They had met 18 months earlier on a C-130 Hercules while accompanying 50 foster kids on a scenic flight over Auckland. Natalie works for Child, Youth and Family and Pele is a Loadmaster in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
After a whirlwind courtship of six months, Pele proposed at Iguacu in Parnell after a long trip away. Natalie admits that she pretty much forced his hand though. ‘The writing was on the wall from the outset so I simply told him that he had better hurry up or I would do it myself.’
Natalie picked up the turquoise bridesmaid dresses in a Hamilton mall the following weekend without consulting a soul. ‘I knew they would suit them all so I made an executive decision on the spot and I’m so glad I did – they looked gorgeous against the beach backdrop’.
After doing the rounds of the Auckland bridal shops, she despaired and decided to give her wedding dress a crack herself, so she borrowed her mother’s sewing machine and set to work.
The dress comprised a full A-line skirt made of cotton organza with a raw hem and a separate silk organza tie that wrapped tightly around the waist and knotted in the front.
‘I fell in love with cotton organza – it’s a stiff, matte transparent fabric that used to be used to line petticoats. It has a really cool sculptural quality about it and it’s just a bit different from all the standard shiny bridal fabrics out there’
Things didn’t pan out so well with the bodice so she enlisted the help of a dressmaker with a few weeks to go for that part. She picked out hydrangeas early on as her flower of choice, also for their interesting texture.
Pele picked out the boys suits in less than half an hour at Executive Suit Hire in Auckland - the first suit hire store they went to. ‘They all baulked at the bright pink ties when they first saw them, I think they really made the boys outfits in the end, and they agreed when they saw the photos.’
Natalie thinks the key is to try to try to have at least five points of difference that will make your wedding memorable and also to think of really special ways you can involve your friends and family.
‘My Uncle trained up to be a celebrant just for us. He was really warm, informal and just plain fabulous. This enabled us to tailor the ceremony to our hearts’ content too.’
Being a musician himself, Pele had some strong opinions about their wedding day music. In the end Natalie walked down the aisle to ‘Crash into Me’ by Dave Matthews Band and the ceremony wound up with ‘Make it Wit Chu’ by Queens of the Stone Age. They also enlisted the help of some of theatre friends at both the ceremony and reception and they were a huge hit.
Along with the custom-made menu was a short ‘love story’, a humorous account of Natalie and Pele’s courtship and ‘points of difference’. ‘I was really happy with the way this turned out – it proved to be a very original and meaningful keepsake’, says Natalie.
‘While we had a few dramas trying to get our three year-old nephew to actually relinquish our rings on the day, he was so proud of his special role as ring bearer- every time he gives me a cuddle now he plays with my wedding ring and says ‘I gave you that Aunty’.
Natalie was adamant she didn’t want a cake so she worked closely with the Chef to design a really decadent plated dessert. In the end her mother did make a cake and it was really lovely, but they didn’t make a focal point out of it.
One of the biggest successes of the day was the photography. Nat and Pele will be eternally grateful to Isaac and Amber de Reus from Instant Photos in Hamilton. They were exceptionally detailed and creative with every shot they took and it shows.
engaged, july 2009
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