Waikato Wedding ~ Taupō Backyard

Rebecca and Gareth planned their wedding in a matter of weeks. They pulled together a picturesque lakefront ceremony at a property in Taupō, and celebrated with close friends and family. I knew I was the right photographer for them when Rebecca told me about the ducks they were excited to visit as an important part of their day.

Everyone should absolutely aim to have as much fun as these two! Rebecca was very relaxed and wanted the day captured as candidly as possible, but also very importantly wanted to visit the ducks, and do some smoke bomb photos. She had me at ducks!

The ceremony was held in their boss' backyard, overlooking Lake Taupō. Guests arrived to celebrate as they finished their shifts at Rebecca and Gareth's shared workplace, Taupō Tandem Skydiving. As this was 1 of 2 ceremonies (a second celebration being held in the UK with Rebecca's family), they wanted a low key but memorable experience.

This was definitely a memorable day, I had so much fun with them and their skydiving crew that I didn't want to leave when my hours were up! Everyone was hilarious, and so hospitable, always making sure drinks and bellies were full.

After the ceremony we headed to a nearby reserve, emergency bucket of water in hand. I hadn't used smoke bombs as a feature of bridal portraits before, so we did a dry run. We thought what could possibly go wrong? and pulled the trigger! It was chaos, but I think the results were spectacular. Once the smoke bombs were done, Rebecca, Gareth and I headed to the lakeside to visit Poppet and her duck family. As a crazy chicken lady myself, I know that nothing quite compares to the love of a bird. We fed them some treats, and as the sun set, made our way back to the party where dancing commenced.

I loved being involved in this day, it was honest, authentic and truely a celebration of love. More ducks at weddings please!

Location: Taupō, Waikato Wedding size: 30 guests Photography: 4 hours