Hitched & hatched

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KAIA WRIGHT, 27 MATT WRIGHT, 38

AN accidental meeting cemented the future for Matt and Kaia when they were holidaying, separately, on Rottnest Island in Western Australia. “Matt flew his helicopter onto the island and landed it on the beach in front of us,” Kaia said. “I was on a boat there and he got off the helicopter and jumped onto the boat. “It was all by chance, really.” A couple of days later, the couple had their first date. Matt being Matt, he wanted to take Kaia fishing, but her work got in the way. Instead, they went out for pizza. “We had a couple of bottles of wine and the rest is history,” Kaia said. After dating for two years, the couple was used to flying around the Territory. They’d been out bush and were on their way back into Darwin when Matt suggested they go out for a nice dinner in town. “We were flying over Darwin and Matt said ‘we might as well land at the Waterfront helipad’,” Kaia said. “Then, as we came over low at Peewee’s, I was like ‘oh my god, is this the Waterfront helipad?’. Obviously it wasn’t.” As Kaia took some time taking off her headset and seatbelt, Matt put his plan into action. “I turned to get out of the helicopter and Matt was there on one knee,” she said. “I just had no idea — he’d organised champagne and nibblies and had all of our friends around to celebrate.” A year later — last weekend — the couple got married at the Empire Spa Retreat in Western Australia. The celebrations went for a week, with about 110 friends and family attending, culminating in the wedding. “Basically it was a festival of Matt and Kaia,” she said. “I was a bit of a dusty bride but it was a lot of fun.” While most couples would be heading straight on their honeymoon, it was straight back to the bush for the Outback Wrangler. “We landed back in Darwin two days after our wedding and he’s already gone egg-collecting,” Kaia laughed. “It’s really romantic.” The couple will visit New Zealand next April for their honeymoon.

ESSENTIALS

MET Rottnest Island, WA while on holiday DRESS Pallas Couture CEREMONY Festival at Empire Spa Retreat, WA