The Original Plan

Hey hive!

Let me indulge you in on a little something. This issue had, for the first 6 months of Mr Big and I’s engagement, been discussed heatedly. We went back and forth on this issue a lot, and sometimes, there’d be tears of frustration. I won’t lie and I’m certainly not the first bride to say so: wedding planning is stressful.

So what was this issue, you ask?

Well, hive, here’s my confession:

Mr Big and I didn’t want a wedding in the Hunter Valley.

It’s strange for me to say that, especially as my wedding is fast approaching now. Also, with stunning pictures like this, why wouldn’t you want a wedding there?

Taken at the Hunter Valley Gardens. / Image via Something Blue Photography.

So where did we want our wedding?

Well, we wanted it here:

Christchurch Botanical Gardens. Also, the bride wears a claddagh wedding ring! / Photography & Image via Rebecca Bijl Photography.

And here:

Trent’s Vineyard, Christchurch, New Zealand / Photography & Image via Jo Grams, Moda Fotografica.

So, in short, we wanted our wedding in Christchurch, New Zealand.

We had it all worked out, to the point that Mr Big and I were all ready to phone places and ask about packages and prices.

However, while waiting on our “auspicious” wedding date, days passed, then weeks, then months, and before long, Christchurch became a distant memory. We didn’t have enough time, we thought, to book the places we wanted, especially as the February 2011 earthquake had struck and a lot of the buildings which commonly accommodated weddings were either under repair or completely destroyed.

This meant places that were open, like Trent’s, booked up fast.

By the time we had our date, there were barely any spots left for Mr Big and I.

We weighed in on our options and, I won’t lie, hive, there were some choice words said between us. It became incredibly stressful for both of us. Mr Big was really looking forward to celebrating in Christchurch, especially as he thought that a wedding in Australia meant less of his friends and family being able to attend. Plus, weddings are expensive.

Australian weddings are even more expensive.

The average cost of a wedding in Australia is approximately between $36,200 and $48,296. That’s a lot of money. We were hoping a wedding in Christchurch would be more within our budget. And it would’ve been, had we had it there.

Luckily, as Mr Big and I tried to figure out what the heck to do for our wedding, Papa Bighorn came to the rescue. He offered to help us pay for our wedding.

The catch?

We had to do it in Australia.

You see, in Chinese culture, it’s customary for the parents of a bride and groom to invite family friends to their children’s weddings. This is considered polite and pays respects to the friends of the family. If we were to have the wedding in Christchurch, my parents wouldn’t be able to invite their family friends as they would not be able to travel over. Hence, a wedding in Australia was my parents’ preference.

With the offer, Mr Big and I reluctantly agreed, but we offered up another suggestion: we have the wedding in the Hunter Valley.

The Hunter Valley was a personal place for both Mr Big and I. Not to mention, just two hours away from Sydney and guests could use it as a mini-holiday.

So it was settled – Hunter Valley was our location.

It took Mr Big and me some time to adjust, but once we began to see the beauty of the Hunter Valley, our regret for not being able to go have our one-perfect Christchurch wedding faded. Plus, Mr Big was extraordinarily grateful and touched that his friends were willing to do the distance and travel over the ditch to celebrate with us. In fact, about 90% of Mr Big’s friends will be flying in from New Zealand to party with us in the Hunter Valley!

Despite the happy ending, I still wanted to have a part of our wedding in Christchurch.

But how? What could we do? I remember suggesting an engagement photo shoot in Christchurch. Mr Big looked at me like I was crazy and said, “then we have to fly the photographers over”.

Oh, right. Darn. I scrapped that idea and life went on. Until, we hit a lucky break. What was this lucky break, you ask? You’ll find out soon!

Did anyone else have initial plans that fell through?