Inside Amanda Gillies’ and Tim Murphy’s wedding: ‘The best day of my life’

Amanda Gillies and Tim Murphy on their wedding day: 'I really surprised myself with how much I embraced the whole bride thing'. Photo / Woman's Weekly

Growing up, broadcaster Amanda Gillies wasn’t the kind of girl who dreamed of a big, white wedding. In fact, when her partner of nearly six years Tim Murphy proposed a year ago, she even suggested they sneak off to a registry office to quietly tie the knot.

But on January 18, as she prepared to walk down the aisle in her jaw-dropping sparkling gown to say “I do” to the man she loves, there really was nowhere she’d have rather been than saying her vows in an emotional ceremony in front of their closest family and friends.

“I really surprised myself with how much I embraced the whole bride thing,” she says, catching up with the Weekly just two weeks after the unforgettable day. “I know it’s a cliché, but it genuinely was the best day of my life and I haven’t stopped smiling since.”

It’s true, Gillies, 46, is positively beaming as she recounts the day she became Mrs Murphy. She and Tim, a fellow journalist, hadn’t planned to marry this summer, but when it transpired that all of his family would be together in January, the couple decided to swing into action. They had just seven weeks to pull together a wedding to remember.

“Tim is number nine of 10 kids and it had been a decade since all 10 were together,” explains Gillies. “We said, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a family event where everyone could celebrate’ and that’s how it happened. It just made perfect sense.”

With such short notice, they didn’t hold out much hope of securing their favourite venue, Mantells Tāmaki Drive on Auckland’s waterfront, but again, the stars aligned with a date becoming available right when they wanted it.

The fact it was January 18 – Murphy’s late father’s birthday – felt particularly special. Invites were sent out, with the couple opting for a small, intimate whānau gathering. But Gillies is quick to point out that given both she and Murphy come from “great big Catholic families”, that still meant 65 guests. “There’s no such thing as a small family get-together with us!”

One of the first things the former AM Show host turned her attention to was finding a wedding dress, and she still can’t quite believe she ended up in her Princess Bride-style gown, with its shimmering corseted bodice, shoestring straps and full skirt. But from the moment she tried it on, she knew it was “the one”.

“I went to a bridal store and tried on a whole lot of quite conservative, straight, fitted dresses because that was the style I thought would be best,” she tells. “I’m 46 for goodness’ sake, so I thought my days of being a Princess Bride were over!

“But then I spied this gorgeous one on a mannequin and asked if I could try it. It was the last dress to try on. And as soon as I put it on and looked in the mirror, I knew ‘This is it!’”

After sending a few snaps to her best friend and her Gisborne-based mum Betty, who gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, she went back the next day and bought it. “I thought it would take me weeks to choose a dress, but this was almost too easy,” she laughs.

“We said, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was a family event where everyone could celebrate’ and that’s how it happened. It just made perfect sense.” Photo / Woman's Weekly

With such a short amount of time to organise the wedding, the couple would’ve been forgiven for feeling stressed. Fortunately though, one of Gillies and Murphy’s dearest friends, Jacqueline Nairn, is a wedding celebrant, so she took the couple under her wing and helped organise the event. As well as stepping up as celebrant and MC, the former Shortland Street star took the lead on music, lighting and food.

“Jacqueline was incredible,” enthuses Gillies. “She cracked the whip and told us exactly what was needed for a great wedding. We had thought we might just have canapés, but she encouraged a sit-down dinner and she was so right. It was perfect. We’d also thought people could stand around the stairs while we said our vows, but she said, ‘No, no, no, you need chairs and an intimate ceremony area.’ And she helped us with contacts for special lighting and fairy lights to light up the whole place. It was really magical.”

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Gillies says the short lead-up to the big day meant there was no time for nerves or drama. Once the date was set, everything fell into place.

“Everyone was on holiday, so it all felt super-relaxed. I was really zen about it all. I don’t think there were any bridezilla moments at all.”

The only hiccup came when Gillies went to the dry cleaner to collect Murphy’s suit two days before the wedding, to discover his trousers had been lost.

“I had to break the news to him that he might have to be a pantless groom,” she laughs. Fortunately, the former newspaper editor, who is now co-editor of the Newsroom website, had a dinner suit in the back of his wardrobe, which Amanda was secretly delighted about. “I actually think he looked amazing.”

“Everyone was on holiday, so it all felt super-relaxed. I was really zen about it all. I don’t think there were any bridezilla moments at all.” Photo / Woman's Weekly

And after a month of awful weather for the North Island, the clouds parted for the wedding and the days around it.

“We couldn’t believe it,” smiles Gillies. “There were about four days of sun all summer and that was around the time of our wedding.”

Their ceremony kicked off at 6pm, with Gillies arriving bang on time. She admits she was an emotional wreck, first choking up when she looked out the window to see Murphy and his children arrive at the venue, with the tears barely stopping during the ceremony.

She walked down the aisle on the arm of her dad Archie, with the bridal march played on the bagpipes in a nod to her father’s Scottish heritage.

She walked down the aisle on the arm of her dad Archie, with the bridal march played on the bagpipes in a nod to her father’s Scottish heritage. Photo / Woman's Weekly

“I cried the whole way down the aisle,” she says, her eyes again filling with tears. “I was so happy and so emotional.”

After exchanging their vows – a mix of traditional and personal, with plenty of humour thrown in – the newlyweds danced the night away with their nearest and dearest in a celebration neither will ever forget. To be surrounded by their loved ones for such a special reason felt incredibly poignant, she says.

“As I said in my speech, I have waited a long time for this – 46 years in fact. So I was determined to enjoy every moment and I genuinely did. To be in the same place as the people we love most in the world was incredible and to be making this commitment to Tim was beautiful.”

The couple honeymooned at their bach in Whangamatā on the Coromandel Peninsula, which they’ve spent the past year renovating. While the weather was far from perfect, they relished their first days of married life with beach walks, BBQs and final DIY touches to their holiday retreat.

"I was determined to enjoy every moment and I genuinely did. To be in the same place as the people we love most in the world was incredible and to be making this commitment to Tim was beautiful.” Photo / Woman's Weekly

But after six wonderful weeks off work, Gillies is back doing what she loves in the field as a Newshub national correspondent, with regular shifts filling in as a newsreader across various news shows. While she was nervous at first returning to her reporting roots after leaving The AM Show, now AM, a year ago, she has embraced the opportunity.

“I always remember what my uncle, a newspaper editor, told me years ago, that no story is too big or too small, and that every story means something to someone. That has stayed with me – I still feel very privileged by what I get to do.”

And she’s the first to admit that giving up the gruelling 3am starts required for The AM Show has been life-changing.

“I always remember what my uncle, a newspaper editor, told me years ago, that no story is too big or too small, and that every story means something to someone. That has stayed with me – I still feel very privileged by what I get to do.” Photo / Woman's Weekly

“I feel great,” she says. “I’m certainly sleeping a lot more and my energy levels are up. I adored The AM Show, but those hours have a shelf life.”

And the new Amanda Murphy, who will continue to use the surname Gillies professionally, still can’t quite believe that at 46, she’s found the man she will spend the rest of her life with. Being married already feels more meaningful, she shares.

“I guess you can argue it’s just a piece of paper, but I think it’s a beautiful commitment. It’s about being part of a team, it’s about our families coming together and it’s about spending the rest of my life with Tim. I feel really lucky.”