Brides often spend a year or more planning their dream wedding down to the very last detail.
But one New Zealand bride managed to pull together her own wedding in a mere eight hours.
Michelle Dickinson, 39, known to most as Kiwi scientist Nanogirl, woke up one Monday morning and decided to get married that very day.
‘My partner and I had discussed marriage before but never seriously and we weren’t even engaged,’ she told FEMAIL.
Michelle Dickinson, 39, known to most as Kiwi scientist Nanogirl, woke up one Monday morning and decided to get married that very day
Michelle and her partner of three years, Joe Davis, had been at a lavish wedding the weekend prior that had taken two years to plan.
‘It was an amazing wedding but there was so much work and stress. It seemed like a lot of drama but we came back inspired,’ Michelle said.
Her family just happened to be visiting from overseas at the time and were due to leave the following day, which is one of the reasons she decided she wanted to get married.
She wore shoes she already owned and found a white, silk dress hanging in her wardrobe.
Michelle and her partner of three years, Joe Davis, had been at a lavish wedding the weekend prior that had taken two years to plan that inspired them
‘It was a dress that was designed by my friend who is an indigenous fashion designer,’ she said.
‘I hadn’t taken it out of the wardrobe so I ended up wearing a designer who I love – luckily it was ironed!
‘I was also very lucky because I had been on breakfast television that morning so I already had TV make up and hair on that lasted until the evening.’
All that was left for her to do was get ready in the car park for a wedding at 6pm, after a 5.15pm meeting.
As Michelle had to work in the morning it was up to Joe to try and find a venue that would hold them and their guests at short notice.
He ran into The Northern Club, a private members club in Auckland, and asked if they would be able to accommodate their request.
The icing on the cake was the fact that Michelle’s elderly grandfather was able to walk her down the aisle, as her father had passed away
‘Joe ran in and asked whether we could we book an event for that night, we had previously held events for our business there,’ Michelle explained.
With a vague idea and loose directions the venue were able to pull something together.
‘They gave us a room and provided Champagne on ice and snacks. They then asked if we had a cake, which we hadn’t even thought about,’ she said.
‘They then told us they had a pastry chef who was still in who would be able to whip something up.’
At this point they didn’t even have a list of who they wanted to invite but they managed to contact 38 close friends and family members and brought along their dog.
With a vague idea and loose directions the venue were able to pull something together
‘The people that came are very close to us and they weren’t surprised at all,’ Michelle explained.
‘They were all a bit like, “What? Now?”. We gave them three hours notice to get to a venue.’
Joe on the other hand wasn’t shocked at all by Michelle’s last minute decision.
‘Joe knows I’m crazy and he’s known that for a long time but he’s with me because of my spontaneity,’ she said.
Michelle didn’t even think about the fact that she they were both at work that day at the company they run together, she just knew it had to be done.
‘When you run your own business you’re working seven days a week so there was no better day than that one,’ Michelle explained.
‘There was no stress at all, I can’t tell you how much little stress there was. All we wanted was to celebrate our family and our relationship.’
Their dog was able to join in on their special day and was a part of their wedding ceremony
Michelle and Joe have a relationship moniker, which is ‘never don’t go’, meaning that if there isn’t a good reason not to do something, to just do it.
The icing on the cake was the fact that Michelle’s elderly grandfather was able to walk her down the aisle, as her father had passed away.
‘My grandfather lives an hour away in Napier, so we just called him and we said “If we buy you a flight right now do you think you could get on it in the next hour?”,’ she said.
‘He did exactly that and as he walked me down the aisle he cried the whole way. We were so lucky that everyone was able to come, we felt really loved.
‘It was everything I had imagined and exactly the kind of wedding my friends and family thought we would have.’
Michelle was told by everyone invited that it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to because of the minimal stress involved and the fact that Michelle and Joe don’t take themselves too seriously.