Celebrating in harmony with nature...Tiny Green Weddings and Eco-friendly Ceremonies are what I do.
14/10/2024
My Brother
You left us so suddenly,
We couldn’t say goodbye.
I thought we had more time ahead.
Damn it, why did you have to die?
It’s now ten years on
But we both know; you’re not really gone.
You’re hanging around in my mind.
Every day, my brother, you’re one of a kind!
I hear you when I am working
Telling me what to do.
Your voice is always in my ear,
Advising me to, “rev it up another gear!”
I have vivid recollections of when…
You chased me with huhu bugs, and then…
The cow prodder on my bum.
The possum in my sleeping bag.
And you used to think that it was fun!
Then you’d take free licence to brag
About what a great ‘big sister’ you had.
That it was you who had taught me so much,
and that you’d toughened me up, as such!
Constantly competing, you were always right.
Your skin was browner, your hair darker,
you could always run so much faster.
But you won the race this time round,
I’m happy to concede defeat…
That is, until the next time, we meet.
So, here’s to my brother David.
To your warped sense of humour, your wicked behaviour.
To the practical jokes, the fun and the laughter.
Our ‘Mischievous Craftsman’, guaranteed to make us all laugh louder.
Today we planted a kauri tree at Marly's Cottage in memory of David. Don't ask about the chainsaw! Til we next meet brother. 💚💚💚
19/08/2024
I can't help myself, the sunsets at Otaki Beach are stunning! The beach walk has answered a lot of questions over the years, and solved a lot of problems. There's been many walk and talk sessions over the years along this beach, now I am quite happy just walking, and enjoying. 😊
10/08/2024
Enjoying some time out at Otaki Beach. Beautiful sunset walks are great for the soul. I am enjoying having the time to recharge.
10/07/2024
Matariki 2024, a time for new beginnings. It's restoration time. This is what I do with my spare time these days! The sign my brother David made is due for some repair and a repaint. It's always been this barn red colour, but not any more, we are breaking with tradition...
03/07/2024
Matariki, Aussie whanau, beautiful Otaki Beach sunset. What very special times.
28/06/2024
'Matariki on Moana', what a beautiful day to show our Aussie whanau a bit of Kiwi culture, right on our doorstep. Kai, art and music, simply fantastic. 💚
23/06/2024
2024 Otaki Beach mid winter swim, what a privilege to be invited by the Silver Surfers. Thank you Dale!
10/05/2024
Dave took time out from being on the tools to have a birthday this week! My wonderful partner in creating and caretaking Warblers Retreat and now Marly's Cottage. Dave can turn his hand to building, fixing and creating, he's pretty talented. He also has such a focused work attitude. A lot of people would think it's work, but we both agree, when you're creating, it's fun. This week was deconstruction before reconstruction. We are trying to reuse as many materials as possible. Just opening up the sunniest side of the cottage, where the bathroom was.
04/05/2024
I am having a bit of a break away from doing weddings while we renovate my grandparents & great grandparents beach cottage. When Mum died, we acquired the guardianship of it. Over the years this place has been the venue for so many family gatherings, including our bi-annual Cooper Camp Cities, weddings, and Mum's final farewell. The gardens have always been a feature of the property. There's so many wonderful memories here for so many of us. ,
18/04/2024
I remember this day well, 16 years ago when this big healthy bundle of joy emerged into this world. I was there! Now aiming to be a pilot, he is achieving well at school, surf life saving and enjoying air force cadets. His life is very focused, but most of all, he is great company and an awesome grandkid to hangout with. Go get that driver's licence Happy 16th birthday. 💚
17/04/2024
Blending the cultures, South Africa and New Zealand. The Protea and the Pohutukawa. Strong foliage, robust flowers. The special graphic was created by a family member depicting the uniting of the couple, reflective in floral form. I was able to provide the foliage from both plants, but only a limited amount of flowers due to the time of year. I love personalising each wedding we have at Warblers Retreat.
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04/04/2024
Flowers for the bride. What a great feeling it is to plant them, pick them, arrange them and then give them to the bride. 💚
04/04/2024
Without giving too much away, our last weekend wedding...Mr & Mrs Petrie. Looking forward to seeing some photos.
25/03/2024
We often use rosemary to signify love and loyalty at a wedding and remembrance and friendship at a funeral. Sadly, on Saturday, I was celebrant for a funeral only three weeks after marrying the couple. They knew his time was limited, but everyone thought they had so much longer. From such highs to such lows, within a very short period of time is a challenging time for any family. LOVE was the only currency throughout the wedding and throughout the funeral and in super large doses. 💚💚💚 #
09/03/2024
Mixing and mingling after the marriage vows in an early autumn wedding.
22/02/2024
Time out in a busy week to have lunch with my youngest Mark who turned 30 today. Born in Masterton hospital, a happy baby, kid and adult. Always great company, doesn't oversweat things, just a happy plumber. Pleasure to be his Mum. Brother Mike and other half Dave made up the numbers at the Wade Pub in Silverdale. An awesome slice of niceness. 🙂
16/01/2024
A couple have sadly had to cancel their wedding scheduled for Saturday the 2nd March, so now it's available. We still have some availability in February for eco-weddings. Call or email us on [email protected], 0275430288, if you know of someone who is thinking of getting married.
14/01/2024
Part of the plan for this wedding was for the Groom and Groomsmen to look at the stunning view, waiting for the bride to appear before they turned around to the beautiful surprise. Yachts in the Harbour, maybe even some dolphins! It's another good way to keep those nerves in check, not that Pete really needed it.
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Videos
A meniscus tear after a hard rugby tackle seemed so unfair, especially after Sav had just scored and was having a great season playing JB1, girls/boys. Now in recovery, which will take several months, means no sport. That's a big ouch. Very supportive of my granddaughter who throws 150% into sport, and 100% into school, only so she can play more sport! Amazing attitude! Now there's a little time of adjustment. That's life! Mend well Sav. X #lovewhatyoudo #powerpositivethinking #attitude
"A very warm welcome to Warblers Retreat, Mr Pheasant! We are delighted you have chosen to arrive at our main entrance. Keep on strutting, and you will find many more of your feathered friends, hanging out in the Retreat! " 💚 #aucklandnatureretreat #natureretreat #retreatauckland #birdlifenorthshore #discover_auckland #couplesretreat @warblersretreat.nz
Have you ever wondered what unique creatures you might find in our lush Auckland bush forests? 🤔 From the gorgeous Morepork owl to the flightless fantail, there is an abundance of unique native creatures to be seen! 🦉🐦
And, while exploring, you might even be lucky enough to spot a native ghecko lizard slinking around the undergrowth! 🦅 While at night you can spot the shiny lights of the glowworms, glimmering along the banks of the streams.
Come experience the wonders of our bush forests and spot some amazing native creatures today! 🤗 #ecoluxuryretreat #BushForests #aucklandretreat #couplesretreat #aucklandbushforests #piwakawaka #NZfantail
I am a professionally trained celebrant with a Diploma in Celebrant Studies from the NZ Celebrancy School. I am also a member of the New Zealand Celebrants Association and am currently in the process of applying for my verification as a VCANZ member.
I came from a farming background and I believe that the connection with the land from an early age has given me a ‘down to earth’, approach to life. I grew up learning how to grow plants, care for animals and how to get along with brothers! My love of the outdoors has fostered a desire to learn more about nature and to want to share the beauty and the benefits of it, with others.
I have spent many years as a primary school teacher, specialising in reading recovery and helping children with learning challenges. I have taught adults, and have spent time in the building industry, the real estate and landscaping industries. Being involved in the local community and establishing a sustainable community group, has given me the opportunity to work with a wide range of people. This is something I really enjoy; listening to understand so that I can help others.
Being able to offer eco-friendly or tiny green weddings to couples is incredibly satisfying to me. Caring for the land, creating a lighter footprint and to have special celebrations that are aimed for zero waste are all reasons you could call me an ‘eco-celebrant’. While I’m passionate about nature, and the responsibility we have for our future generations, I understand my role is to work with you to create what YOU want for your special day. I will work with you, offering suggestions to achieve the best possible day you could imagine! I have no religious nor gender bias.
History of me and my husband, as well as Warblers Retreat as a wedding venue:
Our story together started out like this... we just fell in love. We had known of each other for a few years, but only as the person who lived down the road. We had so much in common, especially our love of landscaping, not to mention our hard out competitive nature and a trait we both seemed to exude - being thoroughly driven by passion!
After a few of years together, we decided we would like to ‘cement our rock solid relationship’, by getting married! Our only issue was we had both been married before and we had a tribe of ten kids between us. Besides that, there were almost as many grandchildren at the time! We just wanted to run away, to elope, to come back and tell everyone after the event as we did not want any fuss or bother. We considered going over to the Islands; somewhere like Rarotonga or Samoa for a lovely holiday, and just tying the knot. The only problem was, that it was a bit of a hassle trying to find someone to marry us, to sort out paperwork, etc, etc. As we were so busy with work, it was hard to justify much time off.
It wasn’t long before we both looked at each other and agreed; it was beautiful here at Warblers Retreat. We both came to the same conclusion, ‘why don’t we just get married here?’ So, in the middle of winter, 2015, an old friend of Dave’s married us. It was one of those days where the rain bucketed down, but as good luck would have it, the sun came out for our “Blessing of the Creek”, which unduly turned into a surprise wedding for our three lots of friends who were unknowingly invited as witnesses. We saved a lot of time, hassle and money, and we celebrated with our small group of friends down at the local restaurant.
A couple of months later, we had a house blessing and of course, the main event - our Family Wedding Blessing. All the family were invited to celebrate our marriage which was quite a few people as we both come from large families. This was the most amazing day; it was relaxed, informal and fun. Both sides of the family got to meet one another and there was plenty of time to relax and enjoy meaningful conversations. We planted the first kauri tree at Warblers Retreat; the first of many more we hope.
It was with the continued encouragement of friends and family that we continued to create Warblers Retreat into a wedding venue for couples preferring to get married without much fuss. Warblers Retreat has been built on a great foundation - lots of love and lots of passion! Hidden away in a peaceful, secluded valley, it’s a magical place to get married.
