We had talked about getting married on and off for about a year. I had given up that it was going to happen in the near future and was at least a couple of years out, so it was a surprise when he was talking on the phone to my parents to hear him ask them if he could have their permission to ask me to marry him. So out of the blue! I had no idea he had made the decision to take the next step. After grabbing the phone off him and telling my parents I loved them but had to go, I hung up and Al dropped to his knees and proposed.

We had decided that our wedding was going to be a low key affair but be something different. Rarotonga was our destination. We sent invites away two years before the occasion so that family and friends who wanted to join us had time to save. We had a whopping great party of 72 people join us which just blew us away and made the occasion that so much more special. We chose the Edgewater Resort as our location/ guest accommodation which included using their wedding planner. The Edgewater gave us a special discount for our guests and we later found out that our party was the biggest (foreign) party they had hosted for a wedding.

We made the invitations. I found a website in Australia that provided all the materials and all we had to do was print the information and put it all together. The cards were imprinted with Frangipani.....a tropical flower in Rarotonga.

Our wedding theme was Frangipani. An absolutely gorgeous vibrant tropical flower. We had them everywhere. Decorating the wedding cake, decorating the reception tables, in our bouquets, in our hair etc.

Because we had so many guests join us we also provided black t-shirts for all our guests with "Alan & Kellie Rarotonga 2006" on it. This was for our happy hour at 5pm each night before the wedding so that they all got to know each other. A lot of fun and humour. It was like a week-long party with loved ones.

One thing I found being in Rarotonga is that the laid back lifestyle kind've grows on you. I felt like I had become an instant Cook Islander. Very cruisy about details. All that was important to me was that Alan and I were married and that our day was a happy one. Everything else did not seem a priority. With the wedding planner it helped immensely because she organised everything and even though some minor things may not have gone to plan, at the end of the day we are Mr & Mrs and we are happy. Thinking about it though, the MUST HAVES I was after was a healthy groom (there was a stomach virus going around the island that he and some guests caught), good weather (not too hot...not raining) and that was it. Well the groom was back to health and the weather was perfect.

What was special about our ceremony was our vows. We had written them ourselves using ideas from websites, so they had extra meaing to us. Hearing eachother say the words about our love and commitment to one another. In my vows I promised to love his two daughters (although we refer to them as "our" daughters) and treat them as my own. That really moved him as he didn't know that I had included them in my vows to him. What was also special about the ceremony is seeing all the faces of our loved ones who sacrificed and saved so hard to join us.

Having everyone there having a good time made us so happy. The food was fantastic, everyone was raving about it. The decorations were lovely. It was held under the Heta Hut (a flaxed roof outdoor area) that overlooked the resort pool and sea. And the fact that when the meal was over and we were all up and dancing a cyclone went past the island and the most amazing torrential rain and wind tore through. Nothing can describe how exciting an experience that was. Sun-loungers were being blown across the courtyard, guests were running around in the rain getting drenched or jumping in the pool. It lasted 10 minutes but it was definitely one of the highlights of the day having never experienced anything like it before. Some Locals (staff) came to tell us that our wedding has had the best blessing according to their tradition because of the cyclone which made it extra special.

I word an Ice Pink one-piece wedding dress made by Marie from Mariel Bridal in Wanganui. It was simple but elegant. It draped to one side which was accentuated by a gorgeous brooch. It also had a small chapel train and matching shawl.

Taking into consideration all the different shapes n' sizes of my attendants I decided to go with different style dresses to suit their figure. I picked a pattern that had 4 different versions of doing its style and sent it away for them to choose which style they thought would suit them best. They were matched by using the same material, jewellery (including feet jewellery) and bouquets.

Funny as it may sound, I arrived in one of the golf-carts that the resort uses to transport guests to their rooms when they first arrive. It had been specially made up with flowers to look "bridal". Very cute and I loved it. I was not expecting it.

There were two romantic moments for me. One was Alan kissing his bride (yay). And the other was when we were having photos taken on the beach, just the two of us to seal in a photo forever.

I wore my great grandmother's engagement ring as "something borrowed". It was given to me the day of our wedding by my great Aunt. My grandmother and I were very close and it meant so much to have a part of her with me.

My best decision was "don't sweat the small stuff". I had such a cruisy day, no stress and I wouldn't change the day at all.

Our best decision was flying over Luke Pilkington of VisionDesign to photograph our day. He did an awesome job and we highly recommend him.

After spending 10 days in Rarotonga with family and friends (married on day 7 of being there), Alan and I flew out to Bangkok, Penang and Taiping for another 10 days. It was a fantastic experience.

Married life is no different to life before marriage. We still feel the same love. We still live the way we use to live. However, I love being referred to as Mrs, I love having my husband's name. I love being his WIFE. And I love being "married".

My advice to you is........stay focused on what's really important on your day. Don't sweat the small stuff!!