At Tara and Morgan’s wedding at Castaways in September 2006, they asked the guests to make a promise and throw it away.

Tara had her heart set on a cliff side ceremony at Castaways in Waiuku. Thankfully Morgan braved the odds and made the final call, and despite what felt like gale force winds and darkening skies threatening to dump torrential rain, Tara got her wish. While it wasn’t exceptionally cold, the wind was so fierce that even the bridesmaids and grooms men closest to the action could not hear the vows. Shortly afterwards, Morgan and Tara said that they both each heard each other, and that was all that mattered. However, I worked in a surprise for the guests later that evening.

As I was also the master of ceremonies at this wedding, I had the opportunity to help organise something a little special for later in the evening. I made sure Jolyan of Toybox Video was ready, and announced to the guests that Morgan and Tara had something they wanted to share with everyone. They stood up in between a couple of speeches and recited their vows – again. This time though, the weather did not interfere and everybody heard every word.

Earlier in the reception, guests were given lightweight cards and asked to write a wedding day promise on it. The cards were attached to helium balloons, then set free outside. That coastal breeze (westerly blast) came in handy after all, and the balloons headed inland towards Auckland city. On the cards, guests wrote their name and a “promise” for the bride and groom, such as “babysitting the kids 10 years from today (10th wedding anniversary)” or the likes. Some were serious, some had more fun with it.

If you like the concept and want to try something similar at your wedding, be sure your guests are careful what they wish for. I spoke with Tara recently, and a couple of the promise cards actually turned up!

There’s a couple of tricks required to ensure this idea works smoothly. If you want to do something similar, be sure to get in touch with me and I’ll do what I can to help.

Regards
Nick Logan
www.dj.co.nz