Georgina Fisher couldn’t help but fall in love all over again as she laid eyes on her groom, Brayden Inger. Photo / Woman's Day
These two Southland athletes had a ball tying the knot in a tropical paradise.
Walking down the aisle barefoot in Bali to a piano version of Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love, netballer Georgina Fisher couldn’t help but fall in love all over again as she laid eyes on her groom, basketballer Brayden Inger.
Glittering in a dazzling dress, with her dad Adam and brother Jake by her side, the precious moment was bliss for the Southern Steel star after one of the toughest years of her career.
“I was thinking how beautiful everyone looked and how happy I was to see B standing there, looking handsome – and sweaty!” laughs George.
“And she looked gorgeous, as I knew she would,” adds Southland Sharks player Brayden. “I had tried not to think about what her hair, dress and everything would look like, so it could be a complete surprise.”
And the song couldn’t have been more appropriate, having been the soundtrack to the pair’s three-year romance, which began when George, who previously played netball for her native England, arrived in Aotearoa to join the Steel in 2021. Noticing each other at the gym, Brayden slipped into her DMs and they quickly hit it off over their love for sports, tattoos and Harry Potter.
“When we first got together, we always used to hear the song randomly, then I made Brayden sing it to me once or twice,” George confesses to Woman’s Day, much to her new husband’s horror.
The couple, both 25, were also slow-dancing to the ballad in Kuala Lumpur when Brayden proposed. It was during that 2022 Asian adventure that they fell in love with Bali and found their dream wedding destination – a stunning villa with sprawling grounds and a swimming pool.
With George battling a knee injury, Brayden stepped into planning mode. But there was one task George handled with glee – shopping at Invercargill’s Brides by Donna Rae.
“As a wee girl, you dream of being a princess, so getting my dress was really exciting,” she says. “I tried so many, but with this one, I walked out and everyone started crying, then I started crying. It was the one. It makes me look like a mermaid – and I’ve always loved swimming and having colourful mermaid hair!”
After wowing wedding guests in her gown, George choked up expressing how much she loves Brayden in her self-written vows. Then, when it was Brayden’s turn, he promised to make her a morning coffee for the rest of their lives.
The two exchanged rings encrusted with their birthstones from England’s Bespoke Designs Jewellery. George says: “Jeweller Anthony Hussain made it really special for us to sit, talk and add our touches. Mine’s got diamonds, blue sapphires and aquamarines. I’m obsessed with it.”
The guests – including Silver Ferns sisters Kate and Georgia Heffernan, plus basketballers Connor Coll and Alex Pledger – then feasted on Balinese cuisine, and fish and chips.
George laughs: “I always claim fish and chips is English, while Brayden claims it’s New Zealand, so we thought, ‘Why not chuck it in as a random canape?’” The couple joke their wedding cake was also “random” as they each chose a flavour, Brayden picking peanut butter and George carrot.
While Auckland-born Brayden was nervous about his speech, George loved it, especially how he toasted late loved ones.
Meanwhile, Brayden says: “My favourite part of George’s speech was her saying how excited she is for our future as best friends. Then George’s dad Adam had an amazing, emotional speech.”
It wasn’t the only time George’s parents had the crowd captivated – her mum Tracey and pals surprised the newlyweds by donning spandex to perform Abba’s Super Trouper.
Of course, the couple’s own first dance was another high point. Jake’s girlfriend Ellena Williams performed the country tune Growing Old With You as they boogied under fairy lights. George explains: “The song’s about finding home. We’ve lived in England and New Zealand, and we’re always dotting around the world, but I’ve found a home within Brayden. Wherever we are together is a happy place.”
And right now that’s Bali, where the couple have been hanging out with George’s family. Quality time with whānau has been a highlight of the wedding, with 30 loved ones staying at the villa.
George laughs” “Everyone was like, ‘You’ve got an Essex accent, so this will be our Love Island.’ We joked about having a diary room for daily vlogs!”
The trip has been exactly the fun the two needed after a challenging year. After Brayden played for the Hemel Storm in Britain, the pair returned to Aotearoa, where he rejoined the Southland Sharks. “We hadn’t won a game until two games after I got back, so that was tough to come into,” he says.
Meanwhile, George faced complications from a 2023 ACL injury and underwent surgery. Despite continued rehab, she had to skip returning to the court with the Southern Steel.
“My knee’s having a moment and doesn’t want to heal,” she sighs. “We’ve hit brick wall after brick wall, which is great for a professional athlete.”
That humour has been crucial as George navigates the mental journey of her injury.
“They said it’d take nine to 12 months for recovery and I was like, ‘My life’s over!’ I never imagined it would take even longer. It’s scary as I’ve given my entire life to something I absolutely love, so to have to face the fact that, at 25, I might be forced into retirement… I’m terrified I’ll never play again. I’m the biggest netball nerd.
“If I think too hard about it, I spiral and get scared. But I’m figuring out what’s next and I’ve been coaching a men’s team, which is a fun challenge.”
George credits the wedding and Brayden for getting her through low moments.
“Without that to look forward to, I’d definitely be down in the dumps. And Brayden organised it all. If it’d been left to me, I would’ve turned up in jeans, going, ‘Let’s get on with it, mate’. Brayden’s been amazing. At 5am the other day, I went, ‘I need ice now’, so he walked to the store. He’s husband material.”
Being married is still “surreal” to Brayden, but George already feels different. She tells us: “Overnight, we’ve become one, so when Brayden’s annoying me, I have to take a deep breath and think, ‘I love this man – he buys me ice at 5am’. It’s bliss.”
And while George, who has taken her husband’s surname, has told us she’d love a whole team of mini-Ingers, Brayden’s in no rush for babies – but he’s promised his wife she can adopt a dog.
In the meantime, the newlyweds are heading back to Britain while they decide on their next chapter, but they’re continuing talks with their Kiwi teams, and George will keep rehabilitating her knee and coaching as the couple build their basketball and netball coaching business.
“I used to find it scary not knowing what tomorrow brings, but I’m starting to enjoy the fact we don’t live normal lives,” says George. “Our lives are crazy and sometimes more stressful, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Turning to Brayden, she says: “One day, we’ll be 70 and our kids would’ve put us in a care home, and we’ll go, ‘Remember when we were 25? That was so exciting.’”
Warm water in therapeutic pools reduces swelling and eases joint pressure.