Peak House, halfway up Te Mata Peak offers stunning views. Photo / NZME
Peak House, halfway up Te Mata Peak offers stunning views. Photo / NZME
Weddings make people smile. They also make them cry.
I did both at my son's wedding at Labour Weekend - only a little bit of crying during the beautiful ceremony. The rest of the time it was all smiles and laughter from family and friends who came together to celebratewith them.
The Aussie family joined us via social media, not the same as being there but at least they were able to watch the wedding from afar. They all dressed up for the occasion and had a party of their own.
It felt so good to celebrate. The week before I was holding my breath as Covid cases started to spread beyond the Auckland border.
As more regions went into level 3 restrictions I crossed my fingers that Hawke's Bay would stay Covid free.
They had already postponed their wedding last year because of the pandemic, and while I know so many people have been through far worse, I really wanted this to go ahead.
Like so many other people out there the need to celebrate with family and friends was almost a physical thing. Lucky for us it happened.
The venue, Peak House, was stunning. Amazing views, delicious food and wonderful people.
If you have never been there I recommend a visit. Take yourself up there for a meal or a coffee and take in the vista. We are so lucky to have this right on our doorstep.
Back to the wedding. My son and his now wife have two amazing daughters. They were the only other people in the bridal party and they both spoke. I was so proud of them.
So the happy couple got hitched without a hitch, then we had speeches which were funny and charming. The food as I said was glorious and the cake - well actually there was no cake.
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today.
The bride thought a cake was a waste of money because nobody ever ate it. Instead, those who wanted it had a shot — brilliant.
Then we partied. We danced. Apparently dancing is a form of expression — well Mr Neat was very expressive, throwing out some toe-tapping, arm flapping moves.
In fact one young chap said to him "Man you got the moves".
The young chap didn't see him the next day though — he had no moves at all.
So yes — we celebrated in style and the next day we gathered again for an afternoon barbecue and more laughter.
The wedding was in the middle of my two week holiday which I had booked in anticipation of having my Aussie family home.
So I found myself at a bit of a loose end the week after the wedding. However managed to fill my week having coffee with friends, a wee bit of retail therapy and reading two fantastic books, Before You Knew my Name by Jacqueline Bublitz and a young adults one by local author Mary-anne Scott, The Tomo. Both brilliant books.
