Stuff's wedding of the week
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
Photography by Kit Greer
0 of 0 « Previous« PreviousNext »Next »Builder Mike Wade, 26, fancied Charlotte Frost, 22, from afar for a long time before they finally got together.
Their gorgeous March wedding featured rock'n'roll dancing, a tear-inducingly-lovely aisle story and three dresses (well, one didn't quite make it).
We'll let Charlotte do the rest of the talking...
How did you meet? Mike and I met during a dirt bike ride with mutual friends. Mike had noticed me around over the years as we lived in a small town, he always wondered who I was but never plucked up the courage to introduce himself.
After our first initial meeting it was safe to say we were inseparable. We spent many weekends together snow boarding, fishing and bike riding and after eight months of being besties we admitted it was true love and made things official.
Tell us about the proposal: Even before we were officially a couple we would joke about spending the rest of our lives by each other's side. It really was simply a case of when, not if. I returned home from work one night to find Mike showered and neatly dressed (an unusual site to see!). Candles were lit and dinner was cooked. I thought nothing of it at the time because I was tired and starving! As I sat down to scoff my meal I heard a weird ripping noise, Mike said he just hit the table. He wasn't eating, just staring at me. He waited for me to finish and then another weird ripping noise (he had taped the ring to the bottom of the table). He dropped to one knee, I cried so much I could barely say yes and the rest is history.
Location of wedding: Kumeu Valley Estate
Describe your wedding day: Our wedding day went off without a hitch. My cousin who had recently become a registered celebrant did us the honour of marrying us and what a fantastic job she did. My grandfather, who is 92 years of age, gave me away along with my mum. He may not have been able to "walk" me down the aisle (so rocked his wheelchair instead), but it meant the world to me that he was there. We also used his 1936 James motorbike as one of the wedding vehicles. We had a special reading from Mike's dad and also a waiata performed by my sister and her husband.
The ceremony was followed by the most amazing reception. Kumeu Valley Estate did a fantastic job and I cannot praise them enough. Mike and I performed a rock'n'roll number for our first dance (You're The One That I Want from Grease). We even managed a few flips, which was a big effort as we could not dance to save ourselves before the few lessons we had.
The dress: I had three dresses in total. The first dress was a cheapy off the internet and by the time I had it altered I was not feeling it at all and decided to keep looking. Being a little bit of a tom boy, dress shopping was not exactly up my alley, nor was spending a lot of money on one. I spent about an hour in a bridal shop, found one that suited, and just so happened to find the same dress on TradeMe and boom, I was done. It was a Maggie Soretto number and I had my mum do some alterations to it to make it my own. I also had her whip up my dance dress, which was an absolute hit. I probably loved that one more than my ceremony dress!
The flowers: Amanda from "All that Jasmine" on East Coast Bays Road. She did a fantastic job considering I gave her about 20 different ideas of what I wanted. I was indecisive to say the least!
Highlight of the wedding: My grandfather giving me away for sure. He is the most amazing man I have ever known and for him to get there was all I could have asked for.
Was there any drama? Nothing we couldn't handle. The only slight hiccup was the fact that Pops' wheelchair would dig into stones on the aisle and get stuck. Thankfully we tried it out at the rehearsal and managed to hire some carpet to cover it before the big day. Oh that, and the part where Mike elbowed me in the eye during a quick practice of our dance!
The honeymoon: We flew to Australia a day after the wedding. We spent four days in Surfer's Paradise running around the theme parks and zoos. We then flew up to Cairns and stayed in Port Douglas for another four days for the more relaxing side of the honeymoon. It was our first trip overseas together and we had an absolute blast.
Your photographer and favourite photo? Kit Greer. Kit is a friend of ours and this was his very first wedding shoot. He did a fantastic job. I actually could not pick a favourite if I tried. When I sat down to go through them all I came out with a "favourites" folder containing 300 images.
- © Fairfax NZ News
