Tom & Kirsten’s Golden Bay Wedding

There are couples who get married, and then there are couples like Tom and Kirsten. They kind at university, spent six years as best friends kayaking, biking, hiking and racing through multi-sport adventures together, and eventually realised they might as well make it official so they could spend even more time doing fun stuff together. It's honestly the most them origin story imaginable.

Put it this way: our initial meeting was me at home, them in a campervan in Scotland!

Their Golden Bay wedding was held at a property that holds deep meaning for them both. What was once the beloved 'Naked Possum Café' is now a private family home tucked away in the wop wops of Golden Bay, where Kirsten's parents have settled into early retirement. It's a place they've shared many memories over the years, and you could feel that history woven into every detail of the day.

End of March brought the most glorious early autumn conditions for a Golden Bay Wedding. It was beautifully warm, golden, and completely summer-like. The marquee was dressed with stunning florals, guests spilled out into the garden, and the vibe was less formal wedding, more joyful outdoor party with your favourite people. Speaking of guests: Tom and Kirsten clearly keep talented company, because the music was entirely guest-provided and it was incredible.

Then came the ceremony at a nearby horopito farm, mountains rising up behind them in that dramatic Golden Bay way. As the vows started, so did the rain. And not just a sprinkle, it was an absolute downpour. And what did Tom and Kirsten do? They laughed. They kept going. Because of course they did! These are two people who've navigated multi-sport races and mountain trails together. A bit of rain was never going to stop them saying their vows. The moment they finished, the sun came back out, as if the sky had simply been testing them. (They passed.)

That was the moment I knew that this Golden Bay Wedding was going to be one for the books!

After the ceremony we snuck off for photos, exploring a nearby walking trail and even discovering a little stone bridge that looked like something from the pages of a fairlytale. Once we’d had our fill of snapping I snuck off to document the guests enjoying lawn games, leaving Tom and Kirsten to spend a few moments alone.

Their reception was as joy filled as their ceremony. The speeches had the whole room in stitches; I genuinely cannot remember the last time I laughed that hard at a wedding. And as for the couple themselves, the way they looked at each other, the easy laughter, the obvious joy? It was clear this was two people who had been deeply in each other's lives long before they became partners.

Almost every guest had travelled a long way to be there, and watching everyone gather in this wild, beautiful corner of Golden Bay - surrounded by native forest and mountain ranges - it felt exactly like what it was: a celebration worth the journey.

Tom and Kirsten, thank you for letting me document your beautiful Golden Bay Wedding. What a place. What a couple. What a wedding.