Pictures: Meredith Lord Photography, meredithlord.com.
After seven years reporting the news on our screens, Imogen Wells has landed her hottest scoop yet – marrying her longtime love Matt Gibbs in a heartfelt ceremony in the hills of Havelock North.
“The whole experience couldn’t have been better,” gushes the bubbly ThreeNews and Stuff reporter, 31, as she and her new hubby, 36, chat with Woman’s Day after the wedding. “Our strong family ties are what initially drew us together. We had lots of family members involved in the day. The whole vibe was exactly what we wanted. It was spectacular!”
The Wellington newlyweds have been smitten since they met on a post-lockdown blind date that was engineered by their mutual hairdresser.
Imogen laughs, “She asked if I was keen to go on a date. I said, ‘Obviously!’ She thought Matt was exactly the right man for me, so I agreed she could give him my number. We later arranged to meet for dinner.”
Imogen – who has worked for TVNZ and Newshub, and recently covered the Olympic Games in Paris for ThreeNews – recalls feeling instantly at ease in his company and their chemistry was undeniable.
“We had a lovely dinner, then went to Cuba Street for cocktails and chatted until 2am,” she recalls. “It’s really weird to think you can meet someone at exactly the right moment, but that’s what happened. We won the lottery and don’t take it for granted.”
Matt adds, “I thought Imogen was very beautiful and she had a brightness about her that I adored straight away. She filled me with joy and a lot of chardonnay that night!”
Since then, the couple’s incredible connection has continued to grow, with Matt proposing during a holiday in Fiji in August 2023.
Imogen recalls, “Matt and I were walking on a beach on Malamala Island when he said he wanted to take some photos of me swimming, so I swam out a bit, then started going out quite far. I could hear Matt shouting, ‘Come back!’ When I stopped and turned around, all of a sudden he was right there, with a ring in one hand and his phone in the other. I was in shock!”
Worried about dropping the ring, Matt slipped his phone into the pocket of his shorts. However, it got wet and the pair later discovered they’d lost all their precious proposal pictures.
Fortunately, another of Matt’s surprises helped to soften the blow. He’d flown Imogen’s parents out to Fiji to greet the newly engaged couple, along with his family, who were there. “Everyone was in on it,” smiles Imogen.
The devoted couple’s commitment to each other was officially sealed at Kōtare Estate in Hawke’s Bay. That’s where the celebrations kicked off a day before their wedding ceremony. Imogen, Matt and their friends arrived at the vintage 1920s venue on the Friday, settling into its boutique accommodation. Then, they ventured to a local pub for dinner with a few family members.
“It was a great way to get the first introductions out of the way. It eased us into the weekend,” tells Matt.
The wedding day got off to a great start when Imogen and Matt’s friends cooked them a big breakfast, complete with bubbles. Then the couple went to different areas of the estate to get ready for the nuptials. They started with an intimate “first look” photoshoot in a beautiful forest area at nearby Te Mata Peak.
“It was really special to enjoy those moments alone together before the celebrations began,” recalls Matt. The groom teared up when he first glimpsed his radiant bride in her exquisite custom-made Juliette Hogan gown, which featured puffed sleeves, a deep V-neckline and a flowing skirt. “She just looked so beautiful.”
Imogen says she had loved working with Juliette and was delighted with her “party dress”, which was designed to take her from day to night. “When my girlfriends saw it for the first time, they said, ‘That’s you in a dress!’”
Imogen’s look was then completed by a pair of flower earrings and a bracelet that came from Partridge Jewellers in Wellington, where they had purchased Imogen’s solitaire engagement ring and Matt’s rose-gold wedding ring.
Imogen was equally taken with her handsome groom, who wore a stylish tuxedo with a silk lapel and custom cummerbund, made by Melbourne tailor P Johnson.
Imogen adds, “We also realised not long before the wedding that Matt didn’t have any cufflinks. He searched, but he couldn’t find the right ones in any of the menswear stores around Wellington. Someone said, ‘Why don’t you try Hunters and Collectors, the op shop on Cuba Street?’ We were so overtired by then after all our shopping, but we popped in and found the coolest pair of gold cufflinks!”
The wedding’s black-tie dress code was the one nod to formality in a day that otherwise broke with tradition.
Imogen and Matt opted not to have any attendants or a bridal party. After a “quick cuddle and a kiss” with her parents, Nicky and Richard, they walked hand in hand together up the aisle to stand among a semicircle of beautiful flowers. Matt’s sister Lulu Kelly, whose business Cellar Daisy did all the floral displays.
Their celebrant, Matt’s brother Christian Kelly, greeted the couple. Slightly more than 100 of their closest family members and friends gathered around them to watch the emotion-filled ceremony. It was followed by a cocktail hour, with Imogen and Matt’s grandmothers acting as the witnesses for the couple’s official paperwork.
Guests then assembled around three stylish long tables in an outdoor marquee. It had been decorated with a hint of Imogen’s favourite colour, pink, for a “family-style wedding breakfast”. There, hilarious speeches, with the couple’s close friend and MC, Zak Kljakovic, brought lots of energy and fun to the evening.
In another switch from tradition, Imogen and Matt opted for tiramisu, rather than a wedding cake. Smiling, the bride explains, “We’re not big cake people. So, we did a fake cake cutting on a big tiramisu instead, dishing up the first couple of serves!”
The newlyweds had their first dance to Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream. Then the dancefloor was packed for the next three hours.
After the Paris Olympics, Imogen and Matt had already shared an idyllic “pre-wedding honeymoon” in France and Spain, “eating, drinking and relaxing”, and they did more of the same in Queenstown for a week following their nuptials, with their beloved dog Bean in tow. “He’s the most ridiculous creature in the world, but we love him,” enthuses Imogen.
Asked what they are most looking forward to about married life, both immediately reply, “Starting a family.”
Matt says, “Imogen’s love for our family and friends is one of the things I love most about her. I know she is going to be a wonderful mum.”
Matt’s focus on whānau is right up there for Imogen too, along with his caring nature and “really good hair”, she admits, laughing.
“From day one, I have felt so comfortable and safe with Matt. I knew he was someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We have fun, share all the same values and both love a chardonnay. It just makes sense!”
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