Quick sneak preview

Just a quick photo from Erika and Greg's beautiful wedding last week. More to come after they return from their honeymoon!

Angela and Andrew

It must have been the windiest wedding ever at Castaways! The day was very sunny but with a slight chill in the air. The surf was rolling in and very choppy and up on the clifftop overlooking the beach, the guests huddled behind the flax hoping to shelter from some of the blusterly gusts. Angela - "blew in " down to the ceremony - with her parents, as Andrew watched with a great smile and anticipation - and the wedding went ahead as planned overlooking the beach. Clare and Virgina wore lovely aqua gowns and there was an aqua theme throughout the wedding. Steve (he is the BEST) from Castaways was on hand to offer the flowers girls Jade and Sophie, some shelter from the gusts, with some large white tablecloths... Nothing quite like multi-tasking items - and they were perfect - thanks Steve!

The wind was so strong at times - even my tripod could not hold my camera steady - and that was a first... Mr Manfroto (a.k.a. the tripod) needed a bit of assistance from Mike (my husband and second shooter) to shelter the main blasts coming in from the west.

Marie Hawkins, the celebrant performed a great ceremony, not too long, not too short and it wasn't long before Angela and Andrew were husband and wife. The wedding party photo shoot was held down at Karioitahi beach and the new husband and wife were blissfully oblivious to the cold.

It was a great wedding reception also - with David Seel - DJ in charge and professional and awesome as always :) The beautiful flowers were by David's talented wife Susan.

Makeup was by Candice Turner, a very talented young lady :) - and the very cool aqua themed wedding cake by Chocolate Earth. Angela and Andrew - our congratulations and best wishes to a wonderful couple ! All the very best :)

Donna and Chris

Another lovely wedding held at Castaways Karioitahi recently. Donna and Chris were a great couple and lots of fun. Donna's gorgeous black dress was sourced north of Auckland at Orewa from - Chocolates for Breakfast (just the name encourages me to visit!) A surprise for Chris, (although he had suspected the dress would be different:) ) when they met prior to their wedding for a fun photo session at the beach. Donna loves animal prints and the setting at the wedding reception at Castaways was gold, black with a splash of animal print - including the cake - from Celebration Cakes in Manukau City. Donna's flowers were another totally original design from Scent "World famous in South Auckland" for the stunningly different floral designs they produce.

It was a very breezy day on the sunset coast- and I was quite relieved that Greer Dyson - (Donna and Chris's celebrant) had not worn one of her famous hats... I think it would have ended up way down the cliff in the surf and eventually made its way to the Australian Gold Coast ! Also - it was not a great day for "short" flowy dresses.... if you had a handbag in one hand and a glass in the other :)

A ring "warming" was carried out while Chris and Donna said their vows and the ladies present at the wedding were all given a beautiful red rose..

It was good to catch up with Donna and Chris the following day, with their beautiful daughters and take some family photos with Dick at Papakura.

This is a preview of a few images - A private viewing gallery has been uploaded and access is via a password from Donna and Chris.

Zenobie and Jonas ~ Raglan

Zenobie returned to Raglan from Switzerland with her husband Jonas - to celebrate with family and friends and have their wedding nuptials.
We had a great photo shoot at Raglan :)- Gorgeous girls and fun guys! and here are a few images.
It was our very first visit to Raglan (a two hour drive from home) and we loved it - living on the same coast - and with Mount Karioi nearby (Karioi is unique in being the only snow free mountain on the New Zealand west coast with native bush in three distinct phases from sea level to mountain top) - it kind of reminded us of home -and our local beach Karioitahi. Gallery link to more images here :

Kate and Jason - Castaways

Kate and Jason were married at Castaways on New Years Eve. Family and friends witnessed the event, in the very,very hot sunshine - on the clifftop overlooking Karioitahi Beach. Thank goodness for the sun umbrellas... A fun time was had on the beach for the photo shoot after we all piled into a four wheel drive and headed south -about 1 kilometre along the black iron sand. Amazingly we fitted everything in - with not quite the kitchen sink - but almost:) Gavin (such an awesome help rounding up the family for the photos - thank you so much :) and Becs you were fun! Kate and Jason it was so nice at your lovely wedding - you- were gorgeous, easy to photograph and made our job a pleasure. The beautiful flowers, totally different from anything I had seen before, were from Scent in Pukekohe. The tiny red and blue striped live fish, swimming amongest the flowers on the tables at the reception were great - not sure of what the live head count was the next day though ! Gallery link to more images here:)

The sunset was stunning that evening and we managed a number of great shots including some from their first dance as husband and wife. Loved the song you chose for your first dance ~ ! :) Congratulations!!

Josie and Al's wedding 30/12/2007

A quick preview of a few images from Josie and Alistair's wedding held on the cliff top at Castaways, Karioitahi Beach - on Sunday 30th December 2007. More images will be online soon and a password will be available from Josie and Al when they return from their tropical honeymoon.

It was a beautiful day on the west coast, at the base of the Awhitu Peninsula - with a strong breeze which kept the temperatures down slightly - just enough to forget the sunburning issues. High tide was around 3.30pm and there were plenty of beachgoers and paragliders galore enjoying the warm summer weather west of Waiuku.

Josie looked elegantly stunning in her gown :) The flowers were gorgeous - by Designer Flowers in Pukekohe and the girls makeup was by B.O.D., the cake- a stunning masterpiece was from Michels Patisserie in Pukekohe and Nick Logan the DJ was in perfect form - as always!
The ceremony was lovely, under the guidance of Billie - a family friend - who performed the perfect ceremony. Over 80 family and friends gathered and witnessed the event overlooking the spectacular west coast.

A great time was had by all - and we had a fabulous photo session down on the beach later in the afternoon. Thanks so much Josie and Al - and also to your fun wedding party, Lara , Emily , Sam and Steve - you were great and it was a pleasure meeting you all . Josie - your lists were invaluable ! - thanks so much:)
Castaways were, as always, the most wonderful hosts for the ceremony and reception and everyone enjoyed the atmosphere and food immensely.