{website}

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Real Wedding: Natacha + Andy II

We're back with more of Natacha & Andy's lovely beachside wedding, captured beautifully by Jodi Lidstone. This just goes to show you that no matter how small your wedding, it is no less of a grand affair - of the heart at least. Read what Natacha has to say about her day below.

How did you meet?
Andy and I met in Britain. I was visiting a friend who was going to school at Cambridge. She had met Andy at school and he had since moved to Bath. My friend and I wanted to spend a couple of days in Bath so we stayed with him. I thought he was quite cute but we were only there for a couple of days so I didn’t give my little crush too much thought. The visit came to an end and I went back to Canada. A couple of years later, I was planning a trip to Australia and my friend suggested I stop in to New Zealand and visit Andy who had since moved there. She then put us in touch via email and we never stopped talking again. We married 8 years after we first met.
Tell us about your proposal:
Andy organized a hike in Tongariro National Park. We hiked through the snow to get to the top of the Tama Lakes track where we had lunch. I was busy chatting with some tourists and making plans to continue the rest of the day with them when Andy announced that we should go off the trail to get back – trying to get rid of my new friends. They decided that off-trail wasn’t for them and headed off back on the path we came in on. Andy then got down on one knee and proposed. That afternoon we ended up at Chateau Tongariro instead of hiking off trail!
Favourite detail of the day:
The ambiance. We just had this really nice relaxed feeling to our day. The weather turned up, I felt great in my dress, everyone was in good spirits, the food was amazing.
What advise would you give out to someone planning their wedding?
Don’t be afraid to break a few traditions and do things your own way. It can really be quite liberating. The day will fly by no matter what – why sacrifice enjoying a single moment for traditions that mean nothing to you.
Most memorable moment?
We each wrote our own vows and kept them as a surprise for the day. Hearing Andy say his vows was the most memorable moment of my day.



Anything other details that help tell the story of your day

Most of our friends and family were travelling very long distances (from Britain, Germany, Canada, Australia) to be at our wedding. So we decided to keep our wedding really small so that we could spend good quality time with everyone. I was a little worried about having a small wedding (28 people) I googled ‘small weddings’ quite a few times and never came across any reassurance! Yet now I look back on it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Small weddings can be special in their own way. Once we decided that we were definitely going ahead with the smaller group, we decided to commit to the idea and take advantage of the smaller numbers. We didn’t need an MC to herd everyone into place, we all sat at one big long table for dinner, we kept speeches to a minimum since we could all talk amongst ourselves anyway! It was the perfect size of group for us. And yes you can still dance at a small wedding of 28 people. You just have to find the right space.

No comments:

Related Posts with Thumbnails