Mark & Mia

Motuihe Island Elopement

Exploring deserted islands is a bit of a dream come true for me. So when Mark and Mia asked me to join them for the day and explore their favourite island in Auckland’s Hauraki Golf, I couldn’t say no. And BONUS! They were going to get married there! This place was special to them, after all Mark had taken Mia on a Kayak adventure (no mean feat!) to Motuihe Island on one of their early dates, and they’d since returned under different (less exhausting) forms of travel for family picnics and nights away getting rocked to sleep in Jim Boaty.

Mark had taken his guys the day before and set up for their dream beach elopement. They’d picked out a fantastic wedding ceremony and picnic location under the twisted limbs of the pohutukawa trees, and with the speckled light of the midday sun filtering through the leaves it was a bit like fairyland.

We followed on the launch the following day, excited for the adventure we were on. And it was about to get a tad more adventurous! “Did you remember the wedding rings?” Isn’t as cliché as you’d think! With the tide now too low for us to return to Half Moon Bay Marina, we had to begin brainstorming what we could do. Spying one of the points of land, I thought out loud that it would be faster in a car, if we could just get to shore. The Captain leapt at that suggestion and headed us into the nearest beach. The fantastic marriage celebrant Debbie, called her friend who met the mission crew on shore and drove them in their dash across town back to the Marina. The treasure secured!

I always say that everyone has a wedding story (I know I do) and this was Mark & Mia’s, but in the end everything else always melts away when you see each other down that aisle and I think the looks on Mark’s & Mia’s faces say it all - don’t you?

Wedding Location: Motuihe Island, Auckland Hauraki Golf

Marriage Celebrant: Debbie Carter

Bridal Makeup and Hair: Michaela Kaye Makeup

Wedding Dress: Bridal & Ball