Relaxed, simple and fun Country Hall Wedding | Jen & Chris

Jen & Chris’s wedding! What a beautiful day this was!! Absolutely bursting with happiness and fun with their loved ones! I love this wee country hall and church in Makara - so much charm! There are many special DIY details including bunting that was lovingly handmade by Jen and Jen’s gorgeous gown that was designed and made but her sister-in-law Tammy Twinkletoes. An absolute highlight for me was capturing Jen and Chris being serenaded out of the church - it was so emotional and beautiful! xx

Q. In three words describe your wedding style?

Relaxed, simple, fun

Q. What was your favourite moment from your wedding?

Being serenaded out of the church by our families singing and playing the ukuleke!

Q. What was the most difficult part of planning your wedding? And the most fun?

The hardest part of wedding planning was choosing a date that worked for all of the crucial family members! 

The most fun was taking pinterest ideas and making them my own over the summer holiday.

Q. Did you DIY? If so, what did you do?

Yes! I loved crafting the decorations for the hall. I made the bunting, table numbers, place cards, seating plan, and mini preserve jars with lemons from our garden. Both our parents came to help set the hall up the day before - it was a really fun day! 

Q. Any advice for couples planning their wedding?

Try to stay focused on the important stuff - don't worry about things being 'perfect'. 

Q. What do you love most about your photos? What was it like having Caroline as your wedding photographer?

I love how natural our photos are and how Caroline managed to capture all of the little moments during the day. She made us feel so relaxed, I hardly noticed that she was there! It was really hard to choose the photos to get printed and framed; Caroline did such a fabulous job. 

Credits

Venue: Makara Village Hall & St Patrick's Church

Photography: Caroline Atkinson Photography

Stylist / planner: me! We hired a few things from Leah @ Made Lovely (fairy lights, a couple of easels, chalkboard and candle votives) to make styling easy.

Catering: Blue Carrot

Hair & Makeup: Makeup by Mackenzie @ the Mac counter at David Jones, Lambton Quay

Celebrant: Libby Coates 

Brides Dress, Accessories & Shoes: Bespoke dress designed and handmade by my talented sister-in-law, Tamsin Vaughan @ Tammy Twinkletoes 

Shoes from Merchant 1948

Earrings & bracelet from Evolve Jewellery 

Groom's Suit & Accessories: Suit from Chris's brother, shirt, tie & belt from Barkers, shoes belonged to Chris's grandfather

Rings: Michael Hill Jeweller 

Florals: Bridal bouquet and buttonholes from Flowers Rediscovered, DIY table decorations (flowers from Central Flower Wholesalers)

Cake: made by a wonderfully talented friend

Stationary / designer: me!

Music: Ceilidh band - The Jimmies

Chris's brother & our lovely friends provided music for our wedding service

Caroline Atkinson