“Growing up I never thought I would want to get married,” says Isabel Johnston, the talented florist and co-owner of Isadia Floral studio in Tāmaki Makaurau.
“I don’t believe in marriage in the traditional sense, but after years of being with Richie I slowly became possessed with a strange desire to get married to him. I became more and more excited by the idea of having a big, beautiful celebration with all of our nearest and dearest around us.”
Isabel and her partner Richard Curtis had been together for six years before their engagement. One summer, while they were staying in Takaka with family, she had a sneaking suspicion he was going to pop the question “somewhere, romantically, in the hills,” during a hike in the Kahurangi National Park.
To her disappointment, it didn’t happen. “A few days later, we were laying on the beach and I blurted out that I was sad he hadn’t asked me. It was then he revealed he had left the ring in the car at the airport and he was too embarrassed to ask me without it! He then slipped a shell on my finger as he asked me, which is so classic Richie, which made it more special.”
While the pair don’t think of themselves as being traditional, Isabel was the first of her four siblings to have a “proper” wedding. “My older sister did a sneaky New York registry wedding earlier in the year, so I was the first to do the whole traditional thing with 110 guests – which felt huge!” she says.
“Working in the wedding industry I have seen it all, but from my experience the best weddings are when couples focus on what's important to them instead of creating a theatrical production where there are so many moving parts. Richie and I are very laid back people and aren’t into anything over the top. Our focus was to make everything feel comfortable, fun and easy for our guests – with a little sprinkling of wow factor with the flowers.”
Luckily, Isabel is a natural organiser and was all over the wedding planning well in advance. “Once we locked in our venue I was on a mission to book all the essentials in so we (I) didn’t get stressed at the last minute,” she says. “We were lucky enough to hold the wedding at my extended family's house in Coatesville [a rural community north-west of Auckland]. They have the most incredible gardens – very wild, rambling, English countryside vibes. We had the ceremony and reception all in one place.”
Flowers were obviously the most important decision when it came to aesthetics. “When we started planning our wedding we watched the 1989 film The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. The set design was absolutely incredible and I was really inspired by the heavy use of deep romantic reds throughout the film. I wanted to play on this theme in our floristry work at Isadia and then realised my wedding would be the perfect opportunity.
“We sourced all of my favourite flowers – special orchids from a nursery out West, dahlias from local growers, the most divine long stemmed red rose from State of Bloom in South Auckland and gloriosa lilies from Whangarei. My team at Isadia did the most amazing job.”
Isabel says she prefers details over quantity with flowers. “I don’t think you have to have masses of flowers to make a big impression, the beauty of a single stem can speak volumes and I definitely carried this ethos into my wedding flowers.”
More special details completed the romantic setting. Amy Laidler from Isadia used her calligraphy skills to hand paint their special welcome sign, and the couple bought a giant roll of fabric which was cut for the table cloths and other signage.
The couples’ wedding outfits were both custom ensembles. Richie's suit was made by tailor Simon Rose, while Isabel had her dream Vivienne Westwood-esque dress made by Oosterom designer Nicole Hadfield. “I wanted something that would be lovely and flattering on my figure, Nicole did such a wonderful job.”
Makeup artist and hair stylist Ruth Baron expertly played up Isabel’s natural beauty, and a dab of Curionoir’s Tobacco Nights finished her romantic bridal look. “I have known Ruth for years now as we always bump into each other at weddings. She has a wonderful, kind energy which put me at ease.”
Local jewellers Meadowlark made the couple’s rings: a classic gold band for Richie, and a reworked family heirloom for Isabel’s engagement ring that would stand up to her daily floristry work.
To carry the fun-spirited, laid-back vibe of the day, Richie and Isabel carefully considered what music they wanted – and didn’t want – to play. “We both love a housey, afro-beaty, funky tune. We wanted to steer away from the classic wedding tunes – Wagon Wheel was banned!”
Isabel walked down the aisle to I Only Have Eyes for You by The Flamingos. “Standing opposite Richie during the ceremony and feeling us beaming with happiness is my highlight. I could feel the love and joy radiating from him. We were both so nervous about the ceremony but the reality was surprisingly one of the best parts.”
After a heart-warming ceremony came the processional song, Loving You by Kiki Gyan, followed by their first dance to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dance Floor. “We watched Saltburn and it reminded me of what a banger it was!”
The couple enlisted the help of Who’s Your Caterer to serve simple yet delicious kai to their guests: Ottolenghi-style salads, fresh yummy proteins, and a green goddess sauce that everyone raved about. Drinks were a laid-back affair of wine, beer and Pals. For dessert, the couple opted for tiramisu from Auckland bakery Zi Sweet, rather than a traditional wedding cake.
From the get-go, Isabel knew she wanted Poet Pictures to photograph her wedding. “Ophelia King, one of the three amazing women behind the business, is an old friend of mine who was also a guest at the wedding. She knows exactly what she is doing – which was perfect for us because we both squirm around in front of cameras. The brief was just to capture the nice moments. I didn’t want hundreds of photos – just a few beautiful keepsakes for the future,” says Isabel.
“I always thought getting a videographer was a bit over the top but in hindsight I wish we had some video footage of the day. The day is such a whirlwind that it is all a bit of a big (happy) blur. To be able to watch some of it back would be a treat.”
The couple did plan some time to relax with their guests, post-wedding. “We had an after party and hosted a lunch at our house the next day , which was fun but oh my gosh I was tired! It was really nice to take a moment to chat with everyone when our heads weren’t spinning.”
All in all, the couple spent “somewhere between 25 – 30K” on the big celebration. “We couldn’t have done it without very generous contributions and help from our families and friends. It seriously takes a village to pull these things off, especially without a planner – I’d recommend getting a coordinator or planner if you have the budget for it. We didn’t splurge on anything crazy; the only thing we could have skipped was buying disposable cameras. No one used the flash so 80% of the pictures didn’t come out, lol.”
