Kristie and Ben, Backyard Auckland Wedding

Kristie and Ben are two wonderful humans who we genuinely adored hanging out with. They had a tropical backyard marquee wedding in Auckland full to the brim with laughter, love, and elegant DIY beauty.

We started the wedding day at their home where they got ready for the day. Their home was a beautiful place to get ready, full of clean lines and repetitive shapes, which we all know gets us excited.

Kristie arrived to the wedding ceremony in a mint green VUW kombi van. They had their whole wedding day in the same space, at a lush private property tucked down a long driveway in one of Auckland’s outer suburbs.

We loved that at Kristie and Ben’s wedding, they didn’t rush away for photos after their ceremony. Instead they spent the afternoon eating and drinking beside the pool. This was amazing because it not only meant they got to spend more time with their guests, but it also gave us time to capture lots of beautiful candid photos of their friends and family.

Once Kristie and Ben had been hugged and congratulated a gazillion times over by their excited family and friends, we photographed Kristie and Ben with those dearest to them in some family and group photos

We then found a beautiful corner of the property to photograph Kristie and Ben with their gorgeous bridal party. We loved that Kristie and Ben decided to stay on site at the venue for their bridal party photos. This meant they got to spend even more time with their wedding guests, which is always a win in our books.

We have to take a minute here to give massive props to Kristie for doing ALL of the styling herself. She foraged and dried all the flowers and curated the whole event to look exactly how she wanted. And boy oh boy did it come together! It was incredible.

Their wedding even had a massive floral installation wall consisting of 1800 dried hydrangeas!! How incredible is that!?

Kristie and Ben had a really fun and interactive way for their guests to figure out where they were seated for dinner. In front of the marquee was a table covered with personalised shot glasses. They were laid out in the same pattern as the dinner tables. So all the guests had to do was find the shot glass with their name on it, then use the location of their shot glass as the clue for where they were seated. Fun right!

Then dinner was served. And it was a freaking feast! Little Wolf Catering really out-did themselves with their insane spread of mouth watering food.

Then as the sun set overhead, speeches were said, and copious amounts of belly laughs were had.

As dusk arrived, the party ramped up, starting with a full bridal party choreographed dance, and followed by an epic dance floor that just didn’t quit. It got so hot on the dance floor that some guests even took a quick dunk in the swimming pool to cool down! And for those not wanting to boogie, they enjoyed a drink under the stars, with festoon lights shining overhead.

Kristie and Ben really wanted to maximise time with their guests on their wedding day so they opted to have their wedding photos taken on another day later in the week, Ben even surprised Kristie with a whole new set of vows he had written for her.

We loved that they did their wedding this way, it meant we got to go somewhere really beautiful, at the best time of day for the light, and Kristie and Ben could just enjoy their time together without the time constraints of a wedding day. Another added bonus was Kristie could get her dress as dirty as she wanted because they didn’t have a wedding reception to return to afterwards!

From start to finish, Kristie and Ben and their guests made their wedding an absolute delight. We loved every minute of it, and are so honoured to have been a part of it. It’s been so much fun to pull this blog post together because it got us feeling all the feels all over again.

Vendors: Little Wolf Weddings Catering, Raj Tent Club, dress by Rue de Seine Bridal, Suit by Barkers Clothing, all florals and styling by the bride