Rylea and Sophie’s St Arnaud Wedding
Self-declared nerds, their words not ours! Sophie and Rylea met at what they describe as “Nerd Camp” and from the sounds of it they hit it off straight away. These two were a hell of a good time, so much fun and so bubbly, and really had a focus on having the best day together celebrating their love with their favourite people at their destination Lake Rotoiti wedding. It really didn’t surprise us that their bridal party were such a laugh, we have honestly never had this much fun with a bridal party before, they really kept us on our toes and made for a great time, we will let the photos do the talking ;)
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Rylea proposed to Sophie lakeside while on a road trip adventure to Lake Rotoiti, the lake being a very special place to them both and having shared many fond memories there together truly stole their hearts so when they began putting plans together for their wedding they knew they wanted to share this little slice of paradise with their favourite people.
Sophie gracefully took on the task of planning their destination wedding in Nelson from their home in Auckland. Planning a wedding from afar is never an easy journey but we quickly learnt Sophie had a true gift for planning and organising and after sharing with us her vision of what she was planning for her Nelson wedding in a very put-together 20 or so page PDF we knew this day was going to be perfect and everything they dreamed of! They chose to have an outdoor ceremony on the deck at Lake Rotoiti Lodge to truly make the most of this stunning location, with views overlooking the native bush and glimpses of Lake Rotoiti.
After the ceremony, they had a post-wedding party sharing canapés, giant games and a non-traditional take on a wedding cake and our new favourite thing a cake made entirely of cheese! Good food, great company and gorgeous views made for a great time and guests had plenty of opportunities to really enjoy the couple’s company as we pushed photos into the late afternoon to make the most of their time and of course, the lighting was dreamy by late afternoon, so win-win!
Sophie and Rylea had spent the day before with their bridal party and close family putting together the final touches on their table settings and interior venue space, they did such a beautiful job dressing the Lake Rotoiti Lodge and it really added to the vibe. There were so many personal touches to their wedding day which made the day feel so much more personal but one of the highlights for us was having one of her brothers sing while the newlyweds had their first dance under the stars and festoon lights. Honestly, Sophie and Rylea, thank you so much for inviting us to capture such a magical day, we loved every minute!
Vendors Involved:
Photographer Think Visual | Ceremony & Reception Venue: Rotoiti Lodge
Wedding Celebrant: Lorr Eade | Coordinator: Erin Brady from EB Events
Wedding dress: The bride made it herself!! (amazing right?) | Suits: Barkers
Rings: Gema and Co and Silvermoon | Hire: Got it Covered | Florals: Got it Covered
Cake: Winestone Cheese | Catering: Nicky Bavin, Along the Road | AV: Sweet Sounds