Peter and Angelina met in June 2007 at a lunch gathering through mutual friends from church. A week or so later after a church service for Mothers Day, Peter asked Angelina what she was up to with her young daughter Jemma. When Angelina replied that they were heading home to get stuck into the garden, Peter made a decision.
At the next church gathering, he came out of the crowd and presented Angelina with a box of chocolates and simply said “Happy Mothers Day”. Angelina knew from that day on that he was a very special man.
They began a friendship, and it quickly evolved into something more with Peter becoming a permanent fixture in hers and Jemmas lives.
In January 2008 while on holiday at Angelinas family bach, Peter asked her parents for permission to marry her. Although he hadn’t officially asked her to marry him, he had asked what ring she’d like. A couple of weeks later, Peter got a babysitter for Jemma and whisked Angelina off for a romantic walk through Pukekura Park where they stopped on the Poet’s Bridge and he asked her to be his wife.
The couple didn’t want to wait and decided quickly on a wedding date, 26 April 2008. Angelina explains “we wanted to get married before the summer was through and had to work it around Peters roster as a vet. We both knew we didn’t want to wait until the following year.”
Angelina asked her sister Natasha to be Maid of Honour and had Jemma as a flowergirl. Peter’s brother Paul was Best Man.
On the wedding day, Angelina got ready with the girls at her parents house, having stayed their the night before. They travelled down the road to get hair and make-up done at Anna’s Planet (now Muskova) and on their return they were met by two cherry red VW beetles. It was time to get changed.
Angelina wore a classic plunging v neck gown that is often referred to as a weather board dress that came down to a fish tail. Natasha wore a strapless long evening gown in bronze while Jemma dressed in a classic princess dress made by Angelina’s Mum that was dupion silk with bronze and black taffeta and a shimmering metallic tulle. Angelina’s flowers were made of silk roses with ivy and rose pods from a company in Auckland. “I didn’t feel the need to have designer flowers that cost me more than I could afford and I wanted to be able to keep them as a keepsake.”
In the meantime, Peter and his brother Paul drove in style to Mondo Man on the hill and selected their tails and top hat suits. They didn’t take them home though, the staff helped them get ready in the shop and off they went to the church from there.
The bridal party were fashionably late, to no fault of the bride, it was her parents who weren’t ready! With her Dad by her side, he walked her down the aisle of Tikorangi Church to Huey Lewis’s ‘Cruisin’. Angelina recalls “I remember the moment I saw Peter in his top hat and tails, and just felt complete happiness. I wasn’t nervous at all, just felt really calm.”
While the couple said their ‘I do’s’ and signed the register, a cello and guitar player accompanied a friend of theirs who sang. “It was so lovely having live music, it set the mood for the whole day really, complimenting both mine and Peter’s style as a couple. We then walked out to ‘slice of heaven’ for family photos in front of the church.”
After their family photos and congratulations, the couple jumped into one of the VW beetles with Peter driving and cruised to the Bertrand Bridge for photos. Peter’s friends had completely forgot all about the hamper with food and wine and so quickly made a run to Sentry Hill Winery who saved the day. “That first glass of wine after you’re married, will always be remembered, it tasted so good!”
A block of land next to the bridge provided more photo opportunities amongst the trees before heading to Onaero Beach for a few more. But while the photographer took off first, she left behind the wedding party to jump start the bridal car. “Unfortunately the photographer missed the best shot of me, Peter, Natasha and Peter’s friends pushing the V dub to get it going again. It was pretty funny.”
After the photo session down the beach, the bridal party arrived at Waiau Estate to a relaxed and merry group of wedding guests. The kids were happily jumping in the Mitre 10 jumping castle, while everyone else was enjoying a celebratory drink. They greeted the newly weds with lots of cheers.
The wedding reception at Waiau was a late lunch in the afternoon sun, with shared platters placed on each table for guests to enjoy. There was a great selection, Angelina says “everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the food. We had a seafood platter, a meat selection and salad platters. It was perfectly catered to all tastes and I highly recommend it.”
After the emotional speech’s, the happy couple cut their wedding cake that was ordered through the city cake company at Mt Eden, Auckland. They selected three different cakes. A gin and lemonade, devil’s chocolate and a carrot cake. Angelina hired tiers from Strandon Home Cookery, decorated the cakes herself with ivy and flowers and took the cost out of a wedding cake by a mile! They were cut and served with coffee and tea to finish the relaxed afternoon wedding celebration.
At 6pm and after seeing their guests off, the couple looked forward to their honeymoon night and happily walked back hand in hand to their car. Much to the amusement of Peter’s friends, all four tyres were missing and the car was on blocks! A great practical joke! When the laughter died down, his mates gave in and put the tyres back on so that the couple could take off into the sunset to Wai-iti Beach where they stayed overnight in an apartment.
When Angelina thinks back to their wedding day, she smiles and says “I can’t think of a single thing that stood out to be special. One of the best parts though was that Bishop Richardson who married us, allowed us to set the ceremony to our own personal style. Another highlight was insisting on the shared supper instead of a traditional buffet or sit down meal, it brought our guests together in unison. Some of our families hadn’t met each other before, so the shared meal made everyone relaxed and happy. It was different and very special to watch.”
Photographer: Pip Guthrie. Ceremony: Tikorangi Church. Venue: Waiau Estate. Attire: CC Wards and Mondo Man. Hair and Make-up: Anna’s Planet (now Muskova). Flowers: La Faux Floriste. Transport: Family Friends VW Beetles. Cake: City Cake Company, Auckland. Accommodation: Wai-iti Beach. Hire: Mitre 10.