Christchurch Winter Wedding – Melton Estate – Venue – Mark & Juliette
Melton Estate Wedding venue was set to be the location for the wedding celebrations for Mark and Juliette’s wedding, and to kick the day off, the preparations started in Christchurch where both the bride, groom and their entourage got ready. The winter weather played along well. Having had snow flurries to sea level the previous night, the morning brought some warm weather which melted the bit of snow that had settled on the ground. The rest of the day had mixed spells of sunshine and cloudy periods with a cool wintry breeze in the air.
Bride Getting Ready – Chateau On the Park Hotel
Juliette’s sister (also the maid of honor) had surprised the Bride with a nights stay at the Presidential Suite at the Chateau on the Park for the night before the wedding. Juliette had been feeling quite sick in the week leading up to the wedding, so it was definitely exactly what she needed, a nice relaxing and restful night before the big day. So the rest of the girls joined them there the morning of the wedding and got ready at the hotel. We had the pleasure of working alongside Ashleigh Jane Makeup & Hair Artistry again, Ash did all the girls make-up and also the bride’s hair (I had the lovely Ashleigh do the hair and makeup for my own wedding) She’s super speedy at what she does and does an incredible job without compromising the quality of her work and I would highly recommend her for your wedding hair and makeup. The Bridesmaids’ hair was styled by Louisa Clarkson who also did an outstanding job on the girls.
The girls looked stunning in their wedding attire.
The girls had a relaxing morning and were ready well within time and we even managed to get some photos around the hotel before leaving for the ceremony.
Groom Getting Ready
I left Oz in charge of the girls, while I went off to see the boys. Mark and his boys were getting ready at his parent place. Some of the boys had been out in the morning and had hot shaves, they were looking nice and smooth. Mark is one of the calmest and most relaxed Groom I’ve ever seen on the morning of the wedding. He was just going with the flow. We had a chilled time getting dressed. Juliette and Mark had some awesome gifts to give to not just his groomsmen but also his family and they both passed on these gifts while both parties were getting ready.
Wedding Ceremony – Presbyterian Church – Cashmere Hills
I made my way back to the girls just in time for them to be leaving the church. But instead of heading straight to the church, Juliette’s sister had organized another surprise, they are both figure skaters, along with two others from the bridal party, so we went to the ice skating rink on Brougham Street all dressed to the nines for the girls to go for a quick skate and some photos on the ice. The girls looked to be in their element and the bride was chuffed with the surprise and this just further brightened her day.
We then made our way up to the Presbyterian Church on the Cashmere Hills (One of the last remaining stone churches in Christchurch). The sun came out and was spilling some beautiful light through the stain glass window producing some beautiful backlighting for the wedding couple.
The ceremony was short and sweet and was conducted by a family friend and neighbor of Juliette’s family Rev David Coster.
Bridal Party Photos – Victoria Park – Port Hills
After getting through the wedding family group photos at the church which went seamlessly with the help of the siblings and their MC, we took the bridal party up to Victoria Park. We had woken up in the morning to a small amount of snow on the ground, but that cleared through the day with the sun coming out. There were some beautiful spots and some lovely late afternoon light which worked beautifully with our timing to go up the hill. Despite the cold late afternoon wintry breeze, the girls and guys braved the cold and put on their summer faces for the wedding photos. The bridal party had two classic cars, a black London cab, and a turquoise Impala which were both immaculately groomed. The shoot up on the hill was filled with playful moments which kept everyone entertained and everybody had an awesome time.
Reception – Melton Estate Wedding Venue
We then made our way to Melton Estate Wedding venue for the reception where the guests had started gathering.
Melton Estate Wedding venue is situated 30 minutes from Christchurch. It is a Boutique Winery, Restaurant and Event Venue with weddings being one of their biggest crowd pullers. Hiring Melton Estate for your wedding gives you use of indoor and outdoor areas which include an outdoor chapel and the Banquet room. For more information on Melton Estate Wedding Venue visit www.meltonestate.co.nz and the lovely owner and wedding coordinator Tracy Caunter will look after you.
Juliette’s sister really had pulled out all the stops on this memorable day and had so many surprises for the Bride and Groom. We arrived at Melton estate to the view of a beautifully big lit up LOVE sign from Cressy Lane outside in the pavilion. The bridal party was welcomed in by their MC Dan, they all had dinner straight away, then it was onto some heart-warming speeches.
Wedding speeches have surely become one of the highlight moments
that I now look forward to at every wedding I go to.
The bride and groom were then joined by their guests for their first dance out in the pavilion in front of the LOVE sign. We finished our night with a few photos with the bride and groom out the front in front of the Melton sign in the cool evening air. It was definitely a challenging day with the weather not being the warmest, but we had a blast and can’t wait to share more with you.
Mark and Juliette, congratulation once again and we wish you both all the best in your new journey as husband and wife.
View Mark and Juliette’s Wedding Album design
– Wedding Photographers Christchurch
Catering – Melton Estate
Hair and Makeup for Bride – Ashleigh Jane Makeup & Hair Artistry
Makeup for Bridesmaids – Ashleigh Jane Makeup & Hair Artistry
Hair for Bridesmaids – Louisa Clarkson
Videography – http://www.jdsmit.co.nz
Ceremony Venue – http://www.cashmerechurch.org.nz
Girl getting ready – Chateau on the Park