When we saw this wedding’s macramé ceremony backdrop, super chic florals, and crochet-inspired bridal gown, we knew we were dealing with the ultimate bohemian wedding! Summer and Graham said “I do” at Summer’s parents’ South Auckland venue, Hedges Estate, then drove off from the ceremony in a classic car to take amazing portraits with Nisha Ravji Photography. After the ceremony, guests were treated to a lovely day full of lawn games, a DIY Polaroid photo booth, and tons of dancing under the New Zealand stars.

The Couple:

Summer and Graham

The Wedding:

Hedges Estate, Waiuku, New Zealand

We had a macramé hanger as our backdrop, we stood on our cowhide rug from our living room and we had our bedrooms peacock chair for our signing the registry area. These definitely hit the boho theme.

My favourite photo was of Graham seeing me for the first time coming down the aisle. The look of emotion of his face was captured just perfectly.

We both loved that we wrote our own vows. It’s not for everyone, but I got some great advice from a friend who wrote their own vows. They said that when you write them you are writing the reasons why you love the other person, the reasons why you choose them over another and the reasons why you stay with them through tough times.

Choosing the vibe for our wedding started with the dress which I chose about a month after becoming engaged. I knew I wanted something that had a relaxed fit so It could just fit me as I was. I had my eye on a boho type of dress which I managed to find! And it had a great price point too, bonus! Next came the venue which was a garden setting. And then the feel we wanted our guests to come away with was that of a relaxed Summer day. Vibe = boho+lots of greenery/flowers+fun!

I went for a bohemian look with the long lace dress and flower crown. My flower crown was made by my sister who is a florist and I wore Swarovski earrings that my best friend gave me as a wedding gift. My bridesmaids wore pretty pink and white dresses that suited their body shapes from Forever New and Graham and his groomsmen wore navy.

Our photographer Nisha was fantastic, she definitely went above and beyond and created a story with her photos. Getting up for sunrise, zipping back and forth between the venue where the bride and bridesmaids were getting ready to the house where the boys were all getting ready. She made us feel calm and we never had to worry about a thing on the day. She definitely knows all her timings which helped the day run smoothly. Nothing was too much trouble and best of all it was like having a mate around the whole day which was lovely.

Another amazing part of the day was driving just the two of us in my fathers MG TD to our photoshoot locations. We spent about 2 hours alone to reflect on the day. This time was precious and we knew we were very lucky as its a known issue with weddings that its difficult for the newlyweds to spend time together.

We totally went DIY crazy. Maybe too much in retrospect as it put quite a lot of pressure on my family and friends on the days before. My best friend and I created the wedding cakes, my sister did ALL the flowers (by herself) what a machine! I created all the signs. And we did all the setup and clean up. And the venue is owned by my parents so they did all the gardens and maintenance which was a massive job.

A surprise of the day was that the father of the groom did a speech. We were going to break tradition and just have our mothers say speeches but my father ended up doing a speech/poem and it was hilarious!

Processional – Make You Feel My Love by Adele
Signing of the Registry – Hard To Concentrate by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Recessional – Happy by Pharrell Williams
First dance – Lush Life by Zara Larsson

Congratulations to Summer and Graham on your amazing wedding, and a big thanks to Nisha Ravji Photography for sending it over to Junebug! Want more boho inspiration? Take a look at our curated list of Bohemian Wedding Ideas for Your Big Day!