A four-piece bridal look and live jazz: Inside Shu and Matt’s Lake Hāwea wedding

“We will remember every single moment for the rest of our lives.”

Here at Fashion Journal, we make no secret of our love of weddings. We’re suckers for a bit of romance and have a soft spot for weddings that do things differently, whether it’s a Las Vegas elopement, a tropical getaway or a Town Hall celebration.

Although they’re based in Sydney, architects Shu and Matthew knew they wanted a destination wedding. The pair got engaged on a road trip through the Swiss Alps, five years after meeting. They then set their sights on New Zealand, tying the knot overlooking Lake Hāwea with sweeping views of the Otago Region. “It felt like planning one big holiday with all our friends and family,” Shu says.

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Joined by 40 of their nearest and dearest, the couple lucked out with a blue sky ceremony and a golden sunset for their al-fresco, open-air reception. They indulged in an Asian-fusion dinner, with live jazz and a champagne tower under soft, festoon lights.

Where wedding dress shopping can be an arduous process for some brides, Shu’s vision was clear. “I knew I wanted Karla Špetić to design my dress even before I met Matt,” she says. “My brief to Karla was to create something that felt timeless and versatile, with pieces I could continue to wear even after the wedding.”

After a visit to Karla’s Melbourne studio, Shu walked down the aisle in a four-piece look, including a sheer organza blazer layered over a backless satin top with a detachable sleeve, paired with a mini skirt to layer over a floor-length bias-cut sheer skirt. “I’ve already got plenty of ideas for how I can restyle the pieces again.”

Fashion Journal: Hi Shu! Congratulations on your beautiful wedding. How did you and Matt meet?

Shu: Matt and I met through some mutual friends at an architecture exhibition and ended up kicking on at my place that night. He left his Spotify playlists open on my laptop and I was playing his music on repeat for about a month before we actually started dating.

We spent the next five years having the best time together, going on all sorts of adventures, big and small. Then, on the most epic road trip of our lives through the Swiss Alps, Matt proposed.

Did you take your time with wedding planning or was it more spontaneous?

We treated the wedding as one big creative project, bringing together all the things we love from our background in architecture and design, while finding like-minded local creatives in New Zealand to collaborate with. Every detail, from the styling to the music, was curated by us, and we had so much fun coming up with ideas together without following too many rules. Being a destination wedding, it also felt like planning one big holiday with all our friends and family.

Tell me about the day itself. Where was your ceremony and how many guests did you have?

We chose a gorgeous house overlooking Lake Hāwea, with endless views of the lake and mountains, to host both the ceremony and reception for an intimate gathering of 40 guests. We also stayed at the house for four days with some of our closest friends, who spoiled us with home-cooked feasts, helped us set up for the big day and brought good vibes the whole time.

The wedding day itself was truly magical, with a beautiful blue sky that transformed into the most stunning sunset by evening. The setting was very elegant, with guests arriving glamorously in black-tie attire. We welcomed our guests with champagne on arrival, canapés and live jazz after the ceremony, followed by an alfresco dinner under festoon lights and ended the night with lots of dancing, of course. A huge shout-out to the team at You Gather Events, Maggie’s Mobile Bar, Moreish Catering, Flores Studio and our saxophonist Chris Mason-Battley, who all helped bring the day together so perfectly.

Your wedding dress looked so special. How did you connect with Karla Špetić and what was the process like?

I knew I wanted Karla Špetić to design my dress even before I met Matt. I first came across Karla’s pieces in a pop-up store in Paddington many years ago and always felt a connection to the detail in her silhouettes and composition of fabrics. When it came time to design my dress, I emailed Karla a little collage combining all my favourite pieces across her collections and asked if she would create something for me. I was thrilled when she said yes! She then invited me to her Australian Fashion Week runway show, where I got even more inspired for the pieces we would create for my wedding.

My brief to Karla was to create something that felt timeless and versatile, with pieces I could continue to wear even after the wedding. I really trusted Karla with the whole process and everything flowed seamlessly from our initial conversations. On a visit to Karla’s Melbourne studio with my Maid of Honour, Amy, we ended up choosing the pieces that would not only form my four-piece bridal look, but Amy’s bridesmaid outfit as well.

The final ensemble included a sheer organza blazer layered over a backless satin top with a detachable sleeve, paired with a mini skirt to layer over a floor-length bias-cut sheer skirt. Karla’s signature ties ran through each of the pieces, bringing everything together and adding movement to the look.

I love that all the pieces could be layered together but also work individually. I’ve already got plenty of ideas for how I can restyle the pieces again, which was exactly the vision we had from the beginning. To me, Karla’s creation really defined the aesthetic of the whole wedding and made it feel completely unique.

What did your beauty look like on the day?

I wanted to do my own make-up so that I still felt like myself on the day. I did get a bit of inspiration from Nina Park and her techniques, keeping the look soft, natural and glowy. For my hair, it was all in the details and I chose some special accessories by Justine Clenquet to clip into my hair which was done up by one of my girlfriends.

What about your Matt’s outfit?

Matt wore an elegantly tailored tuxedo from InStitchu for the ceremony, keeping the look classic and timeless. As the celebrations moved into the evening, he changed into a black velvet dinner jacket for something a little more relaxed but still refined. He finished both looks with cufflinks and a lapel pin from OTAA, alongside his own beaded bracelets and rings that have sentimental meaning to him. The mix of classic tailoring and these more personal details made the look feel distinctly his own.

What did you do for food?

One of the reasons we chose New Zealand for our destination wedding was the incredible fresh produce and the emphasis on local ingredients which we experienced on a previous trip across the Otago Region. Food was always going to be an important part of the day, so we chose local caterer Moreish Kitchen, who are known for building their menus around seasonal produce from the region.

Across the canapés, entrées, share platters and sides, we had fun choosing some creative dishes with Asian-fusion flavours that we both love. Some of our favourites were the spicy Korean cauliflower bites, sweet chilli salmon and Szechuan tofu with Chinese vegetables. We chose to serve everything as shared platters so dinner felt relaxed and social, more like one big family dinner with all of our favourite people around the table.

Matt and I opted out of having a traditional wedding cake, which just wasn’t really our vibe. Instead, we celebrated with a champagne tower, which felt much more like us and made for a fun moment with everyone after dinner. For dessert, we kept things fresh and simple with a selection of locally made sorbets.

Did you have a first dance?

We completely forgot about the first dance but as our saxophonist, Chris, and keyboardist, Leo, started playing one of Matt’s favourite songs from Chaos by the CBD, he dragged me up from the dining table and we had a spontaneous boogie which was so much fun and very us!

How did you capture the wedding?

When we first came across our photographer Kate Alexandra’s work, we were immediately inspired by her stunning images set against the dramatic landscapes of New Zealand. We loved her eye for detail and the way she captures atmosphere and landscapes. Kate was the only photographer we wanted to shoot our big day.

Our only real brief was to shoot on film for a nostalgic, dreamy quality and to keep the photography mostly candid, allowing the day to unfold naturally. Kate captured every special and fun moment perfectly, and being able to relive the day through her lens means so much to us.

A few days after the wedding, I asked Kate to spend another day with me and my dress. We found a quiet location in Wanaka to photograph it away from everything, giving us the time to really capture all the special details of Karla’s design and create a different set of images to tell the story of the dress.

What did you do following the wedding?

The day after the wedding, we took it easy, enjoyed the sauna at the house and spent the day recovering with our friends and family. We then extended our stay in New Zealand, heading back to Queenstown for a few extra days of adventures. We just didn’t want the trip to end!

Looking back, what was the best part of your day?

It’s hard to choose a single highlight because the whole day was filled with so many special memories. From seeing our guests arrive in their beautiful outfits to all the hugs and kisses shared in celebration, the speeches from our parents, and the 90s R&B playlist Matt put on to close out the evening on the dance floor. It was all wonderful and I think we will remember every single moment for the rest of our lives.

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