A wedding on a beach tops the fantasy list of pretty much everyone I know - making it a reality is another matter. Certainly would be a risk in Ireland or the UK (though a few great couples have done it) but today we show you the ultimate Beach Wedding Dream-  Sophie and Jason made the fantasy a reality and it surpasses even my imagination. But then you know a wedding is going to be amazing when the bride has always dreamed of being a stylist, and when her godmother is stylist extraordinaire Claire Donaldson from One Lovely Day! Combined with bride and groom, Sophie & Jason, along with Sophie's twin Lucy, this achingly cool team planned the ultimate boho dream wedding which looks amazing fun from beginning to end, all captured by the fantastic Nordica Photography in their New Zealand venue, The Hay & Wood. Get ready for some serious real wedding day envy...

Sophie and Jason are one of those couples who were friends first, boyfriend and girlfriend second - allowing them to truly get to know each other. Sophie explains: "Jason & I have been friends for around 11 years. They say it is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriage, so lucky for us we have these years of friendship before love. After everything as friends we had seen each other do and say, we still fell in love. I think I had a crush on him from the first time I met him. We kissed years and years ago and remained friends until we decided to start dating four years ago and here we are now. Jason is my lifesaver in so many ways people will never understand or know, he is an amazing guy inside out. The happiest I’ve ever felt was the moment when I discovered Jason loved me too."

After finally getting together, Sophie and Jason quickly realised they were meant to be. Jason proposed on Sophie's birthday over a romantic picnic on the top of Paku in Tairua, New Zealand. After a resounding yes from Sophie, this stylish pair began to plan the boho wedding that dreams are made of.

A naturally creative bride, Sophie knew that she wanted to style her wedding heavily - and couldn't think of any better people to help other than her equally creative twin, Lucy, and her stylist godmother Claire from One Lovely Day. She explains: "It has always been my dream & my twins to be event organisers/stylists so this was my chance to go for it (I started planning & organising my wedding down to every little detail, after Jason proposed, with my twin, I’m an organise freak) and to finally work with my godmother Claire from One Lovely Day who I admire and who does world class styling."

Along with Jason, Lucy and Claire, Sophie quickly decided on a very laid back, yet stylish boho wedding beginning with a chilled beach ceremony.

Choosing Tairua Beach was one of the easier decisions as Jason's two sisters got married here and sadly, this is where Sophie's dad passed away. To remember Sophie's dad on the day she included a subtle photo of him, herself and her twin on her bouquet. Very sweet and a lovely idea if you are trying to think of way to incorporate a loved one who can't make it to your wedding.

Naturally the beach ceremony was very relaxed, with all the guests huddled around on the sand and a simple wooden ceremony backdrop acting as the sole décor.

The gorgeous bridal party wore a variety of short white lace dresses bought online from Xenia & Showpo. Each girl then had her own floral crown and lush bouquet tied with some more loose white fabric. A very pretty take on the white bridesmaid dresses trend, and ideal for the chic boho vibe of the day.

The smaller members of the bridal party looked just as good, in classic white dresses and an adorable little suit. If you're not sure what to dress your own little ones in for the big day be sure to check out our page boy style and our feature on flowergirl style ideas.

Sophie's own dreamy boho wedding dress is from boho designer Grace Loves Lace. All Sophie's and her girls lush peachy bouquets were put together by Sophie's fairy godmother stylist - super pretty.

For the reception Sophie and Jason wanted something a little different, which proved a lot harder to find than they originally thought. Eventually the couple bought a new home just months before the wedding, and held their wedding party in their brand new backyard. Sophie tells us: "We wanted something a bit different that was ours and a blank canvas to play with, but with a beautiful back drop. It came down to the wire with the venue as we only got it a month before our wedding. It was our dream property/home just out of Tairua, which made our wedding that much more special. For an organised & a city girl this was quite hard for me, but I love our property, a little urban seed - now a wedding venue - called "The Hay & Wood".

There's that little photo of Sophie's dad, too cute.

Having spent so much time on planning and styling, Sophie and Jason were eager to find a good photographer who would capture all the details for them to remember forever. Luckily they found the wonderful Nordica. She explains: "The photography was so important to us, as we were spending so much time & money on styling & the little details; we wanted this to be captured how we looked at it. Also the fact Jason and I don't really like our photos been taken, we didn't want the typical wedding photos, we wanted something unique & quirky, that we could put in our home without people thinking they are wedding photos. Nordica was the perfect match."

For the reception Sophie went all out with retro food and drink trucks, wreath garlands for all the girls, an abundance of festoon lighting and lots of little areas for guests to relax and/or dance in.

Sophie explains how she brought everything together for the day: "I spent hours upon hours finding ideas, researching, collecting everything along with my twin, her partner & my husband. Our family & friends weeks before the wedding spent hours painting, baking, building and manufacturing to achieve the day of our dreams."

Advice wise, Sophie has some pearls of wisdom for us planners:"Just remember it’s you and your partner's day, make sure it’s what you want and who cares what others think. Our wedding was very different to anything our friends and families had heard of and everyone had an opinion on things, but in the end it was everything we wanted and everyone was blown away. A few more things, be organised; as much as you try to stick to a budget you will either go over or sacrifice things you may love, as Jason said “We are only going to do this once” - which I loved him for, so don't stress too much about going over a bit as it will all work out in the end."

Big congratulations to you both, and thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous wedding with us all!

A big thank you also goes to Cole and Jakob of Nordica Photography for sharing their work with us. To see more from Nordica head on over to www.nordicaphotography.com

The Wedding Details