LARA & DENZIL

LARA SHAPIRO and DENZIL RICKERBY said ‘I do’ at a location that holds many holiday memories – beautiful Waihake Island.

Denzil and I met 11 years ago while we were students at Otago University. We had mutual friends and during a night out, we met on the dancefloor in a bar – a completely unromantic setting, but sometimes you can’t predict these things. Almost three years ago, during a 10- day holiday road trip around the French Riviera, Denzil popped the question at a gorgeous spot right on the water. Of course, I burst into tears the second he started speaking. He said some beautiful things and the moment was perfect. We celebrated that evening with a delicious five- course meal at a breathtaking clifftop restaurant.

We’d always dreamed of a summer wedding and knew we wanted to marry on Waiheke Island. We had holidayed there many times before and it’s the first place that comes to mind when we think of summer. There’s something incredibly special about Mudbrick Vineyard. You feel it as you drive up the winding driveway and as you wander around the property. We also knew the team at Mudbrick were absolute professionals. As Denzil and I were based in London when we got engaged, we knew we needed to find a venue that could take