WET & WILD WEDDINGS
It was in the shade of a giant tree branch, on the lawn of a vintage Coromandel hotel, that childhood sweethearts Maya and Jammie Williams exchanged their vows in a romantic yet risky ceremony earlier this month.
That very night, the heavy branch fell on the exact spot where the Thames newlyweds had stood with the bride’s seven-year-old daughter Isabelle and their 55 guests outside Te Puna’s historic Charlemagne Lodge.
“We woke up the morning to see the damage the wind had done and all we could think was how lucky we were it happened the night after our wedding,” Maya tells Woman’s Day.
Weakened by the big summer storm that had hit the country in the two days before the ceremony, the fallen branch was just another near-miss for the couple, both 23, whose big day was almost cancelled due to flooding and road closures.
“Although the storm caused a huge amount of stress and uncertainty for us in the days leading up to our wedding, we got away lightly considering the beautiful Thames coast was heavily affected,” says Maya. “Lots of locals had considerable damage to their properties.”
Closed roads meant the bride and groom almost didn’t make it to their venue. Maya tells, “We were meant to set up the day before, but the storm had ruined the road leading out of town, so all our decorations were trapped on the other end.”
With the local shopping centre also shut due to water overlapping the nearby seawall, the pair waited restlessly at home. Shop assistant Maya recalls, “As soon as the road was open, we drove to Hamilton in a desperate bid to find replacement chair covers, sashes and easels, and somewhere to print and frame all of our wedding signs.”
Although they had planned to enjoy a relaxed pre-wedding dinner, she and Jammie, a forklift driver, didn’t arrive at Te Puna until 10.30pm. Maya says, “Thankfully, with a huge group effort and the help of the amazing lodge owners, we managed to get the venue set up the next morning, before rushing off to get ready. What made the day really special for us was how people rallied around to make sure it went perfectly. Friends offered to turn up hours before they needed to so our set-up was finished.”
Hello, sunshine!
To the couple’s relief, when they woke up on their wedding day, the stormy weather had mellowed to a gentle breeze. By lunchtime, the clouds had cleared and the sun was out.
Wearing her dream dress – a blush-coloured, mermaidstyle gown layered with ivory lace and beading – Maya said “I do” one year after Jammie had popped the question on a weekend away in Auckland.
“He proposed when we
were parked near the Harbour Bridge, looking out across the water at the city lights,” she recalls. “He was too nervous to get out of the car and the fact he failed to get down on one knee is something he won’t be living down for a long time!”
During their wedding, though, Jammie made up for it when, mid-ceremony, he knelt down in front of Maya’s daughter Isabelle and gifted her a precious charm bracelet.
Following the formalities, guests mingled, drinking bubbly and enjoying the heat that had descended on the venue, but the change
in temperature had an unfortunate consequence.
“It actually ended up being so hot that my poor mum fainted during the photos and I got heat stroke, so I spent half of the reception being fanned,” Maya sighs. “The worst part about this is that I missed out on cake. Be careful what you wish for!”
However, she adds that, all in all, their big day was better than they’d dared hope for. “We spent the week leading up to our wedding devastated it might not even happen, but we left feeling really happy with how it turned out. It definitely exceeded our expectations.”