Taupo Deer Farm Wedding

By Magnolia Rouge

KATE ROBINSON always captures the prettiest of weddings and it makes our day to see one of her beautiful weddings. Taryn and Ben hit the venue jackpot when they stumbled upon this beautiful deer farm in Taupo, and despite the most gloomiest of weather forecasts for the week of their wedding, they woke up to a magical day. Kate's been based in Melbourne and been flitting back and forth between Australia and New Zealand for the past couple of year but she's back in New Zealand this upcoming summer so if you're on the lookout for a photographer get in touch with KATE� she's the sweetest person to have by your side on the day!

We had a really good idea of how we wanted our special day to be. An intimate day surrounded by our loved ones, with the focus being firstly on the ceremony and significance of our vows to each-other, and secondly to be a fun and loving environment. We were always sure we didn't want a commercial venue but rather an intimate field or garden setting which reflected our style and we could personalize as much as we liked. We both love the outdoors and wanted to have the wedding away from Auckland (where we were living at the time) - also so people could get away for the weekend.

Having grown up in Zimbabwe (Taryn) it was difficult for me when it came to our wedding, as growing up I had always imagined the perfect day being beside the lake on our family farm. So when on a trip to Taupo, through Ben's mum, we met with Murray Mutushka on his beautiful deer farm, not only was the venue better than we had dreamed up with exquisite gardens and not a typical wedding venue � but Murray also happened to be a 'collector of animals' and had several African animals including zebra and ostrich! After chatting with him about our family and the situation in Zimbabwe which forced us to leave our home country, I'll never forget Murray saying that I could treat his farm as my home and have our whole wedding there even though he had never allowed it before. It was such an emotional moment and we really felt the hand of God on all of our wedding plans and preparations.

Not only did the venue, food, and everything else come together just perfectly but the week before the wedding we had the worst weather imaginable... We did not have a back-up plan for bad weather and although the forecast for the week was torrential rain and gale force winds we stood firm in our faith (I still have a photo on my phone to remind me of the terrible weather forecast!). The reception marquee went up on Thursday, the same day we heard of another wedding marquee being blown over elsewhere in Taupo so everyone was pretty on edge. Waking up on the morning of the wedding to a beautiful sunny day was beyond describable.

We were so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends who worked extremely hard (especially the days leading up) to make it into everything we had dreamed of. There is no way we could have done any of it without the mountain of help and support from our loved ones. I remember so clearly during the dancing at the reception, Ben and I snuck outside together to stop, stand back and appreciate the moment, how everyone had come together to celebrate with us and the incredible atmosphere that was there. It was amazing to witness all of the ideas we had coming together so wonderfully to make the day everything we had dreamed of. And to be surrounded by people who loved us so much, and were there just to share in our joy � it really was the best day we could have ever imagined, there is nothing I would change about it!

My Grandparents (who previously owned a flower shop ) and cousin, worked so hard on the flowers and they were amazing. My mum and sister made all of the favours (lemon curd from an old family recipe � my fave), many of the decorations, the page boy outfits and so much more. Ben's mum was amazing with all the hiring and logistics, as well as doing all the food. My special bridesmaids were incredible and perfect helpers all the way through especially my sister Carm and best friend Melissa! The groomsmen were amazing too from hanging the chandeliers, to setting up lights, tables, chairs etc. We really had the best bridal party ever, nothing would have happened without the help and support from everyone around us!