‘Small’ to ‘small town-funded’ wedding
A little bit of kindness can lead to a great deal of happiness.
So Lynette Gopperth has found. When she decided to offer her private residence-come wedding venue, to one lucky couple for their special day, she thought she’d be choosing between 10 people. She never imagined that less than a month later she’d have more than 600 entries and an almost fully funded wedding on offer.
Myles Webb and Erin Feasey had been planning a small wedding in their garden at home for next year, nothing too big, because their main priority is saving money for their son’s disability.
Feasey entered herself and Webb into the ‘free wedding’ competition with high hopes, astounded by the community’s offers of services that flowed in.
‘‘We entered it, and then every time there was a notification saying somebody else had joined in or donated I just felt like I had to comment on every single thing and say ’this is just amazing’,’’ she said.
Therefore, when Lynette and her husband Wayne Gopperth, who own The Barn in Hawera, drew Webb and Feasey out of the hat on February 6, the couple was ‘‘overwhelmed’’.
‘‘This is dreams come true stuff,’’ Feasey said.
On February 24, 2018 Webb and Feasey will be getting married at The Barn with all or parts of their invitations, make-up, cake, photography, entertainment, food,
‘‘This is dreams come true stuff.’’ Erin Feasey
celebrant, flowers, honeymoon funds, and more, financially organised for them - all offered by members of the community.
Feasey said the couple is still in shock.
‘‘As I’ve said small town, huge heart,‘‘ she said.
Webb and Feasey have two children, Alex, 6, and Isabella, 5.
Alex, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, is looking forward to wearing a bow tie to the wedding, and Isabella can’t wait to throw petals ‘‘and glitter’’ down the aisle in her white dress.
The couple never imagined a picture perfect wedding as there were greater priorities for the family.
‘‘We do need to prioritise and that’s the reason why we weren’t necessarily going to have the wedding of our dreams, because we need to save money for renovations and things that Alex needs,’’ Feasey said.
The couple said the wedding would still be ‘‘small and cute’’ how they originally planned, with all the added extras on top.