“Hi there and thank you so much for taking the time to learn a little about me.

Wedding coordinating has always been my childhood dream. I guess this is because the four most important values to me are Family, Love, Gratitude and Giving.

My passion and purpose is to create and deliver the most heartfelt wedding for you, the Bride and Groom, so that your special day leaves lasting impactful memories for you and your families and friends lives………

I want to help make certain you have the wedding that you deserve – the wedding of your dreams! And I want to help make sure the build up to your very special day is fun, exciting and easy for you!

I am exceptionally passionate about helping to ensure your special day is exactly what you and your fiancé have dreamed it to be.

A little about my past:
I grew up in the country on a farm in Southland with a younger brother and two very supportive parents. I went to high school in Gore and then moved on to live in Dunedin.

I met the love of my life, who is now my husband, while in Dunedin. We were married in September 2010. We now have two beautiful girls – Khloe (7 yrs) and Lily (2 years).

Ironically, we were married at RiverRidge Retreat (then called Catlins Woodstock Lodge and Function Centre) long before we knew we would one day own the venue.
My parents farm is across the river from RiverRidge Retreat. Gary and I would often sit up on the hill and look down at the retreat. It was our dream to one day own this (although this did seem like a very unrealistic dream). After a lot of very hard work and relentless persistence, we took over Wood Stock Lodge and Function Centre in October 2011. It was renamed to RiverRidge Retreat – nature's paradise - not long after this.
My wedding day, without a doubt in my mind, was the most special day of my life. On the Saturday morning I woke up at the retreat to a foot of snow – the sun was shining and all I could hear was snow melting and falling off the native bush and into the river, as I lay in bed. This was to be the majestic start to what was an absolute amazing day for me.

It was this amazing experience that gave me the final 'push' to begin wedding planning and in particular, wedding planning for weddings at RiverRidge.

I am looking forward to chatting with you soon."

Adele Dawkins