Real weddings: Amy-Rose Goulding and Ben Robertson

30 June 2016

By Fashion Quarterly

Designer Amy-Rose Goulding married marine biologist Ben Robertson in a pretty garden wedding in Nelson.

Here, Amy-Rose shares the details of their big day:

LOCATION
The wedding was held at my family home at Glenduan beach, Nelson, where my mother Flavia has spent endless hours over the years creating an amazing native garden. During the ceremony Ben and I exchanged Gordonia trees – one to be planted at each of our parents’ houses. Inside the house, my father Jim did some serious re-arranging to accommodate our 80 guests for the reception. It felt like a big family dinner, which is exactly what we wanted.

DRESS
I designed a bespoke Julian Danger dress for myself, made from 45 metres of crepe de chine silk, and silk chiffon. One of my close colleagues in China made my dress and actually gave it to me as a wedding gift, which made it even more special. It was amazing to wear – the long, bell sleeves were super dramatic and fun and I put a split in the front for ease of walking and dancing, which paid off on the dance floor!

ACCESSORIES
I wore a locket handed down to me from my grandmother, simple gold studs, a gold bangle that my twin brother Julian gave me for our 30th birthdays, Senso Neave heels, and gypsophila in my hair.

BRIDAL PARTY
My two bridesmaids wore new-season Julian Danger. Molly wore a jumpsuit with long bell sleeves and a cute frill around the leg, and Miriam wore a simple V-neck dress with subtle seam details down the front. Both garments were in a gorgeous, dusty, duck-egg blue. My brother Julian, who is also Ben’s very close friend, was the best man.

FLOWERS
We went for a bohemian, rustic vibe. We got a lot of the flowers from my mother’s garden, and my mother-in-law, Maz, and sister-in-law, Jodie, put all of the table flowers and bouquets together.

RINGS
My engagement ring and our wedding rings are a set of three – all yellow gold and diamonds. They were designed by Ben and made by a jeweller in Hong Kong.

PHOTOGRAPHER
Our guests Chris Mitchell (a Wellington graphic designer) and Jane Miles (a Nelson photographer) took the photos for us.

CAKE
Local cake-maker Wendy King-Turner made us a coconut cake with butter cream and lemon curd fillings, with white chocolate ganache and coconut.

MUSIC
We made a great Spotify playlist with all the old classics. Later into the night a guest, Virginia O’Connor, jumped on the piano to play some ballads and requests.

FAVOURITE MOMENT
Getting married! And spending the afternoon relaxing and drinking champagne in the garden with our friends and family. We also had so many great speeches. They were very comical and relaxed, and added a lot to the day.