TRADITIONAL VS. CONTEMPORARY:
A TONGAN WEDDING WITH A MODERN TWIST
Bernadette and Keliti, a multi cultural couple with awesome names, approached me to photograph their wedding in Auckland, New Zealand. They are such a lovely couple with so much history, and their day reflected this perfectly. They met by chance in Sydney nearly ten years ago. Bernadette is a an Australian resident with Italian heritage and Keliti is New Zealand born with Tongan heritage. Ten years and three children later, one day Keliti passes bernadette a bag of snacks he’d brought home with him. In the bag, along with the chocolate and dorritos, was an engagement ring. Throughout their engagement, the way he popped the question remained a joke amongst friends he would never live down - until their wedding day! Scroll down to see how he makes up for it in their wedding ceremony!
GETTING READY
This was a wedding of contrasts and traditions in every way. Bernadette and her Australian/Italian family got ready in a beautiful airrbnb in Remuera, Auckland. The space was modern and perfect in every way. The three children had enough room to run around and although it was (self proclaimed by bernadette) chaotic, it was beautiful, and exactly what a wedding day is all about - family.
THE CEREMONY
The ceremony took place at Keliti’s family church in Auckland. Contrastlingly to the modern home where bernadette and the girls got ready, the church was a beautiful old rustic building oozing culture and charm. It was a 30 degree day and the groom was in traditional tongan attire. It was a beautiful way to include tongan traditions into their day - but gosh they were hot! One of the many famous traditions known to Tongans is the making of tapa cloth. A wedding couple will have to wear special Tongan ta'ovala made of tapa cloth and mats. The mats were also placed on the floor at the front of the church and used t decorate the chairs the couple sat on throughout certain parts of the ceremony. The highlight of the day for Bernadette was when Keliti got down on one knee to say his vows. It was such a special moment and mean’t the world to her to have him do something so emotive in front of all their family and friends. Needless to say, after the dorrito engagement, she was not expecting this!
MANUKAU BOTANICAL GARDENS
A beautiful place to have your wedding photographs in South London is the Manukau Botanical Gardens. So many beautiful gardens, ponds and green spaces! We loved exploring and getting some group photographs of the bridal party and their little family.
THE RECEPTION
Bernadette and Keliti had their wedding reception at the Manukau events centre in South Auckland. This amazing venue fits over 200 guests, making the traditional tongan part of their wedding day possible. Throughout the night there were various traditional performances and heartfelt speeches. The most exciting was a surprise Bernadette had planned for her husband. She secretly learnt a traditional tongan dance from Kelitis sisters and had been practicing for months. Her performance was amazing and and Keliti was blown away!
