Ensemble Weddings is a regular celebration of love, featuring intimate and perfectly imperfect nuptials. See more weddings here.
You never know what happens behind someone’s ‘perfect’ engagement photo, and Lizzie Langridge, owner of vintage bridal and occasion wear salon Love James, is more than happy to shatter that romantic illusion.
For starters, her proposal didn’t come as a surprise. Lizzie and her partner of six years, Chris Steel, had started working on her custom ring design with Louis the Goldsmith in Parnell (an emerald cut emerald, inspired by Georgian-period jewellery) after they first talked about wanting to get married.
“We planned to hang out one Saturday in August, and the night before I had a feeling it was coming,” she says. “The next day we went to brunch, then some op-shopping out West, and suddenly ‘we needed to leave’, so we headed back home where I got changed. Picking an outfit under time pressure I started to get flustered, especially imagining I was getting proposed to. This was the first lot of tears, then we ended up missing our planned ferry to Waiheke by about one minute. More tears from me, emotions were high!”
After killing time for an hour, the couple went to a vineyard on Waiheke before heading down to a beach. “I kept thinking, ‘Why are we going to this random beach with no significance to us?’ But as we started walking along we ‘bumped’ into Chris’ friend who I knew had a sailing yacht. This caught me totally off guard, suddenly I was taking off my high heels, getting into a dingy and making my way to the boat.
“We sailed round Waiheke before heading towards Rangitoto, a special place to us both. That’s when he dropped a knee on the front of the boat and asked me. I hadn’t seen the ring totally finished until then. We returned to Auckland as a big orange moon was rising. Chris surprised me by organising our friends and his parents to be at the apartment when we got back for a mini celebration.”
Okay, so the romantic illusion still holds up... Reading the details of Chris and Lizzie’s wedding, it’s obvious they are sentimental people who put a lot of thought into everything – including the intention behind their marriage.
“For us, getting married wasn't just an excuse for a party - if we wanted to just throw a party, we could have done that for a lot less money and stress!” says Lizzie. “We wanted to celebrate our commitment and covenant to each other with our friends and families love, support and blessing. We got to share our story up to that point, and make a physical and spiritual commitment to our future together.”
Their vision for the day was something romantic, colourful and fun – a joyful celebration in every sense of the word. “I was born in England, and I wanted to replicate that feeling of summer over there; on a sunny day of course. The lush green everywhere, the old world romantic charm you find in village churches. We liked the idea of a church wedding, and a kitsch after party somewhere unexpected,” says Lizzie.
“The ceremony was, for us, the most significant part of the day, so the idea of an old English-style church for the ceremony felt both traditional and personal. We wanted to make the ceremony one event, and the reception another, but we just couldn't find the right venue for the reception. We looked at so many halls and random venues, but once you start adding in the cost of hiring furniture and decorating, it really adds up.
“We revisited St Columba [a 1930s Anglican church in Auckland's Grey Lynn], and fell in love with having it all in one place. They had just repainted the labyrinth beside the church in black and white - that sealed it for us, as we could imagine having dinner outside in this really unique space surrounded by greenery, and the community hall was then the perfect space for our dance floor plans,” she says.
“Once we had decided the wedding date, a few months later I thought, ‘I wonder what we were doing exactly a year ago on our wedding day?’ I looked back at photos, and found it was the day we picked the emerald stone for my ring. I’m not superstitious, but I am sentimental. So that made me feel like everything was as it was meant to be.”
The couple invited 130 guests to their ceremony and around 90 to the reception – “a compromise, as we just couldn't afford or fit 130 for dinner, but we still wanted to share this momentous moment with them,” Lizzie says. Following the ceremony they had a mini afternoon tea: the cutting of the cake and platters, before taking photos a few hours later for a break between the ceremony and reception.
Being the owner of a concept store that specialises in vintage gowns, curating her wedding looks was Lizzie’s chance to shine. “I had three outfits, because why not – and since getting married, can confirm I wish I could have had more!”
For the ceremony, Lizzie wore a soft pink silk organza dress by local designer Brooke Tyson. “I was searching endlessly for the perfect 1930s dress, and found one I loved - but it was yellow and not my size. We used this as the inspiration, and she hand-dyed silk to the perfect pale pink. I wore this with my great grandmother's wax flower crown from her wedding in 1927, and borrowed a pair of pearl and diamond art deco earrings from my bridesmaid’s friend. I finished off the outfit with pale pink Gucci slingback pumps with crystals all over them. They are 90s-inspired from the Tom Ford era of Gucci, and were a total splurge, but no regrets!”
Her second outfit was a pink sequin 1970s disco piece by American designer Morty Sussman for Mollie Parnis Boutique. “I loved the keyhole detail, and how modern it felt, but you can't beat the quality of vintage sequins.”
The bride hadn’t actually planned to wear her third outfit: a deadstock 80s mini dress with ostrich feather trim that she had sourced for Love James. “I packed it last minute, and got changed into it after our photographer Sarah Burton had left. I made a quick change in the church hall kitchen, and it was perfect for dancing! My friends captured it on their film cameras.”
The groom also had an outfit change. “I surprised Chris by making him a shirt for the reception to party in. It was made from a vintage tablecloth, in collaboration with our friends Thom and Marilyn at Thom Morison. He let me cut the shirt out in one of his clothing patterns, and he then sewed it together for me and finished it with white shell buttons. I had seeded the idea of a lace shirt for him, and I knew Chris would love that it was made from vintage fabric by friends.”
Because theirs was not a ‘wedding venue’ in the traditional sense, there was no blueprint for how to set up the space. “I have very eclectic tastes, and loved the idea of mixing traditional, romantic styling with over-the-top and quirky themes. We both love a dress up party, and this was the ultimate occasion to go all out,” says Lizzie. “Elaborate decorations just didn't fit in the budget, but we hired festoon lights, had flowers and used the venue setting as the decoration.
“In my dream world, I'd have endless money to spend on flowers, but Ainsley and Michelle at Floral Centric, a mum and daughter duo, are the best in the business, and they took my modest budget and made it beautiful. For the hall we opted for cheap and cheerful foil curtain backgrounds, and a self service ‘Glitter Bar’ so guests could apply biodegradable glitter, like Chris and I love to do at festivals.”
Before walking down the aisle and getting covered in glitter, Lizzie got ready with the help of hair and makeup artist Ruth Baron and her bridal party in an Airbnb close by. “Ruth made sure to get the placement of my great grandmother's wax crown perfect. I have a feeling she makes every bride feel like they are the most beautiful bride she’s ever worked with - everyone needs that on their wedding day.”
Lizzie’s bridesmaids also gifted her a fragrance, Abel Odor’s White Vetiver, on the morning of the wedding to remember it by. “So many special moments from the day are seared into my memory, but sitting in the back of the car on the way to the church, holding my dad’s hand with Frank Sinatra playing, feeling calm and him saying, ‘I can tell you’re ready’ was one of them.”
Keeping with the traditional vibe at the ceremony, The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn played live on the church organ (“I loved the drama and tradition of this tune, you can’t beat a song that's been going since 1842”) and photos of both the couple’s parents, grandparents, and Lizzie’s great grandparents on their wedding day displayed at the entrance of the church. “We exist today, because of them, and it was special to honour our family line,” says Lizzie.
There was more musical drama to conclude the ceremony, as one of the guests surprised them by organising the hand bell ringing society to ‘play’ on their exit. Guests were served Prosecco as they came out of the church and hung out under a big pohutukawa tree. “Walking into the labyrinth was also pretty special, after planning and visualising it - we’d never seen it set up until the evening walking in.”
As for feeding their guests at the reception, Lizzie and Chris knew a food truck would suit their style of wedding, and budget. “We wanted dinner to be relaxed, no seating chart, or being stuck sitting beside someone you don't connect with… I had seen Passa Passa on Instagram and liked his vibe, so we drove to the beer spot one evening when he was parked up, tried the food and got chatting about what we could do. Dan was great to work with, we had a simple but delicious menu of fish crudo, arancini, mozzarella and tomato, and pizza frittas. I still keep hearing about how good the food was.”
Guests could help themselves to a selection of wine and beer at the bar – “having the chilled red was a non-negotiable for me!” – and move freely between the German beer tables and bar learners they had set up.
For dessert, there was a table of treats by Petra Galler of Butter Butter. “I tried her pistachio amaretti cookies at the Underlena pop up and was hooked! I was inspired by Laila of Gohar World, so I collected lots of silver platters from op shops and let her suggest the best desserts for sharing. She also made my dream slab wedding cake.”
To save money, and because Chris loves music and making playlists, he taught himself how to DJ, and captained the dance floor before friends took over so he could join his new wife for a boogie. “We actually had not agreed to do a first dance, then suddenly the floor was cleared and Chris put I'm on Fire by Bruce Springsteen on - which got everyone singing.”
The couple’s last dance to Coffee by Miguel was another sentimental hit. “Chris and I’s dating life started with us as flatmates, he would make me coffee and leave it outside my bedroom door in a thermos for when I woke up. In his vows he promised to make me coffee every morning – big promise! It’s a sexy song, which was a cheeky way to end the night.”
The day after the wedding, Lizzie’s sister and maid of honour organised a relaxed get-together at Cheltenham beach, with views of Rangitoto Island. “I wanted fancy ham rolls and Aperol Spritz, and they nailed it. There was leftover dessert too, and I brought the 50+ polaroids from the night before.
“If you're an external processor like me, you need that time to debrief and hear all the bits your friends and family loved. When guests have travelled to be there, spending 15 minutes talking with them at the actual wedding is not enough, so I highly recommend having a relaxed day to soak up and reminisce on what just happened.”
While the couple’s goal was to stick to a budget of 20K for the wedding, they finished at around $24,000 all up, most of which they paid for (and saved for – Chris even took up UberEats driving till 3am) themselves.
“I’m a firm believer that money shouldn't stop you getting married! If you want to get married, you can do it tomorrow. It's the pressure of trying to keep up with other people’s weddings that often stops people,” says Lizzie.
“Our parents chipped in for wine, our after ceremony platters, paying for an Airbnb to get ready etc... I was worried about ‘missing out’ on things I wanted, but couldn't afford, but you have to let go at some point, and remember the most important thing, and that's not hiring table cloths for $400. We spent every dollar carefully, and we loved everything we did. If anything, I would have spent more money – on more staff to help out on the day.”
Lizzie’s advice for brides:
“Try as much as you can (and this is hard advice to follow), not to compare to other weddings. You have no idea the circumstances, the stress, the debt, where money is coming from, or what is going on behind the scenes. It’s so easy before AND after your wedding to look at others and think everything must have been easy for them. Just like social media, you’re only seeing the good bits they want to show.”
“The second piece of advice I got from wedding photographer Kate Roberge, is how you feel when the photos are taken, is how you remember them. I wanted to look at our photos and feel happy and in the moment. So if you're stressed out, even if you're smiling and the photo is perfect, you’ll remember how you felt. After dinner, Chris stood on my train and it ripped a massive hole in my dress - then we got a couple of photos smiling, but to me, all I can think about is how in my head I was thinking ‘omg, you f...ing ripped my dress!!’ Luckily I had two more outfits ready to go. Moral of the story: have three outfits! You're only a bride once.*”
*hopefully!
