While the uncertainty of the pandemic-world may have halted many wedding plans, for Braelee and Jordan, it did the opposite. With restrictions on travel and guest list sizes, they jumped at the chance to have their dream wedding – a small, intimate micro-wedding in the picturesque mountainscapes of Jack’s Point, Queenstown.
While scrolling our Directory, Braelee came across The Lovers Elopement Co, a collective of stunning wedding creatives that curate elopements for the wild at heart. They’re seekers of wild landscapes, raw emotion and the soft moments amongst the energy. While Braelee and Jordan may have originally anticipated they’d have a few more guests, The Lovers Elopement Co helped them to seamlessly achieve their wedding goals and to highlight their commitment.
Gypsy from The Vase (and resident florist for The Lovers Elopement Co), created Braelee’s botanical sentiments which were whimsical, tender and modern, with lockets of loved ones tethered to the streaming ribbons. Carrying the whimsical theme and adding a touch of boho charm was Braelee’s dress by Spell – extra movement in the sleeves, a subtle tiered skirt and bouts of lace.
Dreamy elopement evidence captured by Dawn Thomson Photography and Woven Images – The Lovers Elopement Co imagery specialists. A fusion of romance and wonderment below.
How did you meet and how long have you been together?
Jordan and I met through mutual friends, meaning my sister and I met Jordan’s brother in Western Australia. After many years I decided to add Jordan on Facebook, not knowing that I had already met his brother around 5 years before we made our first connection. Who would have known back then I would fall in love with a Kiwi I added on Facebook.
Jordan and I have been together nearly 4 years now. It was 3 and half when we got married.
How would you describe each other?
Jordan is caring, compassionate, hardworking and has a great sense of humor. He has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone.
Braelee is an amazing person, with a very kind and easy going personality. She is the most beautiful person I know spiritually and physically. I have never felt so accepted and comfortable around someone before, and she brings the best out in me. She is talented at her job and anything she sets her mind on, including cooking. She is always supportive of what I do. And that is why I love her.
Tell us a little bit about the proposal and your engagement?
Early one Saturday morning I went over to Jordan’s house and he said he just had to pop into town quickly and asked if I could stay at home. I was a little suspicious as we had been talking about getting engaged and had been looking at rings. When he got back home, he went and changed into his nice jeans so my mind started going crazy. He asked if we wanted to take the dog, Axel, to the beach near his house. We hopped into his Land Cruiser and drove off to the beach, we were playing around with Axel, throwing sticks and playing tug of war. Then before I knew it there was Jordan, down on one knee with his good jeans in the sand asking me if I would marry him. Of course I said yes! As soon as he stood up I was brushing the sand off his knees, I was clearly not worried about the ring being on my finger. It is a moment we will both never forget.
Tell us about your wedding style. What influenced your planning for the day?
We decided on a very intimate wedding, a boho chic style with amazing views that really portrayed who we are as a couple. Because of Covid-19, we decided it was the perfect chance to have the wedding we had both talked about for a while.
My family is all in Australia, and knowing what other couples had been through, having to postpone what is meant to be their special day, and the unknown of when the New Zealand boarders would open to Australia, we decided to elope.
While having a small wedding with immediate family and close friends was always our dream, we decided to make our special day all about us. So we headed to Queenstown with our two witnesses and The Lovers Elopement Co – we let love and passion do the rest.
Why did you choose your destination?
We Chose Queenstown for a couple of reasons, the first being it was where we had our first ‘holiday’ together with both our parents / our second date as we like to call it (another 10 day date). It is also where we began to really fall in love with each other. Queenstown really showed us each other and the love we both have for adventure and anything involving a little bit of adrenaline. We both have a love for the mountains and water, so that also made Queenstown our ideal location.
When it came to choosing the exact wedding location, Dawn and Gypsy (The Lovers Elopement Co) asked us if we had a location in mind. As we are not locals, we left them with the idea of lake and mountain views. When they suggested Jacks Point, we quickly had a look online and fell in love with the views, we knew that it was the perfect place to get married.
When we arrived to the private area overlooking lake Wakatipu and Bayonet Peaks with The Remarkables on the other side, it was like a 360 degree fairytale. Our wedding location at Jacks Point was the most incredible place to say I do to your best friend. Even more incredible when you both have a love for adventuring on the mountains and in/on the water, we were surrounded by love everywhere.
What was your favourite moment from the day?
Our favourite moment from our wedding day is hard to separate out from all of the amazing moments that we experienced on our wedding day. If we had to pick one specific moment it would be the tiniest but greatest moment of all, when our celebrant declared us husband and wife.
What does marriage mean to you?
Marriage to us means that we get to continue to choose and love each other every day. We are now joined through love by law, and spirituality in which we can continue to uplift and encourage one another through life. Marriage to us is hard to really define in words, because to us it is also about the passion and connection we will continue to develop as life’s experiences come our way.
Who were your stand out vendors?
Honestly the entire team behind The Lovers Elopement co would be our stand out vendors, they all have a special place in our hearts now. They made our dream come true and we can honestly not say that with more truth and joy. They are all so talented in their own area of the wedding industry and are just gorgeous people to work with and now to know. We would not have been able to achieve our dream without them and now we have such amazing memories, videos, photos and florals to cherish forever. We do need to give a special mention to our celebrant Charlotte. WOW! Honestly she blew us away on our special day and blew away our family and friends who were watching our ceremony via zoom, or whom have since seen our wedding video. She performed our entire ceremony without an iPad or notes and to us, it meant that it all came from the heart. We still have people commenting on how amazing Charlotte was, and to this day I can still hear her voice and words officiating our wedding day. Charlotte really allowed everything to come together; she set the mood perfectly, gave us the best experience ever, and she showcased the love between us, family and friends and the love that we have with God exactly right.
Advice for other couples planning a wedding?
If you have a dream go for it. Do not let anyone or anything stop you from achieving it. Jordan and I had always dreamed of a small wedding (although not quite this small!) somewhere amazing and away from our home life, and it honestly is the best decision we ever made to elope to Queenstown.
Always listen to your heart, your dreams and each other, after all your wedding day simply comes down to the union of the two of you, don’t worry about what everyone else may want or what others might say. Simply make your dreams a reality.
Do you have a favourite quote or piece of your vows you would like to share?
Our favourite quote is from our celebrant Charlotte. “What is important is not just the wedding, but the marriage that you are about to create. Now your marriage isn’t just a legal connection, it’s a physical, emotional and spiritual one. And in marriage today you will commit to strengthening, supporting, comforting and encouraging one another every single day for the rest of your lives, and by doing that you create your own family, safe warm and calm for the two of you.”
|| CREDITS ||
Planning & Styling: The Lovers Elopement Co | Photography: Dawn Thomson Photography | Florals: The Vase | Videography: Woven Images | Bride’s Gown: Spell altered by Design A Bride | Veil: made by Braelee | Bride’s Shoes: The Bali Tailor | Hair: Beautiful Bridal Hair | Makeup: J.E.T Makeup | Bride’s Rings: Byers Jewellers | Bride’s Nails: Nail Designs by Kirsty | Grooms Suit: Barkers | Groom’s Shoes & Belt: RM Williams from Kingsway | Groom’s Tie: Mustard Seed by Kelly | Groom’s Ring: Simply Suave | Ring Box: Kulour | Stationery: BrideO | Celebrant: Your Big Day | Ceremony Venue: Jack’s Point
We are excited to have The Lovers Elopement Co as part of our exclusive Wild Hearts Vendor Collection. Check out more of their stunning elopements here and follow them on Instagram @theloverselopementco.
For an insight into The Lovers Elopement Co, head over to our Brand Series Volume 1, which features two of the Lovers’ creatives, Dawn and Gypsy.
Words by Isabelle McKay.
