David and I have known each other since we were eight. We were neighbours for 14 years before becoming an official couple in 1997. In late 1999, while on holiday in Bali, David proposed to me at the Hard Rock Café with a 'tortoise shell' ring that he had brought earlier that day at Turtle Island.
Mum and Dad suggested that David might have Mum's engagement ring re-modelled for me. Wow! It is extra special as it is from my parents and David - the beginning of a family heirloom perhaps!
It took me a good year to gradually pick up bits and pieces and advice with loads of searching on the Internet. With my parents living in Arrowtown it was a little hard deciding on my own but my sister, who lives with me, was able to act on Mum's behalf. Fortunately I had lots of help, like
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it was a privilege to have Dad as our chauffer. He dressed our car for us - we even had a big silver butterfly attached to the front. The boys had an army GI Joe attached to theirs.
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David's sister in Hawaii made our wedding favours - bright-pink miniature Chinese take-out boxes filled with Hershey's chocolate - divine.
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My sisters and I made the name cards - silver lettering on black card with pink feathers attached to the top (to go with our feather theme).
I made the invitations with black card, dark aqua rice paper and pink ribbon and did the table arrangements - glass bowls, framed with ivy, filled with white floating candles and bright pink mini-gerberas sprinkled with silver glitter.
We didn't decide on a theme - it just happened! We ended up with ostrich feathers - white on my dress, black in the girls' hair and pink on the table name cards. It just seemed to come together. The bridal party colour theme was black, white and burgundy, with the reception themed in a variety of pinks - mainly hot pink.
Our wedding day dawned with a black sky and a weather forecast of heavy rain and thunderstorms but by the time we were dressed and ready the sun had come out.
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We chose historic Alberton House for our ceremony. Afterwards the guests had a glass of wine in the garden while we had family photos. The guests blew bubbles as opposed to confetti and it was just magical. |
Then on to the reception at McHugh's where we broke out the champers in our new 'David & Misty' champagne flutes and had lots of fun photos taken on the beach with a beautiful view of Rangitoto in the background.
The bridal party included my three sisters Shekinah, Eboney and Eden with David's close friends Jonah, Timi and Adrian.
We had 112 guests and David's oldest brother was the MC - he did a great job. We had simple, short and sweet speeches - I even gave one myself! Entertainment included cultural items from both sides of the family, Samoan and Maori, including The Siva (where they lifted me up and twirled me around!!), a Haka (from one of our groomsmen) and even a few dedicated songs and the Pois.
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I've always had a picture in my mind of my dress and my aunt was able to make it for me exactly - nice and simple, finished with ostrich feathers. No veil, but pearls in my hair.
We had a French wedding cake, profiteroles filled with custard cream and dipped in white chocolate! |
The wedding was so much better than I expected - it was stress-free and relaxed. I've had so much feedback on how lovely and organised it was - everything went smoothly thanks to my trusty old folder full of schedules and check lists.
I wasn't sure who was more proud - me of showing my family and new husband to everyone and having all my wonderful friends there, or my Mum - because she couldn't believe that I had done most of it on my own. She loved the locations, the food, and the arrangements. Her friends were also impressed - the most common comment was 'a fairytale wedding'. We paid attention to every detail - right down to having our own flute glasses made for the bridal party with "David & Misty" imprinted on them.
I can say that we all enjoyed the day so much and wished there had been more hours!
And... married life is great!
Photography by John Pease Photography
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