When Phillie and Davey began planning their wedding, they wanted two things – snow and as few people as possible. Lake Tekapō on New Zealand’s South Island gave them the biggest snowfall the area had seen in eight years, so that vision all fell magically into place.

The couple had originally planned to have a larger destination wedding, with a Helena music video inspired theme. When those plans changed, they wanted to keep the same gothic romance feel into a winter elopement.

Phillie wore Fanciful Doll’s Sanguine dress, a vintage-inspired gown with a blood red train that swept across the fresh snow. But it wasn’t her original dress. “Finding a suitable dress in a relatively short time frame was a bit of a mission but thankfully Fanciful Doll pulled through”, Phillie told us. “The one on the day was a last minute pivot as the original vendor for a dress were less than reliable, but the Sanguine dress amongst the snow couldn’t have worked out better.”

Eloping stripped the wedding back to the parts Phillie and Davey cared about. They got ready together, skipped all the guest dramas and chose non-traditional jewellery in place of diamonds. Their celebrant, Jade Whaley, arranged for her husband to join the photographer as the two legally required witnesses.

The handfasting ceremony took place beside the misty lake. “We didn’t really have music, instead we endured the incessant scream-quacking of a local duck friend (he was either screaming ‘get outta my lake’ or ‘crap, it’s cold’)” the bride laughed,

Afterwards, they did photos then went for a picnic. Wrapped in furs, they listed to an old-school emo playlist surrounded by snow. Then it was back to their cabin for wine and whiskey.

“It was all honestly just a blur. But y’know… saying ‘I do’ felt pretty great… Getting back in the warm was pretty sensational too after being in the snow for hours. We couldn’t use the outdoor tub because it was a once-in-a-decade snow dump and it hit something crazy like -13º C and froze the supply solid!”

Photography was their biggest expense. Kiwi Captures photographed both parts of the day, served as a witness and helped the couple navigate the conditions around the lakes. “She was grounding, calming and fun”, Phillie said. “She made sure we had all we needed (especially for the second part of the photo shoot around Lake Macgregor), and honestly we couldn’t have asked for a better person to work with.”

And finally, their advice for other couples? “Elope! Do it. You’ll thank us later!”