Today’s beautiful wedding features not only one gorgeous bride, but two. We are thrilled to share Sophie and Kat’s special day at the intimate venue in St George’s Restaurant, Havelock North.

“Sophie signed up to the gym and Kat caught her eye. The rest is history!”

Who Sophie and Kat Hickford

Where St George’s Restaurant

Guests 80

How did you meet? We met at the Gym, in Napier. Kat worked on reception and Sophie had just
moved to the Bay! Sophie signed up to the gym and Kat caught her eye. The rest is history!

How did your partner propose? Kat whisked my away to Waiheke Island for my 30th. She had
hired out an amazing air b n b and it was so us! We had a romantic bath in the outdoor area and
then Kat had told me to wait there while she organised some food. Kat had lugged platter food and
my fav wine all the way from Napier – she arranged it all inside for me and told me to get changed
and come in. I didn’t really suspect anything as this is the type of thing that we always do. Kat then
got my birthday card out and started reading it to me. The end of the card finished with there is
one thing I want and that is you.. Sophie will you marry me? Well I started screaming and hugging
her and then finally said yes! We then spent the afternoon drinking wine, calling our family and
friends and went out for dinner! Was such a beautiful time for us.

What was important to you when you started planning your wedding? We wanted our wedding to
be remembered for good food, drink and music! So that was high on our priority list to sort. We
also really wanted an intimate venue that kept our guests guessing! We were very happy to score
David Le as our photographer as he matched our vibe to a tee! Banter and professional all in one.

In three words describe your wedding style? fun, minimalist and cruisy!

Was there anything that you did that was a little different to the ‘norm’ for your wedding? We had
our parents come up and give us their blessing when we were about to do our vowels. This was
extremely special – they gave us a hug shook eachothers hands and were very welcoming to each
other!

How did you personalise your wedding day? I (Sophie) did all the table florals, entrance sign and
seating plan florals! They were all dried flowers and this actually sparked a huge passion in me
and I now have a side hustle @sophiejohana_florals over on Instagram.

What were your save and splurge items for your wedding?

Splurge – photographer, hair, make up, venue, food and drink

Save – music, and we didn’t have any decorations as our venue was so stunning, used a venue that
had everything we needed so we didn’t need to hire anything in

What was the most difficult part of planning your wedding? And the most fun? We didn’t find anything difficult. Sophie is extremely organized and chipped away at all of the to do
list over the year and this helped with us not feeling stressed or overwhelmed. It is extremely
important to lock in your big vendors first and then chip away on the small stuff that you will
personally be doing. I liked to work in sections of the wedding and write to do lists for each area.
This helped me see what needed to be done. The most fun bit for us was the build up to the wedding – everything is done and we got to enjoy special times with family and friends in the lead
up to the big day! Everyone is so excited for you so it was nice not to be stressed with all of the
last minute wedding admin and actually enjoy having a drink and something to eat with the people
that you love.

What did you use to plan your wedding (hire a planner, use a wedding planner book online tools
or apps?) I had a wedding notebook that I would use for quotes and to note down who was
booked in and what apts we had coming up. I would also use this for my to do lists! RSVPS were
also in the back of the book and would highlight off peoples names as they RSVP’d. I found that
having a book I could carry around with me at all times helped and everything was in the one
place.

Did you DIY anything, or have family and friends help? We DIYd the table florals, entrance sign
and seating plan florals! This added a special touch to the wedding. Family and friends helped set
up for a couple hours the afternoon before the wedding – they really wanted jobs and we
appreciated them helping us.

Did lockdowns have any effect on your plans, did you have to postpone, change any of your plans
or reduce your guest list? It didn’t really affect us a part from a couple of overseas guests not being
able to attend. We were very lucky we got in before the major changes came into play.

What advice would you share with others planning their Big Day? Lock in all of your vendors first.
Make a to do list of every area and what needs to be sorted. Delegate jobs out to people. Give
yourself lots of time to plan. Chip away over time and dont wait till the last minute to sort things
out. Don’t sweat the small stuff – most people don’t notice the finer details! Have fun – include your
partner in the decision making process. Save the seating plan till last and any printing that needs
to be done.

Do you have any regrets, what would you change, if anything? No regrets at all – this day was
perfect for us! Nothing went wrong on the day. This day exceeded our expectations. There is no
better feeling than having every single person that loves you in one room. It was an overwhelming
emotion and a day that we will never forget.

Where did you go for your honeymoon? We wanted to go over seas but COVID came into play. We ended up going to Queenstown and Wanaka – loved it

CREDITS
Photographer David Le
Venue St George’s Restaurant
Makeup  Josie Brenstrum
Hair LOCO hair
Attire Etcetera Bridal and Shona Joy
Wedding Party Attire Iconic
Rings Michael Hill
Flowers Magdalen Hill
Wedding Cake Pretty little details