When planning their wedding Kate & Zac focused on their guests having the best time as opposed to all the traditional happenings of a wedding. They still occured but they kept them short and sweet so things kept moving. This gorgeous couple both grew up in Muriwai on Auckland’s rugged west coast so the casual beach theme ééò which saw the groomsmen wearing shorts and the groom barefoot ééò suited their personalities and lives perfectly. With all aspects of the day made or supplied by people they knew and trusted it was a wedding with a true community feel and one which FRANK & PEGGY have documented to perfection.
With the stunning backdrop of Muriwais’ Maori Bay, Kate & Zac wed under a homemade driftwood archway. The rain clouds left just in time for Kate’s father to walk her down the path and across the rich black sand to give her away. The bride looked simply stunning in a creative spin on a traditional wedding dress which was ever so fitting for their beach theme.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL: It was all a big surprise for me. Zac mentioned early on the day that we had a family dinner that night so got dressed but plans were ééòdelayed’ so he suggested we go up to our favourite spot on the cliff that overlooks Muriwai Beach for a beer. He then said he had a little story for me to read and passed me a cute book with a little hedgehog on the front (he had found out one evening that they were my favourite animal). It was a little story about love. A hedgehog called Zac meeting and falling in love with a girl hedgehog called Kate. When I had read the last line I turned to Zac and he had the ring in his hand. I couldn’t say no. He then asked me if I could tell one person at that very moment who would it be and of course my family came to mind, so we headed up to my family home. I was confused and asked why there were so many cars in the driveway, but due to the excitement I didn’t think much of it. I opened the front door and there were 80 of our closest friends and family with Champagne in hand ready to celebrate with us.
ANY DIY/BUDGET ELEMENTS? Because it was at our family home there were a lot of friends and family involved in helping to prepare for the day. In the year leading up to the wedding we spend a lot of time on DIY projects for the wedding. We were extremely lucky with all of our connections that made the day a lot cheaper and more personalised. My Dad is a builder so made all of the wooden features for us and my mum did all the sewing and helped us to create the canap s which were made on the day by a family friend who is a chef. Mine and Zac’s talented older siblings helped to draw the illustration for our fingerprint tree which featured the same two little hedgehogs in the story book. Zac’s handyman poppa helped us out by making all of the crates for the cheese and dips as well as the beer holders for the Groomsmen.
