Making It Personal with newly weds 'The Stillwells'

There's nothing better than learning about the real journey of a wedding than from a couple that have just done it. So we sat down with Duffle&Co customers and newly weds Tori & Matt Stillwell to dive deeper into their journey, before and after their big day!

When did you get married and where?

We got married on Kings Birthday weekend, 3rd of June 2023. Our ceremony was at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, where I went to school. Our reception was at Mantells on Tamaki Drive, which is right next to the beach where I proposed.

Can you tell us when you met and how you met?

We met in London at the end of 2019. We were both having a drink at the Alma pub in Stoke Newington with a mutual friend and we got chatting. We had never met each other, but we were in some of the same classes at Otago University and had a lot of mutual friends.

How did you propose? What made it memorable?

I proposed at Okahu Bay in Orakei, which is the beach closest to our house. I had organised a picnic with pizza and champagne. I queued the song Make You Feel My Love, by Adele, which is the song we had our first kiss to (Tori reckons she knew I was proposing as soon as the song came on). We drive or walk past that beach almost every day so it's a nice reminder.

How long did it take you to plan your wedding?

We planned the wedding in 6 months. Tori was keen for a winter wedding, so it was either 6 months or 18 months. Having a winter wedding meant it was a bit easier locking in vendors. We had all weather options, but thankfully it was a perfect sunny day.

Registry or no registry, and why?

We had the option of a registry for guests if that was easier for them. We thought a registry would be helpful to give guests some ideas of what we wanted or needed, given that we've been living together for a while. We were so grateful for all of the gifts we received; they're a great reminder of our day.

What do you like about your customised duffle?

It’s personal to us and our wedding day. Whenever we use it now, it’s a great reminder of that day, and it's also a great reminder of the lovely friends that gifted it to us. It’s a special bag that we'll have forever.

Any advice for couples about to tie the knot?

Confirm your budget early and then frontload as much of the admin as you can. Wildy Madly Deeply (who did our flowers and design for the wedding) gave us the best tip – they suggested that we put one night a week in the diary to talk about wedding admin, which meant we were focused for that time and weren’t always talking about the wedding throughout the week. The lead-up to our wedding was really fun and relaxed because we'd been pretty organised early on.

Choosing the right gift to celebrate a loved ones special day can be tricky! You want it to be something that lasts, is timeless and whenever they look at it, makes them smile.

Thank you to the Stillwells for sharing their special day with us! If you have friends that are getting married or would like to make someones special event memorable, see how you can 'Make it Personal' here.