When your husband-to-be is a professional rugby union player and three of your bridesmaids are pregnant, picking the perfect wedding date can be a little tricky, yet Tamie McLachlan and Adam Freier managed to tie the knot four days before the 12 year anniversary of their first date.
Adam proposed to his high school sweetheart on bended knee on Christmas Eve 2008, presenting her with a custom made diamond ring at the exact location where the couple first kissed. "He had hired out the entire room and surprised me with chilled champagne on a table for two on the dance floor," Tamie said.
The couple flew to Fiji for a pre-wedding honeymoon two weeks prior to their nuptials, and Tamie said it proved the perfect escape. "It was really special for the two of us to spend some time together and relax while getting excited for the big day."
Tamie will never forget the moment she stood with her Dad at the entrance to the church just before they walked down the aisle.
"Our vows were also a touching moment and really emotional as we literally didn't take our eyes off each other and it really felt like we were the only two people in the church," she said.
Tamie truly glowed at the ceremony in her backless all-over lace gown. "I was very cautious of having a dress that I would have to pull up or worry about on the day, and I fell in love with the cut - particularly the back of the dress - and how comfortable I felt in it."
As an interior designer, Tamie is a big fan of the modern crispness of white, and the colour scheme also flowed to the bridesmaids' dresses, the shasta daisy bouquets, and the stunning waterside reception.
"We really thought long and hard about our favourite things; food, wine, locations, music, and made sure that it was all included in the day. Adam and I are lunch people and love great food, wine and an amazing view so our restaurant was the perfect location for us," she explained.
"We have been to so many friends' weddings that I think we had both slowly worked out a checklist of what we loved and what we wanted our day to be like for ourselves and our guests. The wedding day itself was absolutely magical - and more than we could have imagined."
Finer details
Carrying a beautifully soft bouquet of daisies and pierus, Tamie also wore a charming circlet of daisies in her hair.
At the entrance to the reception, a vintage flower stand displayed white enamel buckets filled with bunches of flowers wrapped in brown paper; these flowers were Tamie and Adam’s ‘thank you’ gifts for all of their guests to take with them after the celebrations.
An old vintage wheelbarrow full of greenery and old timber crates also decorated the entrance.
The custom designed invitations, wrapped in a raw twine bow, featured a stamp with Tamie and Adam’s names on it as well as the date of the wedding.
The envelopes were a recycled brown paper with gold twine stitching along the top; this detail was then carried through to the menu cards.
In a statement of style, no two reception tables were exactly the same. Covered in hessian material, each table displayed a collection of different sized vintage vases and jam jars for the white flowers as well as different bread boards and old bread knives.
In contrast to the strong industrial table numbers, cutlery was wrapped in soft lace.
