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.
Jess Fu first met her now-husband, David Maxwell, when she interviewed him on her radio show – or at least that’s how Jess’ mum tells the story. “The truth is we were both music fans in a small, tight-knit scene, became friends, then fell in love,” Jess says.
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Then one day, Daniel proposed at Blue Duck Station in the wild bush of Whanganui in New Zealand. It was a surprise to Jess – after going on a horse trek, they reached a small restaurant surrounded by 360-degree views of the snow-capped mountains of Taranaki. “It was everything I love: food, horses, nature and a good story to tell.”
When planning their wedding, the couple didn’t hesitate in choosing The Hollywood, a 100-year-old cinema and iconic venue in Auckland. Both Jess and Daniel had their own connections to the space – Jess when she worked as a booking agent organising shows, and Daniel, who performed there with his punk band multiple times.
After the ceremony and reception, the couple held an afterparty at a hall adjacent to the cinema. “Sometimes the first hour of DJing at a wedding can be awkward so to get the party started straight away, Daniel and I did our own DJing,” Jess tells me. “It was an epic party.”
Fashion Journal: Hi Jess! Congratulations on your beautiful wedding. How did you and Daniel meet and how did the proposal happen?
Jess: We met through the DIY music scene in Auckland back in 2016, when Daniel was in a punk band and I was a fan. I also hosted the all-new-music show on local iconic underground radio station 95bFM and interviewed Daniel. That’s the story my Mum tells of how we met, during a radio interview but the truth is we were both music fans in a small, tight-knit scene, became friends, then fell in love.
The proposal happened at a beautiful place called Blue Duck Station in the wild bush of Whanganui. Daniel said we were going on a horse trek but there was a surprise. I thought the surprise was going to be that it was an overnight trek, so I was disappointed when the guide said we’d do a loop and be back around 5pm.
We kept going up and up into the hills and we weren’t turning back. When we came over the last rise in the hills we saw at the very top was a small elegant fine dining restaurant at the highest point of the station. Everyone that worked at the station, from the owner to the chef of the restaurant was in on the surprise and was nervous about what I was going to say.
We had the best meal of my life (a ten-course ultra-local degustation) with 360 views of snow-capped mountains Taranaki, Ruapehu and Ngaruhoe glowing under the setting sun. It was everything I love: food, horses, nature and a good story to tell.
What venue did you choose for your wedding and why?
We decided to get married at the historic Hollywood Cinema in Auckland because we both have a special connection with the place and the people who run it. When I started as a booking agent, I cut my teeth putting on many shows there. Daniel also had played there multiple times and had even put in some shifts behind the candy bar.
Billie and Matt, who run The Hollywood have always supported us in our line of creative work. It’s the most amazing place in Auckland and is such a hub of creativity, beauty and art. Plus, as a 100-year-old cinema it’s the most beautiful venue that suited our extroverted personalities.
How many guests did you have?
We had about 80 for the ceremony and reception and about another 80 for the afterparty.
Where was your outfit from and what was the process of sourcing it like?
My oldest and dearest friend, Emma Jing, is an amazing fashion designer who lives in London. We became friends when we were 10 or 11 years old and have been through so much together. She has made a real name for herself as an incredible designer both in New Zealand and overseas, and I especially love her wedding designs. She made my outfit and veil, which I want to wear all the time now. The pinned skirt reminds me of a Greek Goddess.
We only managed to lock down the final look a week before the wedding when we were both in Auckland. It felt like a very organic process of trying it on and fitting it to me and my style. I couldn’t trust anyone else with my wedding dress – she did an amazing job.
What about your partner’s outfit?
This was actually a lot harder! Finding wide-leg suit pants that fit well was extremely difficult and a lot of modern suits are really bad. But after a lot of looking, we found this amazing Korean designer, Wooyoungmi. Unfortunately, the matching jacket had sold out, so we were on a hunt for that. It was a real learning curve how many shades of black there are! Thankfully, at Swop in Melbourne, we found a vintage Versace jacket that fit Daniel like a glove and matched the pants.
In terms of beauty, tell us about the look you went for on the day.
I wanted something simple and romantic, with blushing pink cheeks. I got another one of my old friends, Binh Minh Ha, to do my makeup because she’s one of the only people I trust with my makeup. And for my hair, I got Sean Patrick Mahoney, a talented hairstylist who did my hair back when I lived in Auckland.
What did you do to celebrate after the ceremony?
We wanted to do everything at the venue as we love The Hollywood so much and we really wanted to make use of the space. After the reception dinner, we launched an epic party at a hall and courtyard adjacent to the Cinema. Sometimes the first hour of DJing at a wedding can be awkward, so to get the party started straight away Daniel and I did our own DJing. It was absolutely the funnest time ever.
Following our set, we had our favourite DJs Bbyfacekilla, Kylie Monogamy and Teddyyy. The dancefloor really got going and Daniel got lifted up into the air. It was an epic party.
What kind of food did you have on the day?
A friend, Freya, catered the wedding. It was delicious and looked stunning. We did buffet style because we wanted to make sure people were full. We had a scissor-cut-noodle salad, a tower of corn, chicken butter, wood fired beef roast with jeow sum, braised chicken thighs and panzanella.
The cake was made by Mor Bakery and it totally exceeded my expectations. It was a cardamom cake with raspberry and lychee curd and vanilla buttercream. It tasted warm and spicy but with some fresh sweetness from fruit curd. I trusted them on their flavours; all I wanted was to have one aspect of lychee. They’re incredibly talented bakers and I would recommend them to anyone.
I also made a giant tiramisu for the wedding because I love it and wanted a dessert that had a pick-me-up for all the dancefloor demons.
How did you capture the event?
We were lucky enough to have very talented friends who took amazing photos of the wedding. This made the photographers a real part of the festivities and added to the community vibe. Our stills were taken by Ngaru Garland, Nico Rose Penny, and Zoe Dunster, who each had their own different style. We also had videography by Vita Reynolds on handycam and Super 8 film.
Did you have any other fun or unique quirks about your wedding?
Instead of a usual ‘welcome sign’, we opted for A24-style movie posters of us to be put in the cinema light boxes. It was a fun way to immerse people into the world we were building with our wedding. We also had a handicam where guests could record messages, rather than writing in a guest book. The videos are so adorable and cute, they make us smile every time we go through them. The handycam messages captured the joy and happiness of the day.
And being from the music community, a lot of our friends are used to pulling together to put on a massive show and create a big night together. We really relied on lots of our friends and community who contributed their skills and talent to the wedding and we couldn’t have done it without them. It also made the wedding extremely fun and it felt like a real community effort.
I would just like to shout out our amazing on-the-day coordinators and twin sisters Ameline and Amanda, who run Table Look. Not only did they make the most amazing table settings I’ve ever seen, which fit with our romantic renaissance painting theme, but they set everything up to run smoothly. It allowed me to enjoy the day I had spent months planning.
Find more from Jess here.
This article A historic cinema, A24-style posters and an afterparty: Inside Jess and Dan’s Auckland wedding appeared first on Fashion Journal.
2025-04-30 07:00:00
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