Romantic Lake Okareka Wedding

"Ryan isn't too much of a romantic (as much as he would like to think he is) but he proposed at one of the wineries over on Waiheke after a day of zip lining and wine tasting. I had no idea what was going to happen but I did think it was weird when Ryan refused to take off his jacket inside all day even though it wasn't cold! Turns out he had the ring in his front pocket and was terrified he was going to lose it!"

Who Paula & Ryan Nixon
Where Longfords Farm, Lake Okareka, Rotorua
Guests 100

We have been friends since we were in high school (actually dated for an entire month when we were 14). It wasn't until our final year of Uni that we started dating and although we were surprised that it happened after being friends for so long, we knew straight away that it was meant to be and we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.

Our wedding inspiration was...

We went with what felt right for us. All we really wanted was a nice relaxed atmosphere with good music and good friends. We went for simple and elegant, with lots of greenery and white flowers. The venue was naturally really beautiful and was set amongst native bush looking out over the lake so it didn't take much to make it look good.

We built our own arch with Totara posts from Ryan's family farm. The venue also allowed for BYO, which was great and we were so lucky to have a friend who makes amazing cakes.

There were 3 main things we knew we had to get right! The Photographer, the Videographer and the band! The photos & video will be with us for the rest of our lives so we wanted to make sure we had people who knew what they were doing and we are so pleased that we did! Ruth and Shine both did a fantastic job! The band also played songs that everyone knew and did an amazing job to keep everyone dancing all night.

Our advice to engaged couples...

Make sure you enjoy the engagement! It is such an amazing experience and time spent with your partner, friends and family so don't rush to get it all over too soon! We were engaged for nearly 18 months before we got married and it also meant we could book the important stuff well in advance to secure dates, then enjoy ourselves before worrying about all the small stuff.

CREDITS

Photographer Ruth Gilmour Photographer
Videographer Shine Wedding Films
Flowers Bloom Art
Venue Longfords Farm, Lakeside Wedding Venue, Lake Okareka
Catering Blue Baths, Rotorua
Stationery + Signage Broderick Print
Hair The Salon Rotorua
Makeup Makeup by Baillie
Bride + Bridesmaid Dresses Elena Andreeva - Custom made
Grooms Suit + Accessories Bond & Co
Music Count Me In
Cake Susie Steiner