Catherine and Dillon – 29 February 2020

I promise to single-handedly defeat a fleetload of Reavers for you.

I promise to freeze in Carbonite for you.

I promise to always remember to turn on the electric blanket on your side of the bed so that it’s warm by the time you come to bed.

I promise to always love you, my love. You inspire me to be a better person, and I want you to be my pilot on the rocket ship to the future!

You dream of a special type of wedding for a Leap Day Wedding. Because leap days only come by once in every four years, that’s the type of couple you want to marry. The type that is special, radiates love and reflects the personality of the couple. This was 100% Catherine and Dillon’s day.

Dillon and Catherine met in the early hours of 1st January 2016 and spent every moment since then creating a life together, gastro nursing, a The Darkness concert, and travelling to Pennsic and GenCon. They planned a as-zero-waste-as-possible wedding weekend with an upcycled-with-love dress and flowers. The ceremony we wrote was heartfelt, as well as having some Princess Bride, Borderlands 2, Harry Potter and Dr Pimple Popper’s references. Shout out to Steph Lusted for the amazing personalised rings that will be worn with pride (check out this description!!).

They hired the beautiful – and blustery – Ngā Hau e Whā o Paparārangi for the weekend, Beat Kitchen for food, Bean Here for coffee, and had a whole community of loved ones to help them set up and helped dress them (including Catherine’s handmade shawl by an artsy friend). Yurts, liquor, medieval dress, printed ribbon, livestream via Twitch for those overseas, a friend made the cake, an absent friend composed the song played to a medieval poem during the signing of the register, and a community medieval tournament (with steel weapons!) on the Sunday. Paul Michaels Photography were the perfect choice for Dillon and Catherine’s wedding.

I think my favourite part of the ceremony was the arrival. Before the bridal squad arrived, Catherine’s father and brother-in-law (Brian McNamara and Paul Southey) taught everyone the processional song: Give Yourself To Love by Kate Wolf. Looking out at everyone singing this song, to two of their loved ones on their wedding day, was one of my highlights of my career. Warm fuzzies!

Testimonial: “Vendor plug: [Miranda] was easily the most experienced celebrant we could find, with a very reasonable fee, she also does the offbeat very well, as you can tell by our delightfully nerdy ceremony. She’s very organised, and kept tabs on the things we needed to do in the lead-up to the day. She was also available to give advice and reassurance (including alternative plans) in those last few stressful days.”