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 Catriona and Jay’s whimsical and playful wedding had a spring garden carnival theme. Catriona fills us in on all the special touches that made their celebration magical… To me, gardens are always magical and I wanted to get married in spring when they were blooming with flowers. Jay and I chose Woodlands in Gordonton for the unique charm its gardens held. With the billowing and enchanting 100-year-old trees, it felt like a secret garden in the middle of the country. While we were getting our formal photos taken, the guests played cricket, relaxed at the café, walked around the garden and explored the historic house. Our basic wedding rule was if that if it didn’t have fun written all over it, we wouldn’t do it! We ended up with six pastel-coloured teepees, 60m of bunting flags, lyrics hung in trees and a huge white cross covered with white sculptured paper flowers. One of my favourite things was the dress-up box filled with masks and musical instruments that we pulled out on the dance floor at the reception. It was so much fun and everyone immediately let loose! I asked a girlfriend who had worked as a florist to be in charge of the flowers. With the help of two others, she raided friends’ gardens for beautiful roses, trawled dairies on Dominion Road, picked wild flowers from the side of the road and went to the flower market in Cambridge. I loved that the flowers were picked from so many different places – it gave a raw and naturally beautiful look that worked with the location and theme. I wanted centrepieces that were a bit different and that people could talk about. I collected more than 100 old books and painted the covers light lilac and duck egg blue. We stacked the books on top of doillies and then balanced old jars full of wild flowers on top of them. We scattered candles around the tables to create a glow at night. As I wanted people to feel relaxed and a part of the day, my family helped me make 150 ribbon wands for the guests to wave around during the ceremony. The moment I walked down the aisle, colourful ribbons were waved in the air. This carried on through the first kiss, exchanging of the rings, right up until we walked out as Mr and Mrs Goodey! Photos by Danelle Bohane Venue: Woodlands Historic Homestead, Gardens and Function Centre
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