Tracy & Hayden
After 14 years together, Tracy and Hayden were married on a picture-perfect summer day, exchanging vows beside the water before celebrating into the night in a marquee. the couple incorporated family and plenty of diy, with the stunning photos showing just how much love and happiness surrounded them. tracy tells us about their day…
Photos by Gilbert at SuperGibo Photography
We’re an adventurous couple in our 30s from Papamoa. We live with our two boys, two cats, and a dog. We are always busy competing in sports, camping with the family, or sightseeing in this beautiful country.
Hayden proposed to me while we were living in Christchurch. He took the day off from running his busy bricklaying company to celebrate my birthday in Akaroa, a place I had never been before. We decided to stroll along the waterfront and ended up at the wharf. When we reached the end of the wharf, I decided that it was the perfect spot to take a panoramic shot of the stunning Akaroa Harbour. As I turned from one end of the harbour to the other, I was surprised to see Hayden down on one knee with the most perfect proposal. I enthusiastically said YES, and I never did get to finish taking that panoramic shot!
We wanted a simple and beautiful wedding style. The only non-negotiable was it had to be near the water, but not a beach wedding. We settled on Paihia in the Bay of Islands, and it was wonderful to have everyone make a week of it and spend time together in this stunning spot.
We booked a big house in Paihia, and all our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and their partners stayed together with us. This meant that on the morning of the wedding, we split the house up, with the girls upstairs and boys downstairs, and it was awesome as everyone got to mingle and hang out (except Hayden and I!).
On my wedding day, I wore a dreamy princess-style gown with a beautifully beaded bodice and a flowing, layered skirt. I complemented this with a long, custom-made veil that added a touch of elegance.
Hayden had his suit custom-made with a dark navy blue on the outside and a deep red on the inside, pocket square and tie. We matched the bridesmaids to this deep red and they all chose matching dresses. Groomsmen wore black suit pants and white shirts with matching deep red ties.
The wedding day dawned with clear blue skies, a light sea breeze and a super stunner of a day. Our amazing celebrant Tash, welcomed all of our guests up to the point overlooking the beautiful Bay of Islands water, where they were greeted with Champagne and summer beats. Hayden and his two best men, aka our boys, walked down the aisle first, followed by his groomsmen, shortly followed by our beautiful niece Luna, the flowergirl. Luna got stage fright, so my bridesmaids helped her throw the flowers. In my typical fashion, I made everyone wait for the perfect part of my aisle song, which was about two minutes in! My mum walked me up the aisle and happily handed me off to Hayden!
During the ceremony, we released two butterflies for our loved ones who couldn't be there, especially my Dad and Hayden's Auntie Helen. Tash made it a beautiful, funny and light-hearted ceremony and had us wrapped up and ready to celebrate in no time! Next were bubbles and chats with our guests, followed by an amazing, fun photo shoot with Gilbert on the beach. Then we headed up to the marquee to get the party started.
The reception was picture-perfect, with the big white marquee and ocean views in the background. The bridal party entered the reception marquee dancing! We don’t have a lot of talkers in our family so it was short and sweet speeches from our nearest and dearest, but our two sons stole the show, with our eldest wrote the funniest, sweetest speech followed by our youngest leading the boys to perform the Haka for us. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Guests enjoyed an open bar, the biggest buffet and the top DJ spinning his decks on the dancefloor - the reception was a huge party! MC Tash had everyone laughing and getting involved, and the DJ had all the bangers remixing from our era. A huge highlight was my little sister, whose fiance is the DJ. She learnt to play the decks and remixed our late Dad’s favourite/funeral song, Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. That's a memory that will stay with me forever!
Our wedding was perfect from the get-go — we were so lucky! It was the best day ever, spent with all my favourite people in the world celebrating my now-husband and soul mate.
VENDORS
Photos by Gilbert Cortes at Supergibo Photography
Baylys Farm / Natasha Bowen / Cinematic Creative Co / Dylins Bridal / Evolution Bridesmaids / Michael Hill / Pascoes / Hallensteins / Makeup by Philippa Kriz / Laurel Stratford Hair / Dried Petal / Cake in the Box / A to Z Catering / Coco Caravan / DJ Double D / When Squirrel met Bear