Lina and Rory’s wedding at Ohinetahi, Governors Bay, was a sunlit garden celebration of relaxed elegance and joy. Surrounded by their favourite people, they shared a long alfresco lunch, heartfelt vows, and a golden-hour salsa to La quiero a morir by DLG — a nod to Lina’s Uruguayan roots. Lina wore a classic Naveya & Sloane ring, a custom Charlotte Penman band, and a vintage bracelet, while her mother wore Fan hoops gifted by the bride. The celebration flowed effortlessly into a spontaneous honeymoon in Japan — the perfect continuation of their love-filled day.
CP - Where did you get married?
L&R - Ohinetahi, Governors Bay
CP - Did you have a clear vision for the theme or style of your wedding, and how did you come to it, did you collaborate on this together?
L&R - YES! I had a vision of an alfresco long lunch, with delicious food, great wine and all our favourite people gathered around two long tables. Ohinetahi was actually the first venue we visited and even though we looked at others, we kept coming back to it. The garden setting was just perfect for the fun yet relaxed vibe we were after.
CP - Was there a long period of planning or where you more spontaneous in how it all came together?
L&R - We got engaged at the end of June 2024 and married in March 2025, so it all came together quite quickly! I never really had a ‘dream’ wedding in mind, but having a clear vision definitely helped shape the planning process. We were lucky to work with some amazing vendors who absolutely nailed the brief.
CP - How did you choose your wedding jewellery, and was there a special story behind any of the pieces?
L&R - Rory got my engagement ring from Naveya & Sloane, we actually visited their Christchurch pop-up together to try on styles. I wasn’t sure what I wanted at the time, but he was drawn to a timeless solitaire and I absolutely loved it. When it came to my wedding band, I knew I wanted something fun and a bit chunkier to complement the classic engagement ring and I loved designing it with Charlotte. I also really wanted a chunky bracelet and ended up finding the perfect vintage one at Love James in Auckland, it was actually my first wedding purchase, even before I knew what the dress would look like. On one of our trips to Auckland, my mum came with me and fell in love with the Fan hoop earrings from Charlotte Penman, so that ended up being my gift to her on the day.
CP - What song did you choose for your first dance, and why does it hold special meaning for you both?
L&R - Our first dance was to ‘La quiero a morir’ by DLG. I'm from Uruguay and really wanted to incorporate Spanish music throughout the day. When I suggested salsa for our first dance, Rory surprised me by saying yes! We're definitely not natural dancers, but we had so much fun taking lessons and practising in the lead-up. Our dog Javi is still haunted by the song - any time we put it on he gets pretty excited.. The plan was to do the first dance inside, but after the cocktail hour, the lighting outside was so good the team asked if we’d be up for doing it there instead. It turned into a full-on golden hour dance party, which ended up being one of my favourite parts of the day.
CP - What were the highlights of your special day?
L&R - There were so many! The biggest highlight was having all our favourite people who travelled from near and far, together in one place. We kept the wedding relatively intimate, which meant we were able to spend quality time with everyone. We were also incredibly lucky with the weather, possibly one of the sunniest, hottest days Christchurch has seen in March! Everything came together, it was honestly the BEST day.
CP - Did you go on a honeymoon, and if so where too?
L&R - Yes, we went to Japan! It had been on our bucket list for a while and the honeymoon was the perfect excuse to go. We actually left the booking/planning until quite the last minute because I was a bit overwhelmed with wedding admin and didn’t want to add another task to the mix. But it worked out perfectly, just enough time to plan, while still leaving room for spontaneity. I usually plan every trip down to the minute, so this was a refreshing change...
