Katrina and George

Katrina and George were married recently married at St Andrew's in Auckland City – followed by their wedding reception at Pinot .

It was another glorious day in Auckland and very hot weather for autumn in the City of Sails. There were lots of people out and about and some surprised looks as our bride and groom queued for a "Mr Whippy" icecream after their ceremony, with some of the children who were guests at the wedding.

Katrina was a stunning bride in a beautiful gown, which had a full lace skirt with draped silk- from Brides by Paula Midgley from Kumeu.

Katrina and her bridesmaids, all in delicious pink silk, had their makeup and hair by Colleen Hayward and Lisa Brewer at About Style.

The cars were classic Alvis models - which I did not know much about - but were in beautiful condition and the passion of many I imagine !

Flowers were from Angie J Weddings -Amazingly lovely roses in wonderul pink tones .

George and the boys looked very handsome in their suits from Exclusive suit hire.

Wedding photos were taken overlooking the Waitemata at the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial on Takaparawha. The grounds were emaculate as always, and a credit to Parks maintenance staff . There were a number of wedding parties, and seemingly, hundreds of tourists and cameras in all shapes and sizes, also having photos taken - however - there was plenty of room for us all. We captured some great moments and especially the fun shots with George and "the dress". Sorry about that George - I must remember to clarify next time what "under" meant :) :) (I hope Katrina didn't mind... too much !)

Before long it was time to rush to Pinot and enjoy the speeches, dinner and dance. It was also great to catch up during the dinner break, with our favourite wedding videographer Robyn from Moving Memories Wedding Video.

Our heartfelt thanks again to Katrina and George - who are busy relocating to Sydney during their honeymoon - it was such a pleasure to be part of your awesome wedding day - we will catch up again soon.

Kelly and Scott

Kelly and Scott travelled from Australia to be married on the Sunset Coast, Karioitahi at Castaways in front of many family members and friends. It was another glorious day on the west coast with a brisk sea breeze – just enough to take the edge off the heat and lull you into thinking you might not need sunscreen…(as many people found out later in the afternoon)

Kelly was a stunning bride, wearing a beautiful wedding gown by Mariana Hardwick.
It has been a great year for bridesmaid’s gowns too! There have been so many great colours this season, such a variety of styles and fabrics. The days of the satin black bridesmaids dress has hardly featured, as it has done regularly in years gone by. Sara and Skye, Kelly’s sisters, wore knee length- beautiful swirly dresses in a dark emerald green – which we used to great effect during the wedding party photos on the beach later in the afternoon. Their makeup was by Roxanne from B.O.D, at Auckland City. Thanks ladies – were you were all gorgeous and such great fun! Scott and his brothers looked very handsome wearing nice formal suits from Frank Casey. Dante, Armani, Kees, Henry were the cute page boys and did a superb job walking through the rose petals to the ceremony on the cliff top. Constance Brown was the celebrant – and did a terrific job as always. The wedding party photos were taken on Karioitahi beach, where Kelly and Scott had both very romanitc and fun shots – including pushing a car which had become stuck in the sand!

Another wonderful wedding reception at Castaways, great food and ambience, where everyone is looked after so well, while overlooking the magnificent west coast .
Sunset that night was swift – however, we popped back to Castaways and grabbed a few great shots on the clifftop – which is a great bonus for Karamika Photography clients who have their weddings at our local venue.
Thanks so much - Kelly and Scott – a great fun couple, very much in love – all the very best to you - we will catch up after your honeymoon.

Helen and Michael

Helen and Michael were married at the Auckland Botanic Gardens in Manurewa recently. The wedding party photos were taken prior to the event - which is what I try to recommend to all couples, it's not for everyone, however it works really well. The guests are not left waiting while the wedding party are away having the photo session.

The weather was a little damp for a while - and black clouds threatened overhead while we sheltered under umbrellas and in a very well placed "shed" in the gardens:) Billy the outrageous Irishman and best man was full of jokes and fun. He was also great fun and help during the "flick" of the veil shots...(Yes Billy I have turned you into a conifer) Michael appeared rather nervous initially, but Helen (if she was nervous) certainly did not show any signs of it as we made your way around the gardens. Helen's and Lynda's lovely cream and blue bouquets were by the very talented ladies at Bizziblooms in Orakei.

The ceremony was held amongest family and friends in the well manicured Perennials garden. Many, many thanks to my wonderful "helper" in organising the groups for the family photos - it was much appreciated. I didn't need to use my "soccer mum" voice at all. I am sure we will catch up at a football match one day too.

Helen and Michael's lovely wedding cake was made by Helen's mum and was a gorgeous fruit cake with the little hippos :).

Many thanks to a lovely couple - Helen and Michael - We wish you lots of happiness always - and have fun during your honeymoon in Adelaide - we will see you when you get back to NZ!

Pieta and Andy

Another coast to coast adventure and wedding on Waiheke for us . The ferry trip was much more pleasant this time and even managed to take some tourist" photos on the Waitemata harbour.

Andy and Pieta were blessed with a beautiful day for their beachfront wedding at the Dunes on Waiheke Island. It was great to finally meet you both – and your families, after our “long distance” relationship.
Pieta’s stunning wedding gown was a Spanish Pronovia design brought back from the UK. The wedding was very “international” with the wedding party flying in from all parts of the globe. The couple made their own unique gold wedding rings in the UK - Pieta sharing her gold with Andy:) The gorgeous flowers and bouquets were by Lotta at the Waiheke Florist Company and their wedding cake was from the Rocket Kitchen.

The ceremony was held on the beach at Onetangi, much to the delight of the local beach goers! The beach was very hot, with not a lot of shade to be found. Chantelle and Katie, looking gorgeous in their sky blue gowns - were grateful for the parasols - as were we all . The wedding Party were a lot of fun and it's not often you meet a bride willing to play football on the beach and chase seagulls -(Great stuff Pieta!) - and also not forgetting to mention the boys and the "brollies" hmmmm:) We managed a great reflection shot with Andy, Ant and Sam using one of the hip flask gifts from Andy to his best man. Pieta and Andy have returned to the UK and we send our very best wishes and congratulations to a wonderful couple:)

Keri and Mike

If anyone remembers February 23rd, 2008 - It will be for the bad stormy weather - after weeks of hot summer and perfect blue skies. We started out early from home, for Keri and Mike's wedding on Waiheke and travelled a long journey from our West Coast home, crossing the Waitemata harbour on the Sealink car ferry. The rolling choppy seas did nothing for my general health - and I concentrated as best I could on catching up with the latest gossip in a woman's magazine. We arrived at Kennedy Point in plenty of time, cruised over Waiheke, with me playing travel guide to my husband, who had only been once before when the children were very small. The wind was very fierce and the huge rolling surf coming in from east side of the Island around Oneroa and Onetangi was spectacular sight.

We journeyed up to Kereru Lodge in Cable Bay, where the wedding was to be held - hoping to find everything still in tack - and it was. The girls were busy - and not too stressed - if they were worried about the weather it didn't show. The benefits of having a wedding at Kereru Lodge - is that you have room to move and there is no panic about where to take the wedding photos in bad weather. The marquee had taken an entire day to erect and was not blowing away anywhere in a hurry!.

We then ventured down to Kiwi House - where the boys were getting ready in their very nice suits from Munns- grabbed a few shots and then we were back to catch the girls, dressing and putting on the finishing touches. Loved the cufflinks - silver rugby balls ! Keri's wedding gown by Louise Anderson - was stunning and had beautiful fine detail in rouching and beading. The gorgeous red rose bouquets by Grandiflora in Remuera

Keri's friend Karen - did an awesome job with wedding arrangements - being a professional wedding co-ordinator - it was wonderful! Red, black and white was simple yet elegant. :)

Keri and Mike's ceremony was perfect - and we were soon onto the wedding party photo session - which we held in the lodge - after a quick dash up the windy wet steps.

CROUCH -TOUCH -PAUSE- ENGAGE, a new theme in wedding photos - thanks guys (a.k.a. the boys) "awesome-yet cheeky"... and ladies, you were a lovely group...easy to photograph and very friendly - thanks it was a pleasure .

Congratulations to a great couple Keri and Mike!! After another scary, hairy, ride across the harbour ((gulp)) and we were home by 9.30pm.

Private Gallery now on line. Link and password info is via Keri and Mike.

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.