Hannah Lind

Shaun & Caroline's Wanaka 'nearly elopement'

Bride and groom standing between the pond and the lake row boat, tree and mountain. Glendhu Bay, Wanaka NZ — The pond, the lake, the couple

Shaun and Caroline made the trip from Scotland to get married at Glendhu Bay on Lake Wanaka.

Bride and groom walking in to their garden elopement together. Holding hands, talking. Wanaka NZ — Arriving together

Shaun hales from Scotland but like me Caroline is a Southland girl. As they live in Scotland, they chose to bring their wedding home to New Zealand so her Invercargill based parents could be the guests of honour.

And they were the only guests. The calm of a ‘nearly elopement’ was what Shaun and Caroline were after for their wedding day.

Shaun and Caroline got in touch with me at the beginning of 2022. Planning a wedding from afar is not easy - they had chosen Wanaka for their location because it was a place Caroline had loved to visit as a child. So they were not up to speed with what the area had to offer for a Wanaka elopement (to quote Drew Barrymore as Julia in The Wedding Singer ‘I’m afraid of paying $500 for a half eaten wedding cake’). While I love a Wanaka wedding, planning a Wanaka wedding is not my area of expertise either. So I put them in touch with Lisa & Andy Brown who on top of Andy’s gorgeous photos, put together a package that was exactly what Shaun & Caroline wanted.

Garden ceremony spot lawn with trees, lake, mountains in background. Glendhu Bay Wanaka NZ — Ceremony

Especially the location - a private garden on the shores of Lake Wanaka at Glendhu Bay (see local knowledge is so important!)

I often say that my favourite part of being a celebrant is getting to ask people all the fun nosy questions it would be weird to ask strangers in the street… and that’s nearly true. What I love most is a good chat! When Shaun, Caroline & I met via Zoom (their 10pm to my 10am) we talked for over an hour. They told me the most wonderful stories about how they met, their friendship, their first dates and their lives together now. It’s what allowed me to write a ceremony that was so them.

Woven through the stories they chose to include two of their favourite poems and a handfasting (to get to the handfasting ‘hand position’ they did their special handshake, it was the best thing I’ve ever seen!)

And you don’t need to take my word for how happy they were with me (heaps, they were heaps happy!) you can see their kind words over on my testimonials page.

I don’t have a favourite type of wedding. Big, small, loud, intimate, dressed up, gumboot chic… but I do love when I can see a couple has been intentional about how they want to celebrate their marriage and why. Shaun & Caroline you did your wedding your way and you rocked it!