Shorty exclusive
Ben’s beautiful boho wedding
As a cool breeze ruffles through the white wedding marquee, laughter and cheers erupt as ShortlandStreet star Ben Barrington spins his beautiful bride around in circles.
Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” blasts through the DJ’s speakers and a crowd of well-known faces – including fellow Shorty actors Michael Galvin, Oliver Driver, Sam Bunkall and Ria Vandervis – gather around the strobe-lit dance floor and sing loudly as the couple groove for the first time as newlyweds. It’s exactly six years to the day they met.
Suddenly Ben’s best man Will Hall – who played doctor Kip Denton on the Kiwi soap – glides on to the dance floor with a series of disco moves, followed by members of the wedding party and the ’70s hit “That’s the Way (I Like It)”.
After months of vigorous weekend sessions with DancingwiththeStars choreographer Matt TattonBrown, who Ben met when he competed in the 2015 showcase, the newlyweds end their surprise routine falling into each other’s arms.
“It was fun and cheesy because we both like disco and ’80s movies,” explains
Offspring actor Ben, 42, chatting with Woman’sDay after his intimate wedding.
“The dance was definitely one of the highlights of the day, but also the most fun part of the planning!” beams Kristie, 39, who married Ben one year after a storm almost ruined his proposal in Fiji.
On the morning of their big day in West Auckland, rain has again challenged their plans. “It’s been the driest summer on record and we didn’t have a wet weather back-up option,” Ben laughs. “The whole idea over the last 10 months was to have guests mingle around the beautiful pool area with canapés and cocktails.”
But 10 days before the wedding, the weather forecast predicted rain. “Kristie panicked because she was getting texts from her friends saying there might be a cyclone!”
After rushing around just days ahead of the ceremony to find marquees and tents, the groom spent his wedding morning hastily covering outdoor props with tarpaulins.
But thanks to the weather gods – or Ben’s determination it wouldn’t rain – the overcast sky lightens by afternoon. And as the couple’s 100 guests arrive to mingle under poolside umbrellas and sparkling festoon lights, it’s barely spitting.
The wedding location – a spacious lawn with palm trees and a pavilion – is the home of Kristie’s boss and the headquarters for Osmosis skincare, where she works.
The make-up artist laughs, “At first, I thought people were joking when they suggested we marry here, but it’s perfect. Now when I pull up to work every day, I’ll be reminded of my wedding!”
Sipping cocktails dubbed “Puff’s Pinky” and “Mow Chow’s Mule”, after
Ben and Kristie’s pet names for each other, friends gather on the lawn, sheltering under trees and holding umbrellas.
Metres away, there’s a waft of food from the Raj Tents marquee, where caterers Little Wolf are prepping a decadent dinner to top off the afternoon’s grazing table.
Dressed in a striped Barkers suit, Ben beams as he heads towards the aisle, where a rustic arch sits adorned with toetoe. Thanks to the florists, Floral & Styling – Flower and Hunt, and the help of Kristie’s dedicated bridesmaids, a wall of 1800 dried hydrangea blooms fills the backdrop.
“I’m really excited!” tells Ben. “It’s just going to be over so fast, so maybe I should tell a story or something while we’re under that arch.”
The celebrant suddenly announces the bridal party’s arrival, followed by excited whoops from guests and the playing of the couple’s fave love song “November Rain”, by Guns N’ Roses.
Ben’s jaw tightens with emotion and he takes in a long, deep breath. Not only is he waiting to see his bride, but their adorable two-year-old daughter Harley appears clutching a basket of petals.
Wearing a silky mauve dress, a mini version of the classic Victor Bridesmaid gowns worn by Kristie’s bridal party, Harley shyly refuses to walk down the aisle with the equally adorable page boy, Will’s son Freddie, two. But as a bridesmaid walks the teddyclutching tot on her hip, Ben starts to well up. He affectionately waves at his wee girl, who sits in the front row, before his attention is pulled to the stunning bride.
Beside Kristie is her father Ross and 16-year-old son Ollie, and a long train flows from her embroidered lace Rue De Seine gown. Finished with a mermaid tail and custom-made sweeping straps, the stunning frock was an easy find for the bohemianloving bride.
“I tried on about six dresses and got down to two, and the girls all cried when I put this one on,” she tells us later. “I knew it was the dress.”
Ben shakes hands with his stepson Ollie, who he’s helped raise since he was 10, before Harley runs up and reaches for her mum. Kristie picks up her daughter and the couple take turns cuddling her for the rest of the ceremony.
It was inevitable the kids would play significant roles in Ben and Kristie’s big day, which has been a long time
coming after they first locked eyes in an Auckland bar courtyard in 2013.
“In the tradition of Kiwi matchmaking, you get hammered and hope,” says Ben, whose dry humour won over the woman he calls his “cool and sexy Westie”.
When the pair shared a first date walking their dogs at Western Springs, Kristie brought along Ollie.
She tells, “I’d never let Ollie meet men straight away, but I knew with Ben it was different. It felt right.”
Ben agrees, “Ollie was a really nice little boy and I was really comfortable with the fact she had a son. We all got along and it was just easy.”
Now, with a bigger brood and a home they love surrounded by bush in Titirangi, Auckland, the couple wanted a wedding that represents their relationship – fun, laidback and family-oriented.
The pair’s mothers, Penny and Maree, are asked to light candles in honour of late grandparents and Ben’s aunt Debbie, who sadly passed away from breast cancer in 2015.
When Ben lost his beloved family members during the first two years of dating his bride, it was Kristie he credits for “just doing the things that needed to be done in that time”.
Eventually, he had to say goodbye to their nights drinking red wine together when he flew to Australia to film Offspring, where his agent suggested he remain for his career. But following his heart, Ben chose to return home for love. For today, the Almighty
Johnsons favourite has selected a reading from CaptainCorelli’sMandolin, a romance novel he read as a bachelor in Greece 10 years ago.
“It’s a beautiful story set during World War II, about a love affair between a Greek girl and an Italian