Romantic Tauranga Wedding by Quinn & Katie Photography

Hello from Melbourne!! By the time you read this I'll be winging my way back home from a whirlwind visit across the Tasman. We've had a lovely time hanging out and exploring Melbourne... actually trying to keep warm for a lot of it as it was rather chilly. I feel thoroughly spoilt by my fab husband... he sure knows how to make me feel special!!

I'm kick starting the week with this gorgeously romantic wedding from the ever so lovely Quinn & Katie Photography. I love the look of this location and especially how it has special meaning to Kas & Nic, as this was where they went for their first date! Also love the cute little picnic they had after the ceremony to take a moment to themselves! I'll leave it to Kas to tell you the rest of their story.

Nic and I first met one summer approximately 6 years ago now. It was a great summer fling that we both enjoyed but didn’t expect to go anywhere. We both left as summer ended and went our separate ways, I was off to Italy having finished university to work and Nic back to Wellington to finish his degree. Two years later, a random twist of fate found us both back to our home town in Tauranga. Nic having just joined Facebook joined me as a friend after 2 years and then through limited contact, we decided to meet up at the Tauranga races. Some would say the rest is history, but this is where history began. I knew that first night that it was love. I was ready to wear my heart on my sleeve and Nic tries to deny it but his actions betray him. From this moment we have crammed more in to our lives than most people in a life time.

We had limited funds of course, restricted our planning. But I am an ideas person with big ideas and a lot of them. We first concluded that our most important feature was to have all our family and friends attend. So numbers were large for a low budget wedding. Around 170 were invited. Only 140 could attend. Thank goodness.

We decided we wanted a picnic dinner as that is more our style. Fun and laid back was the key theme. We love festivals and I had always wanted to plan one and from there grew the idea of the “Love Festival ". Our location was a complete blank canvas and of course we had limited funds so we had to do every detail ourselves. And I am big on details.

Everything for our wedding was bought off Trade Me, recycled or re-used. Every aspect of the wedding I created in my mind from the vases to the blankets, tiles, bunting, signs, the flowers the seating plan design, invite design, programmes and even the cake I designed and had created. I had to find these and make every single item.

Friends and family chipped in even the local school had a turn at making some of the 400m of bunting we cut and stapled ourselves. So many people came through on the day and they all just loved being involved.

The ceremony was held in a clearing in the bush where Nic walked to meet me to escort me across the bridge. This was where we went for our first official date on my birthday almost 3 years previously. It was such a romantic, intimate setting with everyone hidden amongst New Zealand’s amazing, natural bush. Nic and I shared a moment having a picnic after the ceremony which was such a nice way for us to have a moment to ourselves to think about all that had happened that year and knowing we had made it.

The rest of the night goes without saying. We had a photo booth where everyone added photos to our guest book to sign. We had fire lanterns after dark for couples to send into the sky to join the stars. This was amazing.

I had also collected wedding dresses from our mums, aunties and friends to display around the venue which everyone loved. Also a lolly table that was covered in photos of our parents weddings, their parents right back to our great great great grandparents. It was so beautiful to show what strong role models we both have and such strong family values.

*Quinn & Katie Photography are one of my fabulous sponsors!