We’ve all been taken up in the fun and fervour of our friends’ wedding. We have supported this couple (especially the groom) through a long-distance romance and engagement, and were so happy to help make their day really special.

Richard was Best Man, so had to craft a speech. Much thought went into this and there were several drafts:

I made boxes that contained the wedding favours – using my Silhouette machine, this template, and Stampin’ Up Pool Party cardstock.

We travelled up the island to south Taranaki and saw the damage done by last week’s storm in the region. We timed our arrival for the day before, so we could help set up the reception venue. When we had all finished it looked so pretty!

The boxes acted as place-cards and contained a mixture of sweets. The groom couldn’t decide what was the most quintessentially New Zealand sweet, so there was a mixture: Minties, Jaffas, Milk Bottles, Pineapple Lumps, and Sprats (tiny Chocolate Fish). The bride provided Macadamia Nut Kisses – only available in Hawaii.

After the previous stormy Saturday we were all thankful the wedding day was beautifully fine. We paraded for a group photo outside the motel:

(Richard, Ed, Ed’s girlfriend Christina, me)

After a beautifully-worded ceremony, the words were said to make this pair ‘man and wife’:

Doesn’t the groom look totally in love with his bride? So that you can see how lovely she  is, here’s a photo just of her from the reception:

She is listening to her new husband’s speech and preparing to make her own. She had to cut her own short as she was so near tears (of joy!).

Richard did a great job of his speech, and of actually making it. He wanted to be sure there were some laughs, and he certainly hit the spot:

We all had such a great time – it was hard to come back to work-a-day life this week.