fbpx

Dana & Justin

McGrath Estate
Auckland

McGrath Estate Wedding | Auckland Wedding photographer | Museum Wedding Photos

This is a story that spans the last 6 months. So buckle in – there’s a lot to see here.

We begin our story with Dana and Justin’s Adventure session out at Karekare beach about 9 months ago. We clambered over rocks and sand dunes and quite literally chased the golden light across the beach. This was our first shoot together and they were already complete naturals. This bodes well for part two of our story.

Dana and Justin had planned their wedding for the end of October and as the date got closer, we all started to realise that a plan B was in order. After much mulling and after receiving the blessings of their loved ones, they decided to go ahead with their ceremony with just the 10 allowed guests.
The hunt was on to find somewhere outdoors, visually awesome and private. Keep in mind that this was around the time that Aucklanders were finally allowed out of our homes and were swarming to the beach and parks to have their first picnics in months, so finding the last of these requirements (somewhere private!) was proving to be a challenge.
Fortunately, Dana and Justin are surrounded by some incredible people, and their friends kindly offered the use of their beautiful backyard which couldn’t have been any more perfect.

When their wedding day arrived – so did the rain. Luckily for all of us, Dana and Justin, along with their 10 guests, are super adaptable, so umbrellas emerged and they carried on like the incredibly resilient and positive bunch of people that they are.

And if you know us – we never say no to a good rain photo! The perfect addition to an already amazing day was a trip to the Auckland Museum. Even here we encountered more Aucklanders having a picnic on the Museum steps. To the random strangers who graciously made room for us – thank you for turning your UE boom our way and playing first dance songs for Dana and Justin while they waltzed in the rain.

But that’s not all. Fast forward to December and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that 100 people could get together and celebrate with Dana and Justin. Their timing couldn’t have been better, as just a few days earlier the Auckland border lifted and friends and some incredibly important family members were able to join them.
We all met back up at the amazing Mcgrath Estate in Auckland where Dana and Justin re-affirmed their vows, this time with all their friends and family surrounding them.

I have so many more exciting things to tell you about Dana and Justin’s wedding day – the incredible sunset over the hills, the choreographed surprise dance from the bridal party, the traditional Korean Paebaek ceremony – but you’ll have to scroll on to see this all for yourself.