Bree + Cam \\ Captured By Dawn Thomson Photography

Champagne Showers is more than just a pop hit from the early two-thousands when it comes to the engagement story of Cam and Bree.

After eight years of love and some seriously extensive world travel, Cam popped the question on the peak of a secluded mountain range in Australia. An absolutely perfect moment… until it came to sliding the ring on Bree’s finger. The altitude had made her hands so swollen, the pair had to soak her hands in champagne to squeeze the ring on!

Fast forward two years to the snow-capped mountains of Queenstown, where the pair decided this was the perfect destination to bring their wedding to life.

“We wanted something low-key, wild, romantic and fun – and for the views to be the main event”, says the couple.

Tussock Peak at the top of NZ High Country in Queenstown was the perfect venue for just this and the couple used their travels (in particular their LOVE for Mexican food) as inspiration for the style of their day. Set above the mountains with floral installations in wild earthy tones, beautifully created by Gypsy from The Vase – the styling complemented the dreamscape textures of the surrounding landscapes perfectly.

Gather & Gold provided softly lit teepee’s that brought back memories of the dining tents from their African safari and The Workroom caravan bar and Burrito Craft food truck brought fun, festival vibes to the evening.

You can see all the beautifully wild winter wedding vibes from Bre and Cam’s Queenstown Wedding captured by destination photographer Dawn Thomson Photography below and also in the latest Wild Hearts Magazine – available now from our online store.

How did you meet and how long have you been together?

We met through a mutual friend at a nightclub, in true 00’s fashion! We’ve been together for 10 years.

Tell us a little bit about the proposal and your engagement?

We were together for over 8 years before Cameron proposed, we had always spent our time and money on travelling together so it had never been our main priority. We’ve spent over a year travelling in South America, Central America, the US, NZ, Canada, Africa, South-East Asia and Europe and we find a mountain to climb in every country – so it kind of made sense that Cam proposed on a mountain (in Australia!). It was just us at the top of the mountain, quiet and perfect. Because of the altitude my hands were too swollen to get the ring on so we doused my hands in champagne to squeeze it on!

Tell us about your wedding style. What influenced your planning for the day?

Wild, Fun, Romantic, Chilled Out. We wanted something fairly simple – a patch of grass with a beautiful view, where we could eat Mexican food, and share the love with family and friends.
We wanted somewhere close by, somewhere beautiful, somewhere with snow-capped mountains 😉 – and we couldn’t think of anywhere that ticked these boxes better than Queenstown. We liked that NZ High Country was just a patch of grass with a beautiful view. It suited us as we could create something casual, something beautiful and not be tied to certain vendors or styles. My style and vision was to have something low-key, wild, romantic and fun. I wanted the views to be the main event. We loved the tipis because it reminded us of our dining tents on our African safari, as well as having a fun, festival vibe. Soft, ambient lighting, lots of rugs spread around, a mexican food truck (because we looooove mexican) and caravan bar so people could mingle, move, and eat/drink whenever they wanted. I didn’t want a lot of styling or florals, but what I did have, I wanted to be thoughtful/impactful. So to have two main focal pieces, the large hanging floral installation and the neon/floral installation – and then just bare scandi timber tables with one lantern on each – it wasn’t too fussy and just suited us down to the ground.

What was your favourite moment from the day?

Bree – I have two! Walking down the aisle and seeing Cameron waiting at the end (it was the moment I was most excited about in the lead up to our wedding), and at the very end of the night when there were just a handful of our friends left, and us, dancing, cuddling and drinking whiskey.

Cam – when Bree walked out and I saw her for the first time.

Why did you choose your destination?

We always envisioned getting married in the mountains – it’s our favourite place to be in the world. I’m half New Zealander and Queenstown just seemed the perfect, most beautiful spot to celebrate our wedding.

What was your favourite detail from the day?

The intimacy of the softly lit tipis, while the rain poured outside.

Did you have a stand out vendor from your Wedding?

It’s so hard to pick one because we worked with so many amazing vendors, but I loved Gypsy from The Vase Queenstown. She just created magic for us.

What does marriage mean to you?

Cam – two people who are always there for each other, through the good and the bad times. I want to marry her because she is my best friend, and I love her.

Bree – to me marriage means having a partner for life, someone who will always have your back, someone to come home to. Your husband is the family you choose yourself, and I traveling him. He is who I choose to start a family with, who I choose to make a home with, who I choose to have all my future adventures with, who I choose to have the good days with, and the bad days, and who I choose to grow old with. I want to be kind, thoughtful, loyal, and patient as a wife. I want us to prioritise each other, to always want to “fix the fight”, to never stop having fun, to never stop seeing the world, to never stop having adventures, to never stop climbing mountains, to never stop kissing and cuddling!

Advice for other couples planning a wedding?

Just to think about what’s really important to you and make those few things happen, everything else is just confetti. Make sure you have the wedding/celebration that suits who you are as a couple, no matter what anybody else thinks, or what instagram says is cool. Choose vendors that will make your lives easier! Don’t sweat the small stuff – there’s always going to be something that doesn’t go exactly to plan (it rained all day and night for our outdoor wedding!), so just ride the wave. Remember to take a step back during the night with your lover, watch everyone you love celebrating, and soak in the moment together.