Backyard beach picnic wedding – Papamoa

photographed by Isaac & Libby

Last weekend we headed down to Papamoa beach, near Tauranga – to photograph ‘The Rach & Marty Party’… a beautiful, laid back, beachy affair that was quintessentially kiwi.
Upon arriving on Friday afternoon, in the middle of a blustery storm – it was apparent that these guys were pretty laid back, and nothing was going to phase them.
“We don’t really have a plan B… it’s going to be sunny”. I was skeptical.
To find out what happens next… read on!

When we arrived in the morning, the clouds looked set in & ready to rain. It didn’t stop the boys from getting the Contiki into the water (or swimming) though!

The wedding took place at Rach’s parents beach house at Papamoa – the girls spent the morning being pampered, while the boys either scrubbed things & set things up… or went surfing.

Rach opted for a stunning Rue de Seine wedding gown, and a bouquet she made herself with dried lavendar (because Marty proposed to her in a lavender maze in the UK) – and bunnytails sourced from the beach, 50 metres away. Her headpiece has been handed down through generations, and has graced a few family weddings over the last few decades.

The NIWA website must have recorded an unusual amount of extra traffic this day – as the forecasts were being continually refreshed. The rain had held off this long… but it wasn’t looking good for later in the afternoon, around the time of the ceremony.

Rach & Marty opted to do their bridal photos before the ceremony, meaning that afterwards they would just be able to spend time hanging out with their guests & enjoying the picnic.
It also gave us the chance to capture this beautiful shared moment where they saw each other for the first time.

Stunning.

Next door to their property was this cool grove of pine trees – bordered by an electric fence that I tentatively tested with a blade of grass… and then delicately with my hands… before deciding it was, in fact, turned off.

This view back across to Mount Maunganui is stunning – and almost the exact reversal of the classic view down the coastline that you get from the summit of the Mount.

Back at the bach, the guests had arrived (mostly wandering up the beach from their own various beach houses) – and the sun had come out!!
No one could have predicted the beautiful afternoon weather – certainly not any of the weather forecasters.

The conclusion of the ceremony kicked off one of the most memorable wedding afternoons that I’ve photographed to date.

A stack of picnic baskets & rugs. A cake made of cheese that was cut & served up. Craft beers that had been specially brewed for the wedding. Wine. Family. Games.

As people began to move inside the marquee for speeches, the clouds rolled back in, and a few drops of rain began to fall – the most perfect timing you could wish for.

The order of the day for dinner was woodfired pizzas, and beautiful boxed salads – which you could sit & eat while looking out over the sea.

We snuck out in one of those few showers for a classic ‘Perspectives’ rain photo… which Marty & Rach gave their own twist to.

And for dessert – ICECREAMS!! And frozen yoghurt. They were so good. I had two.

How to tell if you’re a badass bride : you can carry a wine, a beer, and an icecream all at once. If you can’t do this yet… keep trying.

It’s almost impossible to see… but in every single one of these photos, it’s raining. In the last 2 – it’s pouring! But I reckon it was worth getting wet for. A bit of sun broke through the clouds with some colour, and created a stunning rainbow.

Darkness was just falling – and Rach’s mum & dad were learning that pouring perfect icecreams is harder than it looks.

The last few speeches kicked off – followed by the band. The band was quite special… Marty’s Mum is a huge fan of ‘Swamp Thing’ – and managed to book them to play for the wedding. I’d never seen them before, but I have always admired Michael Barker’s epic percussion skills when he played for John Butler Trio – and they didn’t disappoint. The dance floor was ROCKING.

Rach & Marty – thanks for being awe