Their Story
From social netball to saying “I do”.
Jess and Geordie’s story began on a social netball court. Jess found herself matched against someone taller, faster and just a little bit better than she was, and spent the next hour chasing him around the court. After the game they connected on social media, and while the spark was there early, Geordie had to do a little more chasing of his own. Three years later, it finally became official.
The proposal came during a trip to Sydney with friends for an All Blacks game. On their first morning, Jess and Geordie went for a walk along Bondi Beach. Geordie somehow managed to get Jess down onto the sand, where he pointed out that someone had written something nearby. Jess could just make out the beginning of the message — “will y___ ma…” — but, not wanting to assume too much, asked what it said. By then Geordie had tears in his eyes and a ring in his hand, and the rest of the moment became a joyful blur.
A ceremony among the roses
When it came time to choose a ceremony location, Jess and Geordie knew they wanted a garden wedding with a relaxed feel. After hearing that it was possible to book a space at the Dunedin Botanic Garden, they visited and fell in love with the idea of getting married in the rose garden. With the wedding taking place on the 1st of December, the roses were always going to be beautiful.
An outdoor wedding in Dunedin at the beginning of December can always be a little bit of a gamble, especially without much of a backup plan, but the day could not have worked out better. The weather was kind, the gardens looked stunning, and the ceremony had exactly the relaxed, natural feeling they had hoped for.
Their reception was held at the Otago University Rowing Club, a venue that had special meaning for Jess. She had rowed for five years and coached for four, so the space carried a personal connection. Beyond that, it was simply a beautiful place to celebrate, with windows running the length of the room and looking out across the harbour.
Jess describes herself as a minimalist, and that came through beautifully in the styling of the day. The wedding was kept simple and elegant, with plenty of white flowers placed throughout the venue and along the tables. Fairy lights covered the ceiling and became even more beautiful as the sun went down. Nothing felt overdone, and the styling allowed the harbour views and atmosphere of the room to shine.
The dress, flowers and details
Jess found her wedding dress at House of Kavina in Dunedin. She had an idea of the style she liked, but, like many brides, tried to stay open-minded. Her mum was the one who found the dress. At first Jess was not completely convinced, even though it was close to what she had imagined, but everything changed once she put it on. Seeing her mum and maid of honour in tears made it clear that this was the one.
The flowers were created by their friend Ayla from Twigs and Twine, who looked after the bouquets, buttonholes, cake toppers and flowers for the tables and reception venue. Jess had always wanted peonies in her bouquet, and Ayla made it happen. Jess had sent through a Pinterest image of her dream bouquet, but the finished flowers turned out even more beautiful than she had imagined.
The rest of the details were just as personal. Jess wore shoes from Maher in Wall Street Mall, while Geordie’s were from Hannahs. The boys wore suits from Hallensteins. Hair was by Aurum Hair in Mornington, and makeup was by Shannon Gale. The morning ran so smoothly that the girls even had time to sit down and enjoy a glass of bubbles before leaving.
A relaxed photography experience
Like a lot of couples, Jess and Geordie were a little nervous about being photographed. They do not love having their photo taken and did not want anything to feel staged or awkward. Thankfully, the day ran perfectly to time, and the photography became a fun and relaxed part of the celebration.
For Jess and Geordie, good photography was one of the most important parts of the wedding. They already knew Sarah and connected with both Sarah and Craig early on. They loved the style of O’Neill Photographics and knew they wanted natural, beautiful images that captured the feeling of the day.
“Geordie and I are totally in love with our photos and can’t stop looking at them.”
Family, cake and the best part of the day
Their wedding cake was made by Jess’s mum, which made it even more special. Jess grew up with amazing birthday cakes, so it felt only right that her mum would make the wedding cake too. When Jess showed her a photo of what they wanted, her mum’s response was simple: “Oh easy! I’ll make three…”
After the wedding, Jess and Geordie escaped to Clyde for three quiet days together. They based their days around places they wanted to eat and did very little else, which turned out to be the perfect way to unwind after the excitement and madness of the wedding.
When asked about the best part of the day, Jess’s answer was beautifully simple.
“The best part of the day for me was getting to the end of the aisle and seeing my handsome husband grinning back at me.”
Advice for future brides
Jess’s advice for future brides is to choose one thing that really matters to you and focus on that. For Jess and Geordie, the priority was making sure everyone had an amazing time, not just them. Looking back, she says all the stress was worth it.
If there was one thing they would do differently, it would be to have a videographer. The day goes so quickly and becomes such a whirlwind that being able to watch it all back would have been a beautiful thing.
