Back Country Wedding - Bex & Tom, Ruahine Ranges
I’m often asked where the most unusual place I’ve been as a Hawke’s Bay wedding photographer is, and until Bex and Tom’s back country wedding, I feel like I’ve never had a a really good answer.
But as the wheels spun on our 4WD and I looked down the steep and slippery slope into the gorge far below as we made our way to the ceremony, I felt like I finally had a good yarn to spin.
Before the wedding, I spent an afternoon exploring with Bex and Tom way up high in the Ruahine Ranges in Central Hawke’s Bay. It was clear how truly special this part of the world was to them and as a Hawke’s Bay wedding photographer, I knew I was in for a treat when the day rolled around. Four generations of Pedersens have walked this land before Tom. And as keen hunters, the ranges are also a place where the couple have created so many memories. Despite the barriers, they were determined to get 60 of their closest family and friends into the back of beyond to watch them exchange vows.
The best part about country weddings in Hawke’s Bay is how the community of friends and family step in to replace the role normally filled by professional wedding stylists. The hair, the cake, the catering, the flowers freshly foraged from the hills in the morning, the arch decorated with one of Tom’s hunting trophies…all of it had an authentic, DIY flavour full of soul.
It also meant our focus could be solely on good times and making gorgeous wedding photography, so with the Red Bands on, Bex and her crew headed deep into the sub-alpine bush with me for what was a hilarious and truly beautiful creative session.
While we were away doing the photography with the bridal party, the wedding ceremony guests and a bunch of other family and friends were gathering nearby at the family farm. Masses of barefoot kids, curtain-sider trucks on the edge of the dance floor, BYO chilly bins of beer…it was 100% real and topped off a day of undiluted joy for two people who call Central Hawke’s Bay not just their home but their heartland.
