Real Weddings

Elle and Matt
Mantells

Photography by Kouki Photography NZ

“We met soon after Matt arrived in Auckland from the UK to start a new job. He went straight onto Bumble (obviously had his priorities right) and matched with me. By this point, I, having just returned to NZ after a three-year stint in Amsterdam, had already swiped past all the men in a 30km radius. There was a definite spark when we chatted to one another, so we decided to meet the following day. It ended up being Matt’s first and last first date in Auckland. After nine months, we decided to move in together and bought our own home. The proposal happened in Queenstown, during a trip we took for Matt’s birthday. On the morning of it, we visited the Onsen Hot Pools, where he ended up popping the question. We’ve always loved travelling together, from Budapest to Hawaii, so it was another incredible moment to add to our many holidays. Planning the wedding was quite a challenge because Matt’s family was in the UK and unable to travel due to restrictions. I don’t think anyone ever imagines getting married without their loved ones there. It took us around three months to plan the wedding because we didn’t have to account for overseas guests. There was a toss-up between an outdoor forest theme with tons of fairy lights and a beachier setting. In the end, the food was a solid deciding factor for us, and we went with the first venue we saw: Mantells. Once we had that settled, everything else just seemed to fall in place. I spent tons of time every evening making menu cards, table charts and decorations, as well as practising my make-up for the big day. Matt enjoyed putting his outfit together, choosing ceremony songs and writing his vows (which were the perfect mix of romantic and funny). We both put in a lot of time, effort and care into our wedding day to make it truly special. My personal highlight was when we learned our first dance together. I also prepared a flash mob dance during the cocktail hour to surprise Matt with - it was so much fun.”

Thanks to all the contributing vendors:

Photography: Kouki Photography NZ
Venue: Mantells, Mt Eden
Videography: Tino Videography
DJ: DJ Sanz
Celebrant: Mattie Wall