The Brave List

Planning My Dream Destination Wedding in Lake Wanaka

Everyone warned me the morning of my wedding would be chaos. I just didn’t expect the chaos to be caused by the groomsmen and the groom! This is the full story of how I planned our intimate destination wedding in New Zealand: every surprise, every hiccup, and what I’d tell any bride planning her own.

Why Lake Wanaka?

Everyone expected a beach wedding. We’re ocean people living in a destination wedding area; Noosa! But home didn’t feel unique enough for us such a special day. Then I found a vineyard venue with views of the lake and snow capped mountains, a sweet nod to our engagement in the snow in Japan!

Topics covered in this episode:

• How to plan a destination wedding that feels completely like you
• Why an intimate wedding let us make every guest feel special
• Thoughtful guest surprises your loved ones will never forget
• How I kept a helicopter surprise secret for 10 months
• The timing mistakes to avoid on your big day
• Why I’d spend more on the moments if I did it again

Do it your way

Plan the surprises, spend on the moments and make your wedding unapologetically yours. And if this episode lit a little fire in you, send it to a friend who’s been sitting on her own brave idea.

Connect with me

Instagram: @thebravelistpodcast

Travel with me: www.oceanzentravel.com | @oceanzentravel

Personal: @stephyygabriel

Love the show?

Hit follow on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. I’d also be so grateful for a 5 star review if you have a spare moment. It helps more brave women find us!! :)

And if this lit a little fire in you, send it to a friend who’s been sitting on her own brave idea 💛

At 27, Stacey was told her hormones had “bottomed out”, that she’d started perimenopause and should go freeze her eggs. She was single, she was terrified, and she decided to do things differently.

My very first guest on The Brave List is Stacey Parry, naturopath, nutritionist and founder of Balanced Babes. We chat about her PCOS diagnosis, packing her whole life into one car to start over, and what she learnt about her body along the way. We also get into gene testing and MTHFR, detoxing, saunas, endometriosis, and her very real perimenopause journey right now. Plus the leap of faith it took to build her own clinic, supplement range and book from scratch.

She also shares one wild dream she’s only ever told her husband. You’ll love this one.

If this episode sparks something, follow @thebravelistpodcast on Instagram and DM me the brave thing you’re thinking about.

In this episode

00:00 Meet Stacey

01:14 What happened at 27

02:16 What PCOS actually is

03:49 Packing up her life to heal

07:31 Gene testing and MTHFR explained

12:53 Detoxing for women’s hormones

15:59 Saunas: how much is too much?

17:24 Stacey’s fertility journey

19:16 Endometriosis explained

23:31 Taking the leap into business

26:38 Starting her own supplement range

27:30 Writing her book

28:59 Perimenopause, blood sugar and anxiety

38:17 Bootcamp for Your Hormones

39:25 One wild dream she’s never said out loud

41:07 Where to find Stacey

Connect with Stacey

Instagram: @balancedbabesofficial

Website: balancedbabes.com.au

Free 3 day colon cleanse course: thebalanceacademy.com.au

Book: Balanced Babes: Every Woman’s Guide to Hormone Harmony

Connect with me

Instagram: @thebravelistpodcast

Travel with me: www.oceanzentravel.com | @oceanzentravel

Personal: @stephyygabriel

Love the show?

Hit follow on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. I’d also be so grateful for a 5 star review if you have a spare moment. It helps more brave women find us!! :)

And if this lit a little fire in you, send it to a friend who’s been sitting on her own brave idea 💛

This episode is general information only and isn’t medical advice. Please chat with your own health practitioner about your body.

Seven years. That’s how long I talked myself out of starting a podcast. I’m the girl who launched a swimwear brand in two days and built a travel company on a whim, but when it came to this dream, fear of judgement won every single time.

Welcome to The Brave List. In this first episode I’m sharing who I am and why I’m finally hitting record. It goes from a one way ticket at 20, to begging a boss in the Cayman Islands for a job every day for 30 days, to founding Australia’s first sustainable swimwear brand with zero fashion experience. Then a personal trip swimming with humpback whales accidentally became OceanZen Travel, ten years of adventure expeditions for solo female travellers.

If there’s a brave idea you’ve been sitting on, this one’s for you.

Follow @thebravelistpodcast on Instagram and DM me the brave thing you’re thinking about. I’d love to hear it.

In this episode

00:00 Seven years of talking myself out of it

01:01 Why this dream took so long (fear of judgement)

02:28 A one way ticket at 20

03:21 30 days of begging for a job in the Cayman Islands

04:23 Coming home changed, and why I hated uni

05:29 Launching Australia’s first sustainable swimwear brand

06:24 How a whale swim became OceanZen Travel

07:40 The film and TV chapter

08:36 “Either the fear goes away or the opportunity does”

09:35 Tell me your brave thing

Connect with me

Instagram: @thebravelistpodcast

Travel with me: www.oceanzentravel.com | @oceanzentravel

Personal: @stephyygabriel

Love the show?

Hit follow on your favourite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. I’d also be so grateful for a 5 star review if you have a spare moment. It helps more brave women find us!! :)

And if this lit a little fire in you, send it to a friend who’s been sitting on her own brave idea 💛