When Mel moved from Christchurch to Auckland looking for a change, she wasn’t expecting to find love so quickly.
“I thought I would wait a while before I started dating to give myself a chance to settle in. After two weeks, I thought, What’s the harm in seeing what’s out there!’. I signed up, and within a week, Tom and I matched and started talking. Short messages turned into novels, and we both felt a strong connection and shared similar values and goals for the future.”
Their relationship grew and strengthened after supporting each other through a difficult loss, and the couple soon realised what they had was something special.
After having to reschedule a trip around the South Island due to COVID, they headed off for a getaway to Queenstown, where Mel was in for a surprise. “We flew down for the weekend and got into our hire car. We drove to a beautiful lookout, and I was surprised by Tom’s sudden urgency to fly up the hill (usually, I walk a lot faster than Tom). What I didn’t know, was that he was trying to find the perfect place to propose, and as I had got the last stop short, he was hoping this was the spot.
“When I met him at the top of the hill, I said, “The view would be better if we could actually see the tops of the mountains.” which immediately changed Tom’s mood (something that is hard to do!). I couldn’t understand why he was grumpy about my observations, so we headed back down to the car. Tom wanted to stop into a spot down by the lake. This time, while driving, he asked me to keep my thoughts to myself if I didn’t love what I saw. Again, very out of character for him! I nodded off to sleep on the drive, and when I woke, we were pulling up to a secluded spot by the lake.
“The weather was clearing, the sun started to shine, and the water was sparkling. I half stumbled out of the car and sat on the pebbles, still in the ‘I just woke up’ daze. Tom stood gazing at the mountains and asked me to dance with him (something we still do to this day, but usually in the kitchen!). I got up and took his hand; he hugged me tight and took a deep breath. I said, “We aren’t dancing…” to which he replied, “No… we aren’t”. He looked at me, told me how much he loved me and got down on one knee. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I said, “Yes!”.”
Mel and Tom married on February 1st, 2024 and chose to have a first look and private vow reading before the ceremony. “We wanted to do it this way so that we could spend more of our wedding day together and then be able to spend the cocktail hour later on with our loved ones – we didn’t want to miss any of the party! Our ceremony and reception were held at Glasshouse, which was an easy decision for us. From the first time I ever saw the venue online, I knew I wanted to get married there.”
Mel chose to wear a bespoke bridal gown, custom-made by Nazneen from Alter Me. After sharing her inspiration and talking through ideas, her dream dress was sketched and designed. “From here, I had several mock dress fittings and a couple of final dress fittings once we had it perfect.”
Whereas Tom was happy to wear anything, “Tom is 6’3 and a bigger guy, so does all his shopping at Johnny Bigg. Tom is a relaxed and fun person who is very chill, so we went for a look that matched his personality; he was stoked with the fit and felt like a dressed-up version of himself!
“While our colour scheme was rather neutral, I wanted pops of colour. Picking the bridesmaid’s dresses first ensured I could then add pops of blue to the decor without having too much. Our colour scheme was whites and neutrals, pops of blues and pinks.
We had giant glow sticks for the dancing, and everyone loved them! Sometimes, a little prop helps people get into the partying mood.”
The couple both agreed their first look was their favourite moment of the day. “Mel wanted to take a breath and take in the moment before I spun around, but as soon as I heard her footsteps stop, I turned around! She laughed and had to show me what I was supposed to wait for, her hand on my shoulder when she was ready. It was so funny; I just was too excited to wait any longer,” Tom shared.
Mel advises other couples on the wedding planning journey to just have fun and not to take it too seriously. “While planning our special day, we were often told how chill we were (even motivating others to start planning their weddings!). Tom and I are both pretty relaxed people, so we just made the most of the season.”
