Josephine née Greer (the managing director of Nutrition & Life) and David Sutton (winemaker and general manager of Te Kano Estate) tied the knot in Central Otago.
The couple chose to make the most of their Bannockburn location, the heart of the wine region surrounded by good wine and rolling golden hills.
Everything on the day had a personal touch, with many of the 130 guests helping to put the day together. “Literally everything from the signwriting and decorating to the drinks and music were donated or homemade, and it is a testament to how good friends will be there when you need them in your life,” they say.
Venue
Central Otago has an abundance of beautiful and historic halls, each run locally by a hall committee and generally very affordable. They get used for everything from weddings and wakes to flower arranging and ping pong nights! “We chose the Bannockburn Church and Coronation Hall because they are in the heart of the wine country, in a very beautiful and historic spot, and gave us total freedom to invite as many people as we wanted.
“We didn’t want to start culling people from the invite list because the venue was too small or charged per person, so we went for an expansive space with complete freedom to structure the day our way. We have both travelled extensively, and have a huge group of wonderful friends and family from around the world – and we wanted them all to share the moment with us.”
Ceremony
“It was beautiful. We wrote our vows and although Jo left them in the car, we managed to stumble our way through! The hardest part was keeping the tears at bay – it was such an emotional experience to be telling the person you love the most in the world that you will always be there for them, in the presence of your closest friends and loved ones.
Our beautiful friend Alison officiated for us. She is a hardnosed whip cracking bundle of energy, and as well as knowing us inside and out, we knew she had what it took to tackle unexpected issues and pull everyone into line when needed.”
The dress
Josephine chose a dress from Juliette Hogan’s bridal range: “Being fair, white was a bit stark for me and the gold was perfect. I loved how light and easy it was to wear on a hot summer’s day. I felt so comfortable and elegant and that is exactly how I wanted to feel on my wedding day. It was also the perfect colour against the Central Otago golden summer grass.”
The kilt
Dave chose Southern Lakes Tartan for his kilt, designed by Wanaka legend Shona Johnstone and registered with the Tartan Registry in Scotland. Inspired by the snow-capped peaks, golden tussock and soft blue lakes of Central Otago, this tartan is as grounded and connected with the area as it is possible to be. The fabric was woven into kilt from by ‘Just Kilts’ in Mosgiel.
Accessories
Josephine’s ring was made by a local jeweller Rainer Beneke from Lure Studio Dunedin: “I wore my late grandma Peg’s broad-brimmed Italian hat, my family took it to be repaired for the special day. If I think back to my grandma’s style she was always in a hat and sunglasses and she was an incredibly graceful and kind person. I aspire to be like her so it was nice to have something of hers with me on the day. Dave’s ring was from the local jeweller in Alexandra, Jaime’s. They are completely different, just like the two of us.”
Reception
“We kept it very simple. Our wonderful friends foraged eucalyptus leaves for the tables and strung the fairy lights, and we rented linen napkins for each table place. All the glassware, cutlery and plates either came from the Hall or we bought them from the local recycling centre in Alexandra. The food was a team effort, with meat on the spit and salads all catered by guests. The local hockey club ran the table service and drinks throughout the day to fundraise. We just let our hair down and partied! Bubbles flowed and lots of hugs and kisses were shared.”
The cake
Josephine’s sister Juliet (who runs Instagram account Monday Cakes) made an incredible elderflower and lemon cake with elderflower cream icing and lemon curd. “We spent weeks picking prickly elderflower for cordial before the wedding, and as well as pouring it into the cake batter we served elderflower sparkles for the kids and elderflower gin fizz for the adults.”
Music
“Well, you could say it was eclectic! I walked up the aisle to ‘Waves’ by Mr Probz, and we walked out to the dancy remix of the same song. Our first dance was to ‘Flashed Junk Mind’ by Milky Chance. We broke the mould a little with the wedding music, several of our guests are DJs and dabbled with a selection of classic Kiwi foot-stomper drifting into some pretty hardcore electro at times!”
Favourite moment
“Our favourite moment was after we walked down the aisle as Mr and Mrs Sutton out of the churchyard. We stole a private kiss to ourselves before the crowd came to congratulate us and that was so grounding to have a moment alone.”
Photographer
“We used Kate Roberger for the photography – she is a local and came highly recommended by several skilled photographers we know personally, and we just loved her positive and bouncy energy. Our portraits were taken at the original Bannockburn settlement of Stewart Town, just up the road from the Hall.”
