Stuff's wedding of the week

Who knew a late-night loo stop could lead to love? It worked for Richard and Elena, who happened to meet at a bar on a hot summer's night in Tauranga.

After a romantic proposal in Queenstown, the couple were married amongst friends and loved ones in Auckland, and then took Hawaii "by storm" for their honeymoon.

But we'll let Elena tell the rest of their sweet story...

How did you meet? Richard and I met on a hot summer's night in Tauranga. I was living in Auckland and he was living in Kinloch (Taupo). I had been out all evening dancing the night away with a friend and we were on our way home when I desperately needed to go to the toilet. My friend stopped and I bolted into a bar on the main strip to use the bathroom. When I came out my friend had bought me a drink so we sat down outside to enjoy the live music and the warm air. A few minutes later a guy walked up to us and said "Hi, I'm Richard, can I join you ladies?" It was all over then - I was smitten.

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Tell us about the proposal: Richard is not the most romantic man in the world, but when he wants to be, he can out-do any Mr Darcy copy-cats. I woke up one Friday morning grumbling about going to work that day when Richard told me that I had 25 minutes to pack a bag because we were going on holiday. I was totally shocked when he took me straight the the airport and a few hours later we were standing in a private cabin overlooking Coronet Peak in Queenstown. The next day he took me up to the snow and proposed to me on top of the world. It was stunning.

Location of wedding: Richard and I both grew up in small towns but have come to the city and flourished so we really wanted to reflect that in the location of our wedding. Our ceremony was held in Auckland City at St Patrick's Cathedral and our reception was at Kumeu Valley Estate.

Describe your wedding day: It's kind of hard to remember... a very cliche saying, that, but it's true. You float through the day with a glazed look because it's hard to think that all the planning has paid off and this is actually happening. Mostly it was so great to see all of our family and watch them have such a great time. It was so awesome to see Richard so happy and it was so great to have the opportunity to stand up and show your appreciation to your family for all their love and support.

The dress: My dress was designed by myself and crafted by Shirley from I Sew 4 You. Shirley is a very skilled dressmaker and when I approached her with a book full of pictures and drawings and scrambled thoughts, she was so good about helping me achieve my dream wedding dresses adelaide. It was absolutely stunning and it was so much fun to wear.

My dress was made up of a tight-fitting bodice covered in laser-cut French lace and just above my waist puffed out into a full and scruffy tulle skirt. I felt like a forest fairy on her wedding day.

The flowers: My flowers were composed by the talented Sue at Floral Stylist. They were absolutely stunning. Poor Sue - after our initial meeting I had been hounding her with emails, trying to get across the look I was going for. When she turned up on the day, I almost fell off my chair because it was everything I dreamed of and more.

Highlight of the wedding: It's hard to pick a highlight. I loved the whole day and the build-up but most of all, I just loved the look on Richard's face when I walked into the church.

Was there any drama? We did have small things like the door in our London taxicab flying open on the middle of the motorway and the ovens breaking at the venue, but we are pretty laidback, so anything that could have happened was just water off a duck's back.

The honeymoon: Richard and I had been together eight years before we got married and apart from one trip to Australia, we had never travelled together, despite individually being experienced travellers, so we were both a bit nervous for our honeymoon. It turned out to be amazing - we went to Hawaii and took it by storm. It was two weeks of adventure and it was such a great way to top off celebrations by reiterating that we love spending time together and experiencing everything.

Your photographer and favourite photo? Our photographer was really awesome. Keryn from Captured by Keryn is a little rocket and made sure that she documented every part of the day. She and her team were like ninjas - you never noticed them but looking back on the photos, she caught some beautiful moments. I was so happy with the photos and am proud to show them to the world.