Kate & John’s Auckland Beach Wedding

Wedding Photography by Amber

Kate and John had their wedding ceremony and reception at The Officers Mess in Takapuna, Auckland. They truely lived by our mantra that “A WEDDING IS A PARTY, NOT A PERFORMANCE.” Keep scrolling through their gallery to see how they create a wedding to remember.

What is your favourite memory of the day?

The whole day was perfect. The venue, the weather, the vibe and the people. Everything was perfect. It is hard to pick one part of the day, so we would have to say it was the friendly, some-what informal, party like vibe of the day that we enjoyed the most. It was awesome seeing everyone having fun, enjoying the event, enjoying the venue, enjoying the sun, enjoying catching up and having fun. We had so much fun seeing others enjoy our wedding party as much as us. What a day! We often joke we should have a party like that every year on our wedding anniversary haha. 

What surprised you on the day? 

It was a surprise having a sunny day, because it had been constantly raining leading up to our wedding day. We were so lucky. It was also surprising how much fun we had and how fast the day went. We thought it would feel like a formal ceremony where we would feel nervous and have to be on our best form, but it was such a chilled and fun event with the people we love. Also surprised how smooth the day was, because we had no idea how to organize the wedding day ourselves and some of it was decided last minute.

What was one thing you wish you had known before planning your wedding? 

We wish we had known that things take longer than we expect. We would have definitely started planning earlier. Time flies when you are organising the wedding day and everything took longer than we thought. If we had a wedding planner, then it would have been a different story, but it became really hectic trying to prepare for the wedding while we worked. There were a lot of things to do such as: planning the schedule of the day, purchasing any items we needed, preparing our dance, setting up ideas for the reception and a lot more. We were running out of time and we were losing sleep.

If you start preparing early you will not lose your beauty sleep. 

What’s your advice for future couples? 

We think the most important thing is to have fun yourself as a newly married couple. We were focused on trying to make the day perfect and look the best we can, while we were planning. Things didn’t go as smooth as we thought on the day, but it didn’t matter, because we were having so much fun with the people we loved. Having a perfectly prepped wedding day would be awesome, but it would not be worth it if you don’t get to have fun and feel too stressed on the day.

What is your favourite photo and why? 

One where we are walking down the aisle after the ceremony, with petals in the air. We love photos of our reception and dancing/dance floor, but we think this photo defines our wedding (photo above). Happy vibes on a sunny day. 

Vendor Shoutout:

Venue: The Officers Mess – great local venue, great organizer, highly recommended. 
Flowers: Britomart Florist – professionally pretty.
Dress: Modes dress – beautiful dress, great services.
Suits: Tailor Made Suits – great suggestion for the green suit and professional service.

If you have booked The Officers Mess for your venue, take a look at some of our galleries from the same location.

_{“Amber was really awesome and we couldn’t have asked for anyone better. As I mentioned above, she made us feel comfortable in front of the camera, and I think it showed in our photos. We love all the photos that she had taken for us and everyone else. They look really natural which is exactly what we wanted.”}

Kate