The Sydney-based pair returned to New Zealand in late March to get married on Aotea Great Barrier Island alongside their closest family and friends.
A fleeting visit back to New Zealand is how this relationship came to be.
Will Coleman, a psychiatry registrar who completed his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University in the UK before moving on to Sydney for medical school, met design director Cam Deynzer when he returned home during the summer of 2016. “Luckily we crossed paths in that small window of time (with a little help from Tinder) and spent most of that Kiwi summer together.”
With Will only home for a short time and the romance blossoming, the pair decided to take the plunge, and Cam began looking for architecture jobs in Sydney to join Will.
Come 2024, and their nuptials, choosing the rugged and picturesque Aotea for their special day was a no-brainer.
The island is a symbolic place for the couple; their families have memorable connections and both visited throughout their childhood. Their proposal also took place there.
The pair married on March 22 this year, surrounded by family and friends who journeyed from near and far.
THE VISION
Cam and Will: We were lucky in a way with this as the location of the wedding had such outrageous natural beauty that it did most of the work for us. Aotea, and Medlands Beach in particular, is wild, untouched, spectacularly beautiful and yet authentic and unpretentious – our aim was for the atmosphere of the wedding to complement this.
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Advertise with NZME.Other than that, we knew all we really needed was great food, great drinks, great music, and great people.
THE CEREMONY
Cam and Will: The ceremony was held on the beach at Shark Alley, which is the south end of Medlands Beach. We walked down the aisle to Love on The Brain by Rihanna, who is Cam’s favourite artist. We were both walked down the aisle by our mothers which was very special.
We had two incredible celebrants – our gorgeous friends Karla, one of our best friends from Sydney, and Amy, who is one of Cam’s best friends from high school. We had two readings – one by two of Cam’s friends from architecture school, Hannah and Katie, who read an excerpt from Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love and one by Will’s aunty and godmother Jill, who shared a stirring whakataukī.
We both wrote our own vows, which managed to cause a few tears from each other and from the guests.
Our ring bearer was Will’s 11-year-old nephew Cooper, who was arguably the star of the show in his new cream linen suit and matching fedora.
We walked back up the aisle after the ceremony to Young Hearts Run Free by Candi Staton, and instead of guests throwing petals, we had four confetti cannons (because why not?) which our friends managed to set off without any injuries.
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Advertise with NZME.THE LOCATION
Cam and Will: Aotea is a very special place for us — and Medlands Beach in particular is without doubt our favourite place in the world. Will’s family have had a beach house on Aotea since he was born, and he spent most of his summers there during his childhood and teenage years. Over the seven-year period that we have been together, we have had countless trips over to the island both by ourselves and with family and friends – including a very special trip with both of our families for Christmas in 2022, where Will proposed to Cam on Boxing Day on Medlands Beach.
THE PLANNING
Cam and Will: We had a monumental amount of help. Planning a wedding on Aotea definitely comes with its challenges – the biggest one being that there is no mains power or water on the island, so everything is solar power and tank water. In the planning stages, we were very lucky to have the help of two absolute legends on the island – Orla and Sarah.
Orla runs the Currach Irish Pub in Tryphena (the best pub in the world and a must-visit if you ever find yourself on Aotea) and knows more or less everyone on the island. Sarah runs Aotea Brewing, a brewery on the island that makes the most delectable beer, and likewise also had an infinite number of invaluable connections.
For any problem we encountered, one of these two always had the solution. In the few days leading up to the wedding day itself, it was very much “all hands on deck” with massive efforts from too many friends and family members to name.
Special mentions must go to both of our parents, who truly went above and beyond to make the day what it was. And to our event co-ordinator on the day Lynnette, who has now co-ordinated three Coleman weddings and for some reason keeps saying yes to the next one.
And finally, to Ophelia from Roses Dining Room (and Poet Pictures), who went far beyond catering services. Alongside photography, Poet Pictures offers creative consultancy services, so with that and mind, and also with Ophelia being an old-school friend of Cam’s, he entrusted her with a lot of on-the-day artistic direction.
THE RINGS
Cam and Will: Our rings were designed and created by Hamish Munro who is a jeweller in Melbourne. Cam had always loved Hamish Munro’s designs and gave very clear instructions to Will on what he would like. We both have Hamish’s signature rings with our own stones (Cam’s with diamonds and Will’s with sapphires) which we chose for our engagement rings. Cam also got a special second engagement ring (he had requested an engagement “stack”), which was inspired by his grandmother Elizabeth’s wedding band that she gave to him as a parting gift when he made the move to Sydney. It is striped with alternating pieces of gold and platinum. Cam’s wedding band was one of the first designs that Hamish Munro ever created and was actually no longer available for purchase – luckily he still had the original mould. Will’s wedding band was a more subtle and classic gold ring (you may notice a theme here).
THE FLOWERS
Cam and Will: We used a lovely local florist on the island called Jonquil. Jonquil foraged for flowers and greenery on the island and somehow managed to create the two exquisite pillars that stood at the end of the aisle, which so perfectly complemented the wild backdrop, as well as the beautiful table pieces. Our bridesmaids’ bouquets were a single red dahlia and our bouquets were purple and white calla lilies – which were chosen as Cam’s late grandfather George was the first person to import these into New Zealand.
THE SUITS
Cam and Will: Our suits and shirts were made by P. Johnson, which is a tailor in Sydney. Gian was our incredible tailor and he made the whole process so smooth and enjoyable. We wanted suits that complemented each other without being too matching – and we were absolutely stoked with how they turned out. Will’s suit is made from their Forest Green Linen and Cam’s from their Dark Brown Wool.
THE BRIDESMAIDS & GROOMSMEN
Cam and Will: We chose a black colour scheme for our bridesmaids and groomsmen and then allowed them to wear a dress/suit of their choosing that they felt comfortable in. A number of the bridesmaids wore Kiwi designer Paris Georgia. Our groomsmen wore suits from P. Johnson that they luckily already owned.
THE BEAUTY
Will: We were very lucky on the day to have Cam’s bridesmaid and niece Ellie Deynzer, who is a professional hair and make-up artist, to help the bridal party get ready. Being on a solar-powered island, where one hair dryer usually takes a day’s worth of electricity in minutes, we did need to source and run a generator to do eight bridesmaids worth of hair! Ellie did such an amazing job and the bridal party all looked stunning.
THE PREP
Cam and Will: Just a haircut and a couple of facemasks!
THE RECEPTION
Cam and Will: The reception was held under a marquee on the lawn of our family friend’s property which is right behind Shark Alley. It has the most spectacular views out across Oruawharo Bay, which provided the perfect backdrop for the afternoon and evening – complete with a stellar sunset. This friend was so kind to allow us to make use of his stunning property and we will forever be so grateful to him for his generosity. We had two phenomenal MCs – Will’s brother Jack and our very good mate Georgina (who was also one of Will’s bridesmaids) – who kept us highly entertained throughout the night. We nominated five “party starters” at the beginning of the reception, who were all given cowboy hats to wear for the remainder of the night and were charged with ensuring the dance floor kicked off in a big way. There were speeches by Will’s parents Judy and Peter, Cam’s parents Karen and Ian, Will’s maid of honour and big sister Alice, Cam’s maid of honour Louisa, and then finally the two of us.
The first dance was Be Mine Tonight by the Th’ Dudes. Will’s father Peter was an original band member of Th’ Dudes back and Cam’s mother Karen actually used to attend all of their gigs back in the 70s. The song was played live by “The Dressing Gowns”, Peter’s university band that he later formed with a few of his best mates whilst at medical school. ‘The Dressing Gowns” then did a full set, a mix of classic covers and some of their own material, which got the dancefloor heaving. Our talented friends Lachie, Nick and Connor then DJed until the early hours of the morning.
THE FOOD & DRINK
Cam and Will: Food was one of the most important elements of the day for us. Cam has a real passion for food and cooking and so we knew that this was something we wanted to get right.
Our caterers were Karl and Ophelia from Roses Dining Room — who managed to feed 140 people without any ovens which is no mean feat. Karl’s menu featured mussels escabeche, fresh snapper crudo, beetroot tadka, and slow-cooked lamb. In true Aotea spirit, Orla at the Currach Irish Pub gave Karl the use of their ovens to bake the focaccia on the morning of the wedding. The food was absolutely divine and exceeded all expectations!
Local baker extraordinaire Peter Adams made us his world-famous jam and cream doughnuts for dessert. These were a real crowd-pleaser – proper old-school Kiwi doughnuts and hands-down the best doughnuts you will ever taste.
Our beer was provided by local brewers Aotea Brewing – including a special plum-sour that they brewed especially for the wedding. Aotea Brewing also hosted our day after event at their epic brewery in the valley behind Medlands, which turned into a bit of a festival in its own right.
Our wine was provided by Everyday Wines, who helped us to source natural wines that could be transported in kegs and then poured into reusable glass bottles to help reduce waste on the island. We had the Paradise Prosecco, the Selection Massale Orange, the Halcyon Days Vermilion, and the Jumping Juice Pet Nat.
Local cocktail maker, Hannah, whipped up fresh margaritas (our favourite drink) for the guests to enjoy during the cocktail and canape hour between the ceremony and the reception.
And finally, espresso martinis made by Kiwi company Batched were pre-poured into mason jars and chilled, then handed out on the dance floor at midnight to keep the dance floor going!
THE CAKE
Cam and Will: In place of a traditional wedding cake, we had a cheese tower with six layers of different NZ cheeses sourced from The Artisan Hub and beautifully assembled/decorated by our friends Katie and Hannah.
THE PHOTOS
Cam and Will: Our stunning photos were taken by the talented Poet Pictures. Ophelia from Roses Dining Room also happens to be one of the Poet Pictures photographers (a woman of many talents), so she sorted that out for us too. Cam had been a long-time follower of Poet Pictures, and he particularly loved the fact that it was all shot on 35mm and medium format film. We are utterly obsessed with how the pictures turned out and can’t thank Poet Pictures enough.
We were also incredibly lucky to have our extremely talented friend Courtney, who is a director in Sydney, offer to film our wedding video on Super 8. Courtney managed to capture the day perfectly and the video is hands down the best wedding present we could have ever received.
THE DAY
Cam and Will: A number of our friends who had already got married had warned us that the day would fly by incredibly quickly. And they were on the money. A couple of them gave us the advice to make a conscious effort to take a moment to ourselves away from the chaos throughout the day. This sounded great in theory but in reality we probably only managed to do this twice. Realistically the best day of our lives was never going to go by slowly, so we just leant into the wild ride.
THE SPECIAL MOMENTS
Cam and Will: Having all of our favourite people come together in our favourite place in the world. We had family and friends come to Aotea from all over New Zealand and Australia, and some of Will’s friends from Cambridge University even came all the way from the UK. It was particularly special to have Cam’s grandmother Elizabeth and Will’s grandfather Brian, the matriarch and patriarch of our respective families, there with us. Also a number of people, including Cam’s maid of honour Louisa and Will’s maid of honour and sister Alice, made the trip across to the island despite having newborn babies. It was so amazing to have everyone together on Aotea and so special to see everyone fall in love with the island just like we did.
THE SURPRISE
Cam and Will: There was a full-blown surprise talent show which was organised by our two amazing MCs. Each table had to perform an item and it is safe to say there was very much a wide range of talent – ranging from a collapsing human pyramid to a rousing rendition of Teenage Dirtbag that brought the house (marquee) down.
ANY TIPS
Cam and Will: I think the best thing we did was having someone to be an event co-ordinator on the day. We didn’t have a wedding planner as we wanted to put our own stamp on the day as much as possible, but having someone to co-ordinate everything and solve any problems that arose on the wedding day itself was so helpful and took all the stress off of us.
Honestly, there is not a single thing we would do differently. We would repeat this day on an annual basis if we could.
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