Kate & Pita
Images Jess Farmer Photography
‘The lounge was covered in candles and roses, and he’d made a wooden table that had wine, strawberries and chocolates on it.’
And for a touch of cuteness, Pita had their new puppy, Vax, with a bow tie on sitting nicely in his crate, which had a sign, Mummy will you marry Daddy?, and as Kate turned to Pita, he was on one knee.
Kate’s mother and sister enjoyed shopping for dresses with her, and were delighted with their experience at Brides of Merivale. ‘The atmosphere was amazing. It smelt so fresh and clean, with lovely candles burning and iced lemon water to drink, and the lady I had for my appointment was so helpful. When I put the dress on I knew it was the one. I felt absolutely amazing.’
The pair were married on a beautiful 22-degree day at Waipuna Estate, a magical setting overlooking the Canterbury Plains, with a tropical theme inspired by Pita’s Fijian heritage.
Tropical flower arrangements adorned wine barrels for the ceremony, and the men wore traditional Fijian outfits. Kate walked up the aisle to ‘Right Here’ by Chris Brown.
One thing I loved about our ceremony was that we held each other’s hands the whole time. We wrote our own vows and we had some of Pita’s family sing Fijian songs while we signed the registry, which people still talk about to this day.’
Their photos were taken on-site at Waipuna, making use of the hillside environment. Kate’s favourite image is with Pita, overlooking Christchurch. ‘I am holding Pita from behind with my head resting on his shoulder and we both have the biggest smiles on our faces which just sums up our marriage. We are the happiest we have ever been. I love that we are holding each other close as that’s when we both feel safe in each other’s arms. I also love that you can see the detail of my bouquet, too, as I absolutely loved all of my flowers.’
Kate and Pita’s reception was a bright and colourful room with tropical flowers which added a pop of colour, while the guests enjoyed the buffet from Country Feasts.
‘It was the best party of our lives. We had all our loved ones there celebrating our love. There were amazing speeches and the best one was given by Pita’s dad and I will never forget it. We all just danced the night away.’
The moment I saw Pita I didn’t see anyone else and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Who knew that being the sober driver on a night out with some rugby team-mates would mean Pita would end up meeting the woman he would later marry?
After a friend’s 21st, bride Kate was in town, carrying on the birthday celebrations, when she met Pita. They went out for coffee the following day, and it turned out they went to the same school – a few years apart.
While they were building their first home, Pita surprised Kate with a romantic Christmas night proposal. After picking her up from her job as a flight attendant, Pita started driving them to their unfinished house.
Q&A
Standout vendor?
Standout vendor would be Eden Florist as she completely brought my vision of flowers to life; I knew what I wanted and Brooke exceeded it. On the day I just remember seeing the flowers and I couldn’t stop talking about them. Her communication was on point and she is just such a beautiful soul, me and my family still continue to get flowers from her to this day. She is still a big part of our lives.
Advice you'd give to other couples?
Take it all in and don’t wish the time away as the day goes by so fast. Enjoy the planning stage and the excitement. Make sure on the day that you and your husband take five minutes aside just to check in with each other.
