ARIANA & SONNY | JAKAMA LODGE, KARAPIRO

When the bride wears a statement Ru De Seine dress you know this is going to be a wedding for the books! We are in love with the colour palate of this wedding - the pops of orange and blue hues along with the white, work so well against the rustic, natural, earthy tones at the beautiful Jakama Lodge. This couple made sure their wedding was a true reflection of them, with a focus on chill, simplicity and celebrating their heritage. Check out the photos of the amazing performance of a traditional Siva Samoa in front of all of their loved ones, to top their day off.

Tell us about your venue and why did you choose it:

We found our wedding venue on Backyard weddings. We were looking for somewhere that could host the large number of guests we were having. We considered having our wedding overseas but then decided we wanted something in the Waikato as this was our home. The venue is an air bnb and Jane and Jeff were so accommodating and friendly. Their home was absolutely perfect for the vibe we were going for and the great thing about going with a place like this is - we could pick everything we wanted ourselves.

Where did you find your inspiration for your wedding day:

Pinterest was my go to otherwise the bridesmaids always had great ideas.

Tell us about the proposal…

We had been talking about getting engaged for a while and one day we decided to go looking at rings and ended up picking out my engagement ring together. So knowing he had a ring, it was very much a waiting game as he told me he would do it when he was ready. We were in Rarotonga for a week for our best friend's wedding and he ended up arranging a lunch on the beach front with my family and he got down on one knee.

Where did you purchase your dress and accessories from:

My dress was from Rue De Seine, It was the complete opposite of what I was looking for. My sister suggested I try it on and I absolutely fell in love with it. I didn’t have too many accessories and with the dress being a splurge - I didn’t spend too much on shoes. I spent $30 and got them from the iconic which I only wore for the ceremony then I put on a pair of Adidas sneakers. My earrings were Zoe and Morgan which I got on sale. My denim jacket was also from Rue de Seine which was a gift from my best friend and her mum.

Our wedding style was…

Very relaxed, boho, rustic type. We wanted it to represent us which is very simple and chill. We wanted formalities over and done with really quickly so we could get on with the food and partying.

Our love story began…

On a night out in town haha!

We splurged on….

Wedding dress, venue & our amazing photographer.

Do you have any tips for other brides & grooms?

Go with the flow and don’t worry if things don’t go exactly to plan. Enjoy and take in the moment, as it goes by so fast.

We saved on….

We did all of our table decor, stationary and signage ourselves. We shopped around for things we needed to hire so used a couple of companies.

What were the highlights on the day:

There were so many moments but I would probably say the biggest highlight was when I did my Siva Samoa. I was more nervous for this then the actual wedding ceremony. It was such a huge wave of emotion performing a traditional dance for my new husband surrounded by everyone we love.