Shantal & John

John and I first met in 2011. My Aunty was a highschool teacher at his school and one evening I went with her and my cousin who attends the same school to watch their school production. The production started and then all of a sudden John and his friends walked in and we both had caught each other’s eyes. I started asking my cousin who he was and the next day at school John was asking my cousin who I was… Kinda ended up being love at first sight. Our relationship hadn’t always been the best but over the years it truly showed that true love will always come back to each other.

It was my 26th birthday and we were a few weeks out from expecting our beautiful daughter. We went fand had dinner at one of our favourite beaches and it was there where he had proposed and asked me to be his wife. Once our daughter was born we truly didn’t feel like there was any point in waiting after god had blessed us with this beautiful girl. So within 4-6 months of planning and extra hard saving we got married on Saturday 17th of September, 2022 at the Hilton Hotel, Auckland (Ceremony. & Reception).

Our day was so special and we were surrounded by our closest of family and friends. The rain held off for us, the water was calm and everything was beautiful! Everything went to plan and there was truly nothing that went wrong. 

As a little girl I had alwaaays dreamed of wearing my mums Berkhan designer dress with a bit of changes… but after having my daughter I couldn’t fit it.. lol so my mother and I went and visited Bridal Brilliance. I showed them a few dresses I liked and saw in their website and the lovely lady helping me picked a few for me to try as well. My wedding dress was from the Stella York collection and actually was the first dress I tried on. I loved the way it made me feel and it also felt like it would be such a Hilton hotel wedding dress. Belinda at Bridal Brilliance was amazing with assisting me with purchasing this dress she was so patient and pointed me in the right direction when it came to finding someone to alter my dress for me. 

I’ve been married for just over 2 months now and I can say it’s truly brought out a confidence in me that I never thought I had. I always dreamed of getting married and our wedding day was everything and more.