18 October 2021
Love in the Back Blocks
Ngā Mārena. Rural Weddings.
writer: CARLY THOMAS & REBECCA LEE
photographer: RACHEL WYBROW
A future husband was the last thing Jaimee Coulter expected to find when she was doing her rounds as a fertiliser rep. Not that her now-husband Chris Pemberton, an Otago farmer, knew it either – it took a Young Farmers ball and online dating to help their relationship blossom. After an eighteen month courtship that included some surprise dinners and on farm dates, they tied the knot earlier this year on the shores of Lake Hāwea.
It was a scorcher of a day in Hāwea when Jaimee Coulter and Chris Pemberton got married. Nordic tipis were scattered in the landscape, adding a striking contrast against a cloudless blue sky and providing some much-needed shade. Sun umbrellas were a must-have accessory throughout the afternoon, and the specially brewed beer was such a hit it ran out before sundown. “I had big expectations of serving the craft beer,” says Jaimee, “but before we knew it the boys had to go off for a pub run and bring back crates of tall-boy Speight’s to keep everyone happy!”
The wedding was held at the Urquhart family farm where Jaimee, 28, was living when she first met Chris. In the short time she spent there, she fell in love with the big hills and whitewashed paddocks, and the expansive waters of Lake Hāwea shimmering in the middle of it all. “Living on the farm made me appreciate the lake and its surroundings. Even before I met Chris, I knew I wanted to get married there,” Jaimee says. “And when Chris and I did get engaged, I plucked up the courage to ask the Urquharts whether they might have a paddock somewhere I could get married in. I didn’t even realise they had a paddock right on the lake and I was absolutely honoured they let us use it.”
Today, Jaimee and Chris, 34, live on their farm near Becks, a little "blink-and-miss-it" village nestled between St Bathans and Ōmakau, with a population of fewer than ten. The couple purchased the 170-hectare dry-stock farm a year ago, with the goal of buying out the other owners in around ten years' time. They also manage a baleage contracting business and Jaimee is kept busy in her off farm role as an agronomist. "The first year that Chris and I were living together was quite hard as it was the first time I'd lived so isolated," says Jaimee. "But I now see living rurally as an opportunity, not a hindrance. Being somewhere new just means I can meet new people and create a new group of friends. All you have to do is get out to some community groups and you start feeling differently pretty quickly. The key is to think of it as a positive."
It hasn't been the easiest journey and the young couple have worked hard to get to where they are now. "We dated for a while and then I moved onto the farm in Millers Flat where Chris and his parents were farming," says Jaimee. "But that farm was sold, so Chris and I decided to go out on our own. Many people said we should go sharemilking, but we had both milked cows before and it just wasn't our passion. We held out for eighteen months and eventually signed a fifty-fifty equity partnership on the farm we have now and it was the best thing we have ever done! We had to think of a new name for the farm and so we named it Clynelish Farm after a Scottish whiskey that was produced on a farm that Chris used to work at - but that's another whole story in itself!"
When Jaimee first met Chris, she had no idea where things would lead. "I was a fertiliser representative and he was a client of mine," Jaimee says with a laugh. "We didn't really talk after that but about two years later, we bumped into each other at a Young Farmers ball. I did a bit of flirting, but I didn't think he was picking up on that! He was too shy to make a move in person but then we were both on Tinder - he super-liked me and the next time I logged on, he was my very first match!"
At that time, the pair lived two hours apart, but Chris put in the effort on their dates - which included degustation dinners at five-star restaurants, impromptu camping trips, nights sleeping in the tray of the ute under the stars, and summer "tractor dates", where Jaimee would bring dinner out to Chris while he was in the middle of making baleage and hay. "The day I knew that Jaimee was the one," says Chris, "was when we had a flood at home. It was a pretty bad flash flood that caused a lot of damage, and Jaimee was just really calm and solid during that."
When it came to the proposal, Chris thought everything out, hoping to make it unforgettable. "I organised for Jaimee's mum and stepdad to come down to our house while Jaimee was out," says Chris. "Then I hid away and made sure the vehicles were at the back of the property. When Jaimee came home, our chocolate lab, Paddles, went up to her with a note attached to her collar. It said: 'Will you marry my dad?' Jaimee read it and I walked out and dropped to one knee. Her parents came out right on cue holding a bottle of Jaimee's favourite champagne."
A personal approach was taken with all of the wedding details. Jaimee's mum, Paulette Haussman, a dressmaker and fashion designer, made all of the dresses for the bridal party by hand, including Jaimee's wedding dress. "To add some special touches, I got Mum's buttons off her wedding dress and had them sewn onto the back of mine and we had our flower girl Frankie carry Mum's bouquet from her wedding day," says Jaimee. "I wore bluebell-shaped earrings as my something blue, I borrowed a friend's necklace for something borrowed, and I wore my nana's gold ring for something old."
Jamiee and Chris chose to include as many personal connections in their day as they possibly could, as well as using small businesses and suppliers from the area. "Our cake maker is a dairy farmer from Gore who Chris went to school with, and our florist is a friend who used to farm with her husband near Ōmakau," Jaimee explains. "Chris's sister Holly did my hair and our celebrant, Robyn Pannet, is an old neighbour from Millers Flat. Our band from Fairlie, Brad Staley, plays at our local Young Farmers balls all the time."
There was a held-breath few minutes when the music wouldn't start for Jaimee's big walk-down-the-aisle moment. "I was hiding behind a bush waiting for the music to start so I could walk down the aisle, and it wouldn't." The phone had overheated and Jaimee chuckles when she says, "I thought Chris had done a runner." The phone cooled down and the pause made for a heightened atmosphere when Jaimee finally made her entrance. But the couple wouldn't change a thing. And now that the wedding is done and dusted, they are focused on the simple things, in particular: "Staying married!" jokes Jaimee.
Jaimee & Chris
19.02.21
Bride Jaimee Coulter, 28, daughter of Craig Coulter and Pauline & Wayne Haussman (stepfather), Timaru
Groom Chris Pemberton, 34, son of Paddy Ann & Rodney Pemberton, Wānaka
Wedding Location Hāwea, Otago
Ceremony and Reception The Urquhart family farm at Lake Hāwea
Celebrant Robyn Pannet
Photographer Rachel Wybrow
Videographer Kara Jane Visuals
Bride's Dress Made by Jaimee's mum, Paulette
Jewellery Jaimee's wedding ring from Meadowlark and Chris's wedding band from Jamies Jewellers
Shoes Chaos & Harmony
Makeup Silver Sixpence Skin
Hair Holly Pemberton Hair
Catering Double Thyme Catering
Cake Sweet Belle Kitchen
Bar Fundraiser for Hāwea Netball Club
Beverages Dark Horse Brewery
Creative Design Sign It Signs
Flowers Farmhouse Boutique
Band Brad Staley
Honeymoon A week in the Coromandel, swimming, kayaking and visiting friends
Living On their farm in Becks, Otago
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This story appeared in the Kōanga Spring 2021 Edition of Shepherdess.
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