Edelweiss & Cody
Images Sarah Clements Photography
So at the end of the walk, without getting on one knee, he gave me the ring box and said, “Here, take it. You’re so bloody difficult.”’
Initially, Edelweiss and Cody postponed their wedding until April 2022 because both of their families are based overseas and international travel is still so tricky because of COVID-19. ‘But, one day, our “Kiwi mum” fell off her horse during a cowboy challenge and cracked four ribs and had a collapsed lung, and we decided that life is too short to be waiting for Covid to end,’ says Edelweiss.
So the pair quickly planned their wedding for 18 April 2021 at Rivendell – a B & B property just outside of Geraldine, which coincided to the very day, four years earlier, that they arrived to stay with their Kiwi host parents at Rivendell, Woodbury.
‘Growing up in an urban jungle, it was my dream to get married in the countryside. It was perfect. We had Amelia James singing me down the aisle and all three of our dogs were there, barking away.
‘The groomsmen had Larry with them, and my bridesmaids walked down with Jessie and Zani – our most well behaved dog who was also our ring bearer. Our celebrant Kineta Booker was amazing, making the ceremony perfect despite all the animals from surrounding farms and the sky above deciding to join in during our ceremony. And because Cody never properly proposed, I made him write his own vows.’
The couple’s favourite photo from the day was taken shortly after the ceremony. ‘It has to be the one of us with the dogs in front of the arch. We love our dogs and having them there on the day meant everything to us. Our florist Samantha Rose made these flower rings for our girls and Larry (the boy) wore a bandana that matched the groomsmen. They looked so cute! We will forever treasure this family photo.’
The bridal party stayed close to Rivendell for their photos with Sarah Clements and videographer Kara Jane Visuals, and they also headed down the river track, where Cody ‘proposed’.
Because the couple chose to marry on a Sunday, they opted for a lunchtime reception so the guests that needed to could head back to work the next day. ‘It was a fantastic time with the sun out, as we partied inside the Silk Estate clear marquee. The food from Formosa was divine, everyone loved it, and, of course, the dogs were picking up the scraps. We had Flat City Brotherhood come and play for us even though we were only a small crowd. Everyone just had the best time drinking, popping champagne and dancing on the dance floor.’
‘We had a livestream going on Facebook for our family and friends overseas for the whole day. It was just perfect.’
Although Edelweiss and Cody are both originally from Hong Kong and lived within a few minutes of each other, it took going to veterinary school in Sydney for them to meet – but only in the final year of their study, when they were both staying and working on the same farm.
Four years ago they moved to Ashburton to work at separate vet practices, and now live with their three dogs, Zani, Jessie and Larry. On Christmas Day 2019, the pair went for a walk along the river track in Geraldine, the first town they stayed in when they moved to New Zealand, where they’d take their dogs down the track for a walk.
‘I didn’t know,’ recalls Edelweiss, ‘but Cody had already bought the ring and he kept suggesting we go for a picnic or hike on New Year’s Eve. Knowing that he doesn’t like hiking, I thought it was weird and I kept turning down his ideas.
Q&A
Did you have a budget?
We did at first but we splurged a little. We figured we only get to do this once. And I am glad we did because we had the BEST TEAM of vendors that just made the wedding super easy to organise and amazing.
Tips for other couples?
We 100 per cent recommend planning a small wedding and on a Sunday. And if we can do it in eight weeks, so can you. (The dress and the photographer are the things we did need a bit more time for though.) Get vendors that you trust. It made the process so much easier. The amount of money you pay is worth the service you get.
Tell us a funny story or two.
We messed up the cocktail recipe so everyone got drunk so quickly after the ceremony. We didn’t know 50 per cent should be lemonade, we just went straight spirits. My $5,000 wedding dress got covered in paw prints even before walking up the aisle because the dogs jumped on me, and it got dirtier as the day went on. I wasn’t mad about it though – the stains definitely reflect what a great day it was.
