So how can you incorporate Te Reo, Māori Tikanga and a bit of New Zealand into your wedding ceremony? Your celebrant can welcome everyone in Māori and may choose also to say a brief mihi - a short introduction of who they are and where they are from. Aotearoa New Zealand has some wonderful waiata (songs) that fit perfectly into a wedding, perhaps walking back down the aisle to the New Zealand classic, Poi E once you are married (any kiwi guests will LOVE this song choice!).
There is a wonderful Māori whakatauki (proverb) that I use often in ceremonies, it is a great way to finish the ceremony and bless your future, your marriage and acknowledge the land around you:
Kia hora te marino; kia whakapapa pounamu te moana; kia tere te karohirohi i mua i tou huarahi.
May the calm be widespread; may the surface of the ocean glisten like the greenstone; and may the shimmer of summer dance across your path forever.
As well as all things Māori, Queenstown and Lake Wānaka are, of course, filming locations for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Hobbit movies, and it’s so easy to incorporate anything from these movies into your wedding as well, from using Tolkein-inspired fonts on your invitations, to quoting Bilbo Baggins (“It’s a dangerous business, going out your door …”) and exchanging wedding rings with the paraphrased, “Two rings to rule them all, two rings will find them. Two rings to bring them all and in this marriage, bind them”.
Aotearoa New Zealand has a wealth of culture and knowledge to be explored, and your local wedding vendors are always more than happy to help you find unique and personalised ways in which we can incorporate these into your wedding ceremony. There are so few “rules” when it comes to getting married in Aotearoa, and it’s easy for anyone to come here and get married, so you really do have full freedom to create the destination wedding that is for you.
He aroha te aroha – love is love
Article Written by Philippa Thomas. Photography by Carla Mitchell.