At Wild Hearts, we are so fortunate to work alongside the nation’s top creatives in the wedding industry. They work so hard to help to create their client’s dream day and they are an endless source of inspiration for us. With so much talent behind these brands, we are spotlighting some of our favourites and sharing their insights.
This week we chat to the lovely Meg of oli + ivory, creators of luxe wedding magazines which extend the life of your wedding photos. We think wedding zines are a gorgeous way to fully utilise your snaps and the budget you’ve likely allocated to photography.
Having a visual narrative of your day on your coffee table or shelf means that you can relive the emotive, tender peaks of your day over again. Meg is a graphic designer and photographer herself, and we can confirm that oli + ivory wedding zines are refined, have a high-end finish and are utterly swoon-worthy. We should add that having one on your coffee table will have you feeling like a celebrity too…
Scroll below for insights from Meg, and let her help you to curate your story.
To start, tell us about your business and how it was born?
Oli + Ivory was born from a friend of mine wanting something different and unique for her wedding photos. It really has grown quite organically from there. I have always loved the romance of all aspects of the wedding industry, dabbling in wedding photography myself at times. Being a graphic designer by trade and also utilising skills from photography, it has been the perfect synergy.
From where do you draw your inspiration? Any specific artists, musicians or designers etc
I draw inspiration from everywhere. Nature, light, interior design, epic graphic design whether it be online or packaging. Anything to make me think outside of the box creatively. I am a sucker for book design or anything tangible. I am the first to pick up that book or business card and feel the texture of the paper, ink, embossing, you name it. My wallet is always full of weird print pieces.
What is something you have been reading, listening to or watching lately?
I think I would probably have to be the typical millennial when I say I’m terrible at listening to new music. Any throwback playlist on spotify from the 90’s-00’s is my jam! I’ve currently been reading the Choice by Edith Eger, if you haven’t read it you definitely should! I’ve actually just started Friends on Netflix, so that must be the 100th time I’ve seen the show?!
How many images can be featured in a wedding magazine? Do you do the full design for it?
Anywhere up to 450 images can go into our 200page bespoke wedding magazine and 250 into our 96page bespoke wedding magazine. We can either curate these images for you for an added cost, or you choose them and send them to us. We do all of the curating and design for all bespoke magazines, from start to finish.
Tell us about the process from start to finish on creating a wedding magazine?
There are 2 kinds of wedding magazines, the elopement magazine 96 pages, and the wedding magazine 200pages. Once the client has chosen which option they prefer they can then choose their quantity. It is really important to make sure you choose the right quantity as the big cost for printing is the set up fee so basically the more you order the more cost effective it is. The client provides their wedding photos, we can either cull their entire album down for an added cost or they can do this themselves. I do find sometimes it is really hard to cull down your own photo’s so sometimes having another pair of eyes in there is really good. Once we receive their photos, vows and/or readings, name of their venue or any specific details to where their photos were taken we can then begin the design process. The bespoke magazine is in chronological order and covers the entire wedding day from start to finish, adding in their extra details which are perfectly designed to align with their photos. Usually we add in colour, this is usually depicted by the bridesmaids dresses and gives the bespoke magazine that extra pop! Proofing usually takes about 6 weeks, there are 3 revision rounds if they are needed and then once we have the sign off from the client/couple it is straight to the printer which usually you need to allow between 5-10 working days. Once they are back from the printer we box them up in some beautiful tissue paper and courier them directly to the client/couple, free delivery within NZ.
What are your favourite images on a wedding day? Which ones make your heart sing?
It would definitely have to be the ceremony that gets me choked up every time! You can always see how much emotion there is for all parties on the day. The dinner ones are also great, everyone has let loose after all the build up of the day and you can just see that everyone is having a great time and relaxing!
Tell us about your wedding day? We know you got married earlier this year before COVID took over, what were the highlights from your day?
Oh it was just the most perfect day! People always say that, but it truly was! We had about 90% of our guests coming in from overseas so we were so incredibly lucky to be able to have our wedding before the craziness of COVID started. We got married at Cardrona Hotel down south, it is my husbands favourite NZ pub and Wanaka is one of my favourite places so it was a no brainer really! I was lucky enough to have a friend of mine from design school who was our photographer and he is the absolute bomb, he captured the day so well. We did our bridal party shots before the ceremony and honestly it was just so good getting to spend time with everyone before the wedding, and especially spend time with my husband to be. It meant that after our ceremony we didn’t have to leave the venue and could enjoy every minute with our guests. There were so many highlights from the day but the dinner and speeches would have to be one. Also, we kept our first dance song a secret so when Moonshine-Savage came on our friends absolutely lost it and it was the best way to get the D-Floor pumping!
What advice would you give others planning their wedding days?
Set a realistic budget. Listen and trust your vendors, they are there to help make your day the best it can be – give them as much information as possible. A photographer will be one of the biggest expenses on the day but it really is so worth it, you will have your photos forever! I’m a planner and it made everything a lot easier using spreadsheets, and then over the weekend I gave the parents/bridal party/future husband a daily schedule of where people needed to be, it was much easier to delegate as there is just so much going on!
Why do you think having tangible memories (in the form of a magazine) are so important?
I find most people don’t know what to do with ALL of their wedding photos. Other than one album that can be really expensive, there’s not many options to have a tangible product that they can buy for their family and friends. Having a Bespoke Wedding Magazine is the perfect answer for that. While it still needs care and to be looked after like an album, it is the perfect piece for your home and doesn’t take up much room. It holds onto all of the memories of your wedding day in the ease of a luxe magazine.
We are excited to have Oli + Ivory as part of our Wild Hearts Vendor Collection. Check out more of their stunning wedding magazines here and to get in touch, head over to their website www.oliandivory.com
You can follow Oli + Ivory on Instagram at @oli_and_ivory and on Facebook.
