When Ma-z and Herlene began their search for a beautiful country that embraces marriage equality, New Zealand was the obvious choice. They flew for 20 hours from the Philippines and headed straight to Rotorua. Ma-z shares the story of their elopement…

We didn’t really know where to start planning our New Zealand wedding, but our photographer recommended the Redwood Forest in Rotorua. We instantly fell in love with the idea of getting married in the woods, and it perfectly suited Herlene’s dream of a rustic wedding theme.

It was an early start on the big day, with our makeup artist and hair stylist arriving at 6am. We had never really had any experience with having our makeup done professionally. They made us look fabulous and feel really confident.

Arriving at The Redwoods we were in awe of how it elicits such a magical vibe. Even though it was only an elopement wedding with just the two of us, we still wanted to achieve a bit of that rustic feel. Putiputi Recycled personalised a beautiful wedding arch for us, which captured that feeling perfectly.

Before we knew it, we’d said our vows and became Mrs and Mrs Ma-z and Herlene Castro! We walked through the Redwoods Treewalk to have our pictures and video taken, and then it was time to refuel our tummies with a taste of New Zealand steaks.

After a long day, we enjoyed dinner, chats and some good laughs, before the honeymoon roadtrip began! It was an awesome experience.