Real Wedding – Tyler & Alexandria, Waiheke Island NZ
Tyler and Alexandria’s love story, spanning over a decade, reached its pinnacle at Mudbrick on Waiheke Island, a place imbued with deep personal significance for the couple. Having celebrated their last five anniversaries there, and with the island being the backdrop for Tyler’s proposal, it was the perfect setting to gather their loved ones from around the globe. Their vision for the day was clear: a timeless, romantic celebration that honoured both their journey together and the natural beauty of the island. With an all-white floral palette of roses, dahlias, hydrangeas, and orchids, they aimed to enhance the venue’s inherent charm rather than overshadow it.
Alexandria radiates elegance in a Khya studio gown, while Tyler exudes classic sophistication in a Boss tuxedo. Every detail of their dream day was stunningly curated, ensuring that each moment was savoured and every memory cherished. The day is a reflection of their enduring love and commitment, beautifully framed by the serene landscape of Waiheke Island, where they had built so many of their most treasured memories.
From the quiet, intimate moments to the joyous celebration with friends and family, Tyler and Alexandria’s wedding is a true testament to the love that had brought them to this unforgettable day- all captured by Grey Area Productions.
The meeting.
Tyler and I met over a decade ago, in 2013. He was in his first year of university, and I was in my final year of high school. We both worked part-time at a local supermarket, and safe to say it was no love at first sight!
The ‘one’.
As mentioned above, it was not love at first sight. Tyler and I were friends or acquaintances for quite some time before our relationship developed. We don’t think there was a defining moment or catalyst; our relationship grew organically over the years, and we have become inseparable ever since.
The proposal.
It was a gorgeous New Year’s Day on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. Spending New Year’s on the island has become a little tradition of ours over the years of dating. Tyler had made a lunch reservation for us at Tantalus Restaurant. Post a delicious four-course lunch with champagne, Tyler nervously suggested we walk through the vineyards, where he got down on one knee. From that moment, many happy tears were shed, and everything became an absolute blur. Celebrations were then continued with our nearest and dearest over lots of celebratory drinks and bubbles. This easily became the happiest New Year’s Day.
Planning process.
A wedding weekend on Waiheke Island was easily decided. Waiheke was where we had spent the past five anniversaries, the island where Tyler proposed, and the island where we wanted to share our wedding day with our people from many continents around the world.
The wedding planning process was rather seamless and fun, as we had a decent amount of time to perfectly curate our day/weekend to suit us as a couple. Mudbrick is our favourite vineyard on the island, and quite frankly, we both had known that this would be the perfect place for us years prior to our engagement. We had shared many lunches, dinners, glasses and bottles of their luscious wine and New Year’s Eve parties over the years at this special location.
The Mudbrick team made the entire planning process so easy and exciting; their coordinators are incredibly approachable and organised, and there was a document for literally every element and detail of our day. I am quite the pedantic planner, and Tyler uses Excel and spreadsheets for work on a daily basis, so we were quite the perfect balance and pair to plan a wedding. The majority of the vendor emails, researching, floral preferences, and basically anything aesthetic-related was sorted by me, while Tyler sorted the (not-so-fun elements such as) finances, budgeting and logistics. This funnily sums us up as a couple in general. We did collaborate on every final decision made however. We are both massive foodies and love quality wine, so selecting our canapés for post-ceremony cocktail hour, three-course dinner menu options and Mudbrick wine selection for our guests was definitely a highlight.
Style inspiration.
Those that know Tyler and I as a couple or individuals would agree that we are rather simple, yet adore quality and are a bit meticulous. We wanted our personalities to be reflected on our day, yet also allow our wedding to transpire what was most important to us as individuals and as a couple.
From the get-go, Tyler and I knew that we wanted our wedding to feel romantic and timeless. We allowed the beauty of Mudbrick and its location and surroundings to inspire our day and styling. As it is already such a stunning venue surrounded by lush greens and phenomenal views of the Hauraki Gulf with a romantic restaurant, it really did not require much. Instead of aiming to transform, we wanted to enhance these beautiful features. The brief with our florist, Kelly from Blush was “elegant, romantic, modern, blush style”. Our floral palette was all white, with floral varieties of roses, dahlias, hydrangeas and orchids. Blush was both our florist and stylist, which allowed our style and theme to seamlessly be consistent throughout all elements of our day.
The ceremony.
We did a first look before the ceremony, which could arguably be the most non-traditional part of our day. We shared this moment with only our parents and bridal parties, plus our dog, Bella. It was important for us to include family as much as possible during the ceremony; my Dad traditionally walked me down the aisle and my 19 year old brother along with Bella (our dog) were the ring bearers of our Cartier wedding bands that were kindly gifted by my parents. Both our mothers were our witnesses. Our vows were all personalised and hand-written by each other, which made it so much more special. As cliche as it may seem, the ceremony was such a highlight and one of the most emotional and special moments of our lives.
The look.
I certainly have a style and way of dressing, which made it slightly easier to determine where to begin the dress process (plain and silky). Along with my Mum and bridesmaids, I attended a few consultations with my bridesmaids with local and NZ designers; however, I wasn’t in love. But I have always adored Kyha Studios and their style, silhouettes and simplicity. The fitting with the Kyha stocklist boutique was with only my Mum and I. We both loved the same dress, the Brinkley gown in pure taffeta silk, and a decision was made the following morning. It was such a special moment to share together. I wore the Kyha gown during the ceremony, cocktail hour and dinner, then changed into a made-to-order Natalie Rolt dress from their archive collection for dancing.
Tyler’s style is very classic, he opted for a timeless BOSS tuxedo suit with shawl lapels crafted in serge-woven cloth.
The groomsmen matched Tyler’s black-tie attire and the bridesmaids were in ivory Shona Joy.
Favourite moments.
The entire day! I loved the ceremony, as it was the moment I made a vow in front of our favourite people and married the love of my life. We will also be forever humbled by the amount of love and effort that we received from our guests who had travelled from five different continents. It may not have been a specific moment but to share our day with all our favourite people in the world was such a priceless feeling that I will forever cherish.
Meaning of marriage.
Tyler – Marriage means being able to spend the rest of my life with the one person that I love.
Wedding soundtrack.
Aisle: Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel (Played by String Quartet)
Recessional: Viva La Vida by Coldplay
Reception Entry: This Will Be (an everlasting love) by Natalie Cole.
First dance: Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie.
Funny stories or near disasters.
Classic Auckland summer; it was torrential rain the day prior during our rehearsal and much the same during our recovery drinks on NYE the following afternoon/evening at Cable Bay. Although not a single drop of rain and sunshine on our wedding day so we were ridiculously lucky!
Planning surprises.
We found it quite surprising how well in advance you had to secure vendors! Mudbrick’s wedding calendar for example was booked two years in advance for the desired summer dates.
Words of wisdom.
Tyler and I initially agreed that we would only have wedding-related chat two times a week, otherwise he knew that I would get irritating (haha). On nights spent planning, we would do it over a glass of wine with our favourite playlist in the background, or even incorporate it with our dinner dates. Collaborated notes, checklists and noting important dates and deadlines on my calendar were also very useful.
Choose your vendors wisely, ones that you can trust. This will reduce so much stress both during the planning and on the wedding day itself. Embrace the wedding planning season and try and romanticise it! It is such a special time and I genuinely miss it.
Tyler and Alexandria had the weather gods on their side for their big day, but that’s not always the case. When it comes to turning a bad weather forecast into a dream day, we’ve got some tips and tricks under our umbrella. Read up about them here.
TYLER AND ALEXANDRIA’S VENDORS
Social media and word of mouth were the two main resources for me. New Zealand has quite a tight-knit wedding industry, so it was easy to source vendors via other vendors, and Instagram tags were very well utilised. In regards to finding inspiration, it is part of my personality and preference to branch out beyond the local “norm” so international blogs and magazines such as Ivory Tribe, The Wed, and The Bridal Journey became my weekly-reads. I also loved the You&Me podcast, the girls Andie and Laura definitely made my daily-walks more fun and leisurely.
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Mudbrick, Waiheke Island
Celebrant: Hadley Taylor
Photography & Videography: Grey Area
Styling and Florist: Blush
Hair: Amanda Preston Hair
Make-up: Phoebe Watt
The dresses: Kyha & Natalie Rolt
Veil: Kyha
Shoes: Jimmy Choo & BOSS
Rings: Cartier
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Shona Joy
Suits & bow ties / ties: BOSS
Catering: Mudbrick
Bar: Mudbrick & Veuve Clicquot
Cake: Lilith Waiheke
Stationery / Signage: Adriaana Zareian Design, Nel & Nui
Entertainment: Real Entertainment String Quartet, Mix it DJ
Transport: Fullers Charters
Décor: Blush
Hire: Island Collection for the champagne tower
Honeymoon: European Summer 2024
