Wedded Bliss.

The last couple of months have been a bit of a whirlwind.  In 2 months' time, we ended up having 4 different sets of guests visiting while working (flat-out) and planning a small wedding! All while continually working to improve our life balance and our happiness.  The wedding guest list solidified and we had 17 friends and family for the wedding weekend in Wanaka.  The pieces were coming together...we applied for our wedding certificate, decided on a celebrant to marry us (in Wanaka), decided on a location (a beautiful park on the lake, complete with autumn colored poplars, large sequoia and walnut trees), sorted our rings (Zeph gave me my ring when he proposed so he was way ahead of me in this department...I had a jeweler friend in California make his ring, which consists of a stainless steel aircraft bolt (to remind him of his love to fly), with a white gold stripe down the middle, held together by 8 rivets)...a lovely dress I picked up a few months back in California, and a reservation for our wedding dinner at our favorite place to eat in Wanaka, appropriately named The White House...simple, seasonal, wonderful food in the least pretentious way.  

Thus, this brings us to the wedding weekend...Zeph and I flew down to Queenstown, which is about an hour south of Wanaka. Our good friend, Dan, from Wellington, had the important duties of being my bridesmaid/man for the weekend, and Zeph's best man. Fortunately, our wedding was a bit out of tradition and unique...thus, Dan's duties were unorthodox and it was more his unconditional support to us for the weekend that we were most grateful for.  He picked us up from the airport and drove us to beautiful Arrowtown, on the way to Wanaka.  

Downtown Arrowtown with our best friend, Dan, getting caught in the photo

Arrowtown is similar to a quaint mountain town in Colorado and easy to see why so many are enamored with it.  The first stop in Wanaka was the boys dropping me off for my hair/make-up stylist to have a little practice session on my hair...which, was quite a treat and a lot of fun!

The beautiful glacier valley in the shadow of Rob Roy

The first "event" we had scheduled for the weekend was a hike up to the Rob Roy glacier, which is a hanging glacier at the top of an amazing glacier valley.  We planned a picnic at the mid-way point, which made it hard to eat as the view from this spot is beyond breathtaking.  

Anhtuan and Zeph on the hike, cameras in hand!

 One of Zeph's best friends, Anhtuan, was able to make it over from California, complete with his business partner...so we had two overqualified professional photographers with us the whole weekend, which was a wonderful addition.  

Nick and Anhtuan breathless from the beauty (and the hike)!

 Thus, many amazing photos will follow (apologies as they are not yet ready), so the pictures here is just what we took on our little camera...That evening after the hike we went to a movie at the local cinema, Cinema Paradiso...all 17 of us! 

Cinema Paradiso in Wanaka...every town needs one!

The interior of Cinema Paradiso- filled with character and comfort!

The movie theatre has only one screen with wonderful, large sofas, complete with dinner, drinks, and homemade cookies and ice cream.  The next morning after the usual coffee break, Zeph and I had a "wedding rehearsal" at the Wanaka Station Park, where we got to meet our celebrant for the first time (we had only spoke with her on the phone previously). 
Jools, the wedding celebrant, was a wonderful pick and she had us all situated to enjoy our ceremony to the fullest.  While we were meeting with Jools, Anhtuan and Nick got to inspect all the options of the best spots to take our pictures after the wedding.  They were in awe with the options!

The giant sequoia at Wanaka Station Park

The rolling hills of Wanaka Station Park...

The view of Lake Wanaka never gets old...

 We decided to hold the actual ceremony meeting spot at the top of an aisle of roses that connect Lake Wanaka to a very large, beautiful sequoia tree at Station Park.  

After the ceremony we all met up for a tasting at Rippon Vineyard, which is Wanaka's only vineyard and nothing short of spectacular (in its lakeside view and wonderful biodynamic wines).  

The beautiful Rippon Vineyard in Wanaka

We didn't have any dinner plans for the night before the wedding (Saturday night) but we did have a perfect outdoor spot at the homestead where we were staying, complete with an outdoor fireplace, bbq, and a large wood/log table. The impromptu bbq we threw together as serendipitous as it was, with a whole lot of fun with wonderful friends (and food).  The night before the wedding, Zeph, Anthuan, and Nick went their own way and got a beer on the way back to their bachelor pad while my bridesmaid (Dan) and I watched a light chick flick (Along Came Polly).  


The next morning Dan and I went for an early morning walk before my wonderful hair/make-up stylist showed up to beautify me.  Theresa is very good at what she does and made my hair, etc. look outstanding.  In the meantime, Zeph's mum was in charge of flowers and made Zeph and Dan boutonnieres as well as my beautiful bouquet of flowers.  The wedding was at 2p and we were secretly praying to whoever is in charge of the weather to give us a good hour as the weather predictions were bleak.  Fortunately, there were beautiful clouds present and no rain!  At 2p I walked down to the park and right at the sequoia, and down to an aisle of roses, where I found my dream guy.  He was smiling, happy, and glowing...And, I was so happy to see him!  Our little ceremony was full of vows that we had written, complete with our own promises.  After, the guests ventured up to the homestead to loiter with some drinks while Zeph and I were at the wonderful mercy of the photographers...all over the park!  Lastly, at 6pm, we ventured over to The White House for an amazing, memorable dinner.  

Very happy indeed!

The next morning (Monday) we woke up to pure bliss.  It had rained all night and when we looked at the view of the surrounding mountains, they were all covered in snow!  With this beauty, we all met up at the local cafe for breakfasts farewell as everyone went their own ways home.  Zeph, Dan, and I were left to relax in town and wandered over to visit a friend who is building his home near the beautiful Dublin Bay.  It was an inspiring story as Alistair and his wife had purchased this land 12 years ago when they were living in Wellington and they frequented their section a few times a year to plant their orchard and landscape their plot.  Then, 8 years ago, they took the plunge and moved to Wanaka.  Zeph and I found great inspiration in this story as this is our dream and seeing someone elses' manifestation of their dream was, well...inspiring!  

Zeph and his best mates...Anhtuan, Dan, (Zeph), and Nick

 The three of us left Alistair's home and returned to the homestead to relax.  It felt so good to do nothing for an afternoon.  Finally, before the sun was set, the three of us went for a lakeside walk where we talked about swimming in the "fresh" (word Kiwis use for cold) lake.  Thus, the weekend wouldn't be complete without a dare and a dip in the lake! It was quite an amazing view from in the lake, with the snow-capped mountains...breathtaking! 

This is the "after" we went for a brief lake swim! Chilled and headed for the hot tub!

Words cannot do justice to Wanaka at times...

The following day the three of us drove to Queenstown to return to Wellington.  Zeph and Dan laughed at me while I fell into a deep sleep on the airplane...which was worthy!  Returning to Wellington, Zeph and I took a shuttle straight to our office where Peter, our amazing boss, had been covering for us and we were able to relieve him of his duties.  The next morning the two of us flew up to Auckland for a work overnighter that we managed to mix some fun in.


Thus, we returned to Wellington, ready to relax!  We have been sorting our home a bit, enjoying each others company and the time to get out on our mountain bikes, while work continues to pull us in all directions (this is a good thing).  Zeph has moved his focus into town with me as I've been busier than one person can handle.  We are excited to see how successful we can be in this town as we know our skills of helping our clients don't go unnoticed!  And, we plan our orchard in Wanaka (and large shop for Z).  


We know it was a double-edge to pick Wanaka as a our favorite spot to get married as it is not a convenient/easy location for anyone who doesn't live in New Zealand.  Please know that your presence was felt for the whole weekend and we appreciate all your thoughts and goodwill sent, so, Thank You! PS> More (professional-grade) photos to follow!


Much love...Sarah & Zeph Wadsworth