Bride Feature: Clarissa Benke

Nemo Featured Bride

Clarissa Benke

2020, the year of the rental dress.

As we navigate life during a pandemic we’ve witnessed a huge shift in wedding trends, with the most notable being the rise in interest for hireable items.

Clarissa was interested in finding a look to suit her relaxed style + her budget, and our skirt & top combo (plus fur cape) did just that. Her complete look came together with ease and she looked effortlessly classic while staying comfortable at her garden wedding.

The brides of 2020 have really showed us what resilience looks like and if hiring bridal attire is a continuing trend, then we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the evolution!

Nemo Queenstown_ Clarissa Wedding Dress Hire

Here at Nemo we believe that a wedding dress is so much more than the material and the thread that make it…

It’s first and foremost about the love story that brought you here.
It’s about the moment your man asked you to be his bride.
It’s about the way it makes you feel when you think about wearing your dress on your Wedding Day.
It’s about all of the things that inspired you to choose your dress design, the patterns & materials, and what they all mean to you.
It’s about the merging of your families into one and the way you want to celebrate all of the above.
… We want to tell your dress story!

Your Name: Clarissa Benke

Your Partner’s Name: Paul Haswell

PRE-Wedding story:

• How and when did you meet your partner?

I met Paul 5 years ago when he came to a yoga class. I normally tell my students if they have any questions to talk to me after class so he came asking about meditation. I organised for him to meet with a friend of mine who frequently goes to the Dharma Meditation centre so they could go together. The plan was for us to all meet at her house, but she never showed up so we end up talking and getting to know each other as friends.

• What is the story of when your partner proposed?

We created a X’mas lunch tradition with all of our friends where we do a thoughtful secret santa present to each other. Paul organised secretly for me to open my present last. It was a massive wrapped box with several smaller boxes inside for me to unwrap until I got to the final tiniest box. By then he was already kneeling next to me with his hand out but no one noticed as we were all just getting through the boxes. When I finally noticed the ring box everyone put their hands on their mouth, some of them with a few tears in their eyes, and he asked me to be his wife in front of our Queenstown family.

• What are some of the things you love most about your partner?

He is 99.9% of the time in a good mood, he is the happiest when he sees me happy, he is the 2nd wittiest person I know (the 1st one is his Scottish friend).

• What is the Date and Location of your wedding?

17 October 2020 at Gantleys Cargo Brewery, Arthurs Point

• How would you describe your wedding style in 3 words?

Fun, Romantic, Our Style.

• What did you look forward to the most on your wedding day?

The ceremony because we chose to share the memory with everyone we invited and it turned out to be way better than we imagined.

• What was your inspiration when designing this dress?

I really wanted to feel like myself, move freely, not over the top but still elegant.

• Is there one element of design that you’re most excited about with your dress?

First I really liked the skirt because it came waist high in case I was bloated that day and then the top was sexy (see through) but still classy, with sparkly details. Also the coat and cape completed the whole look.

Nemo Queenstown_ Clarissa_Bridesmaids.JPG

After Wedding Feedback:

•Given one sentence, how would you describe your day?

Full of Love.

• What was the best feature of your day?

What we all created together for the day.

• If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would change?

Getting married in a pandemic meant that we had to livestream the wedding, so if I did it again I would love to be able to include our families and our friends who live overseas.