English couple shun tradition for Maori wedding

An English couple have shunned the historic cathedrals of their home country to be married in a Maori ceremony at Rotorua.

Rodney and Margaret Payne (nee Young) from Cheddar in Somerset are the first couple married in a wedding organised by Rotorua business New Zealand Maori Weddings.

They exchanged vows at the Tamaki Maori Village in a ceremony complete with traditional costume, karanga, powhiri, song and dance.

Mr Payne said he and his wife both liked the outdoors and had wanted to do something different.

A Maori wedding in a native forest surrounded by the sounds of wildlife had appealed to them.

The couple, who are on a month-long world trip, had asked their travel operators to inquire about marrying in New Zealand and the company had found the Maori Weddings site on the internet.

"The whole experience was amazing," the bridegroom said. "The Maori people made us feel so welcome. It was such a peaceful process and all the stress in me just floated away.

"We will be putting an article in the papers back home because if people want to get married, this is the place to do it."

His bride said she would recommend the experience to anyone.

"It was like going back in time. It was natural and something that we will remember for the rest of our lives."

Mrs Payne said that before they arrived in New Zealand they had heard only a little about Maori and their culture from a cousin who lives in Matamata.

New Zealand Maori Weddings is run by Darren Brown (Rongowhakaata/Ngati Kahungunu) and his wife, Michelle (Ngapuhi).

Mr Brown, who has been a wedding celebrant for family and friends for 10 years, said the idea for the business came after he read an article on the increasing popularity of New Zealand as a wedding location.

He said Rotorua was a city of romance where the greatest Maori love story, that of Hinemoa and Tutanekai, was set and he had wanted to share that theme with overseas as well as local wedding couples.

- NZPA