Hawke's Bay Elopement - Ryan & Beckie
Why elope? It's a question that begs another...why not? For Beckie and Ryan, the idea of turning down the noise that comes with a Big White Wedding was seductive and the result was something beautiful and hugely emotional to be part of. Weddings are by their nature filled with promises for the future. Those promises were made so much stronger by the presence of two little almost-guests; Beckie and bridesmaid Olivia's babies...both due in around three months' time. Here are my favourite images from the wedding, accompanied by some thoughts on the day from Beckie...
“Ryan and I always knew we wanted a small wedding, and it took quite a while to decide how it would look. We wanted to keep it intimate but still keep in mind that it is our wedding and that it would still have all the beautiful things that go with 100 guests. We felt it was important to make it intimate and romantic so we would feel all the feels on the day."
"Choosing just two witnesses was surprisingly an easy choice and completely fitted into our vision for the day, and because all our nearest and dearest know us so well, no one was surprised by our decision. We chose to “elope” because we wanted to make our wedding all about us and our love. We didn’t want to be distracted by the hustle and bustle of a big wedding so decided if we kept it small and only about us, then we would be able to achieve a more intimate feel."
"By sticking to our guns and keeping our wedding so small we were able to capture every moment more intensely and be in a position where we were able to focus on each other and absorb all the beautiful moments our day created. There were no distractions, it was just about us and our love."
"We knew we wanted our ceremony to be just about us but we didn’t not want to celebrate our marriage so having all our closest friends and family waiting for us at Mexi Mama was the best feeling ever! To know all these beautiful people accepted our choice to “elope” but still made the effort to celebrate with us was a very humbling experience. After all a wedding can happen any way, but it can only be a true celebration if it’s celebrated with those you love the most.”
Wow thank you, Beckie and Ryan, for showing me that even after about 600 weddings, I can still shed a tear to witness something so beautiful between two people. What a responsibility to be there on behalf of all of those who were not, so they could later see and understand just how special your elopement was. I really appreciate being able to share these images so others might be inspired.
The Dream Team:
Photographer: Eva Bradley // Venue: Waipatiki Beach & Mexi Mama, Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand // Bride's dress: Coven & Co // Bridesmaid's Dress: Kilt // Florals: Magdalen Hill // Hair & MU: KSH & Missymu
