Morgan and Ryan

Morgan and Ryan

Do you remember our runner up Morgan in our Rock Your Frock with Henry Roth competition? (See her board here and our winner announcement here). Well while Morgan came second, she was still lovely enough to share her gorgeous wedding day with us!

Morgan and Ryan shared the most beautiful details with us, so I want to let them tell their story. First up, it’s Ryan!. “We were engaged on October 2 2008, Morgan’s 25^th birthday.  We were in a long distance relationship at the time and Ryan surprised Morgan by flying from his home in Adelaide to Brisbane where she was studying Medicine, and proposing on top of Brisbane’s Storey Bridge.   There were a few tears and a lot of smiles and the answer was a resounding ‘yes’.

We decided right away to get married in New Zealand and after months of searching decided to host our ceremony at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Devonport and reception at The Wharf in Northcote Point – both on Auckland’s North Shore.   We chose Devonport because it was where Morgan was born, and Holy Trinity Church because Morgan’s paternal grandparents attended there, and as they are no longer with us it was important to commemorate them in a special way.

We wanted our day to be about the union of the two of us, and the creation of our new family, and as part of that – a reflection of who we are and the people and places that had made us into the people we are – the two people who chose to spend the rest of their lives together.   From the outset, planning the wedding became an exciting challenge of incorporating special elements of our lives into each aspect of the day.  We never imagined just how special it would be.

We chose early on to use Navy ribbon tied in bows as a continued theme, representing the union of Ryan and Morgan, The Edwards’ and The Kelly’s and New Zealand and Australia.  In the end it became very ubiquitous – from the boys’ buttonholes to candle centrepieces and flower arrangements and giant navy and white striped table runners on the top table!”

Ryan and his groomsmen wore morning suits with cravats. Morgan is a big Pride and Prejudice fan, so Ryan and his mother made cravats to surprise her on the day.

Morgan says “We both love stationery and this was a hugely important element to us. My bridesmaid Natalie is a graphic designer and so we worked with her to design something classic but with a modern edge.  We decided early on to use a black and white sketch outline of the map of NZ and Australia as the ‘logo’ of our wedding, and our fonts perfectly represented the old and the new (Scriptina and Mrs Eaves, respectively).

Our invites were held together by adhesive labels bearing our NZ/Australia Map emblem, and each piece of stationery not only bore the emblem but was also tied with our signature navy+white wedding ribbon.” A Paloma’s Nest ring bowl held the rings and was stamped with the lyrics of Ryan’s favourite song “Everlong” by The Foo Fighters – along with the wedding date: “The only thing I’ll ever ask of you 27.11.09“. The flowers (tied with navy and white stripe ribbon) were designed by Pick Me Florist. Morgan wore “Something Blue” Manolo Blahnik heels to keep with her blue theme.

Morgan’s dress was created by Emily Percy.  The mermaid style gown had four navy bows down the back, inspired by a vintage Chanel design. Morgan asked each of her bridesmaids to wear a floor length navy gown.

Morgan says “The jewellery we all wore was incredibly special for me.   Both of my grandmothers have passed away and I miss them dearly, and decided early on that I wanted to wear a piece of jewellery from each of them.  Fortunately for me they were both very elegant women! I chose Sapphire costume jewellery earrings from my maternal grandma ‘Mumsmum’ (which were screw-on, ouch!) and I wore my paternal grandma ‘Gramzils’ rosary beads tied around my wrist as a bracelet.

My 5 bridesmaids are my 5 best childhood friends, all from Auckland.  I had them made pearl necklaces by a seller on Etsy called Cleobelle.  To commemorate both of my grandfathers, as well as Ryan’s Grandfather and Gran, and to remind everyone of the loyal and fighting spirit that unites NZ and Australia, I had Nikki at Cleobelle put ANZAC poppies on each of the necklaces.  Ryan’s Gran was the only grandparent at the ceremony, and it was such a special moment to look over at her and see tears in her eyes as she read about the significance of the necklaces.”

Morgan and Ryan wed in Holy Trinity Anglican Church in, Devonport, Auckland. Morgan says “My biggest surprise for Ryan on the day was having two of our best friends perform his favourite song Everlong as our processional song.  It was the first detail I decided on and I have no idea how I kept it a secret for 14 months.  The second I heard Andy strum the first note, my heart just melted. I was an absolute mess from then on in.

I was walked down the aisle by both of my Dads – stepdad Barry and my Dad Dennis.  The two of them are great friends, and it was special to acknowledge the incredible significant role they have both played in my life.  I drove to the Church with Dad, and Barry got me out of the car.  I am very blessed to have two such amazing men in my life.

It was very important for us to acknowledge our mothers.  My Mum Coraleen, stepmum Donna, and Ryan’s mum Joylene were walked down the aisle by their sons to ‘Pokarekare Ana’ by Margaret Urlich.  Mum and I chose the song as it has very special meaning for us, and we listened to it a lot before the big day – to reduce the chance that we’d cry when we heard it (completely futile of course).”

Check back this afternoon for Morgan and Ryan’s stunning Auckland harbour side wedding photos!

Photos by Lauren Indrisie Photography