JANELLE & JOSH | WOODLANDS ESTATE

You can just feel the love and happiness radiating off these two beautiful souls when you scroll through their wedding images. Such a stunning day in the sun, with Woodlands Estate bringing their gorgeous Garden themed wedding to fruition. Find out about their cute little first encounter with one another, which lead to an amazing proposal in Hawaii. Hope you love this one as much as we do!

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

We had our wedding at the Woodlands Estate in Gordonton. We had spent quite a few weekends looking at venues from Matakana through to Rotorua. So many of these places were amazing but we both knew it just didn’t feel right. As soon as we visited the Woodland Estate and talk a walk through the gardens (they had Cherry Blossoms in full bloom) and saw how beautiful they were, we instantly fell in love.

Our love story began at:

The Auckland Airport. I was waiting for a connecting domestic flight and he was waiting to pick up a friend, we were sitting at the same cafe and got talking and ended with him getting my number.

Our wedding style was:

Traditional Garden wedding, with a big emphasis on white and greenery. Our venue was such a beautiful backdrop so we wanted decorations that would compliment the venue.

Where did you find your inspiration for your wedding day:

I found the wedding expo's to be so helpful, they were a great chance to talk to vendors and get some great ideas. Also Instagram helped me find a bunch of vendors as well.

We saved on:

My wedding dress! I was the lucky winner of Trish Peng’s ‘Design your Dream Wedding Dress’ competition! Trish is such an amazing designer and made the most gorgeous wedding dress for me.

We splurged on:

Our photographer and venue and we are so happy we did as everything was beyond amazing.

Tell us about the proposal:

We were in Hawaii with my parents, and Josh and my Dad had been acting strange all day. Dad told me he had booked a Helicopter Tour of the big Island of Hawaii as a surprise for Mum but had an urgent business meeting and he and mum couldn’t go and that Josh and I should go instead. I spent a whole day protesting that it was their trip and that we couldn’t possibly take it but eventually an unnaturally agitated Josh persuaded me to give in. We caught a helicopter and landed at a remote waterfall – it was so beautiful. Whilst I was in my own world taking photos, I saw the same nervous look that was so distinctive from the first time I saw Josh at that airport cafe. He proceeded to tell me how much he loved me and this whole trip was an elaborate set up and that he had planned the whole thing (at this point I was super confused). It didn’t really make any sense until Josh got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Through my tears I said YES! Meanwhile the helicopter pilot had recorded the whole thing! It was such a beautiful moment and I couldn’t believe that I had absolutely no idea! Josh is the worst secret keeper ever!

What were the highlights on the day:

There are so many moments but I have to choose our first dance. I always dreamed of having our first dance outside under the stars and festoon lights, dancing with my best friend surround by our loved ones - and it was such a perfect moment.