Poutawera
Ages: Lauren 29 and Reece 30
 

Where was the ceremony held?
Our ceremony was held in the gardens of our venue at Orui Station. My family set up chairs for everyone to be seated before the ceremony. So even though it was a garden wedding it was still a reasonably formal setting. The wet weather alternative would have been to have it inside the marquee. Although storms were forecast for the whole of the Wairarapa they luckily missed Riversdale and we were blessed with a sunny/slightly overcast day – perfect!

Who designed your dress?
Judith Anne – based in Lower Hutt. Judith spent many a late night hand sewing the lace onto my gown. She also made the girls’ bridesmaid dresses which made dress fittings lots of fun!

Who took your photos?
Melanie Dixson and Chris McCarthy from Wellington Photographers. They are also the photographers who supply all the photos that we use on theBIGstep.co.nz.

Which is your favourite shot?
The one where we first enter the marquee after being introduced as husband and wife – I love it because it’s nice and natural and shows how happy we both are.

How long did you spend organising the wedding?
We spent 10 months following our engagement, planning our wedding. We had a marquee wedding so there was a lot of extra planning to do but I think 10 months is a good amount of time. Although I think I might have an advantage - being the owner of a wedding website and all! We couldn’t leave people waiting too long as Reece and I had been together 13 years before we finally took our BIG step!

Did you decide to change your name?
Yes – I must get on to that! My husband is a lawyer so we say that it was part of the contract. Reece’s last name is Poutawera and he and his immediate family are the only ones left in NZ with that surname so I thought it only fair that I take it. I also think it is less confusing for families and much easier for those certain family members who like to create family trees!

How did you spend the time leading up to the ceremony?
My good friend Edyta did our hair and makeup from the bach she was renting. We all met there at 10am and had some bubbles and breakfast that my little sister had prepared for us. Edyta set about getting us all ready – we were all friends so it was really lovely and relaxed! We ran on time the whole day, there was no travel time between houses or venues so we didn’t need to rush at any point during the day.
 
What moments brought tears to your eyes?
I only cry when I’m sad or angry. Sorry but there were no teary moments. Although I did feel embarrassed watching my uncle’s home video and from what people have said I giggled through the whole ceremony. I had to cringe a little watching the footage as it was a little over the top in some parts! In saying that though, it was a great ceremony – full of laughter from both the bridal party and guests. Plus my bridesmaids and some guests did enough crying for all of us!

Any advice for brides to be?
I highly recommend getting married! Despite all the stress, dramas and expense that comes with it all, it is totally worth it and I wish I could do it all again!
 
Flowers by?
Marg, my mother’s best friend did all the flowers as her gift to us. My MOH picked them up from the wholesaler in Wellington and bought them up to Riversdale for Marg to work her magic. They were beautiful and exactly what I wanted!
 
Cake by?
Reece’s mother made and decorated our wedding cake – she’s very talented and it was just gorgeous!
 
Number of attendees?
120
 
What was your bridal car?
My cousin/bridesmaid’s husband Chad and our friend Paul lent us their amazing American muscle cars – the boys had the red one and we had the beige one (shows how much I know about cars!). They were amazing and a real feature of the day.

Furtherest travel for a guest?
My two of my brothers and three of our other guests come from Australia. Becky, a good friend of ours, came from England, one of my dad’s brothers came from Ireland and my maid of honour came from France. And of course everyone had to travel from Wellington and the rest of NZ to get to Riversdale.

 
Any funny moments from the reception?
LOTS! Erin, my business partner, was our MC for the evening and managed to get loads of laughs with some fun facts she had prepared about Reece and I. She would tell our guests a fact about Reece and I, give them two options to choose from and our guests had to guess which one was true. This caused a few funny outbursts from some guests.

Vaughan, Reece’s brother and groomsman, read out our telegrams and it so happened that there were a few made up ones thrown into the mix which caused some laughs. Vaughan made one up from Reece’s childhood rugby coach – something about being useless in every rugby position so let’s hope he’s better in the sack etc… and then my best friend from the UK sent one which was referring to personal joke the three of us shared many years ago – no one else got the joke so our guest were staring blank faced at Reece and I cracking up.

Any Bridezilla moments?
Nope!