Hitched

For those looking to tie the perfect knot, New Zealand is worth the trip halfway across the world, according to Brit Marc Brierly and his fiancée, New Zealander Angie Watson. “Afterwards, everyone said what a brilliant day it had been — nothing like they could have imagined,” said Angie. Lyn Rasmussen writes of their special day for Suite11, where friends traveled from across the globe for a celebration they would all remember. They started out with a tour of Blue Lake on The Duck, an amphibious vessel commandeered by Rotorua Duck Tours, giving friends and family a unique fish-eye view of the water. From here the party spent the afternoon sipping champagne on a grassy plateau, only to watch Angie and Marc get married at sunset, on a hill overlooking Lake Rotorua. Younger guests moved from ceremony to reception by taking a luge ride down the mountain, for a romantic night of warmth and revelry. “By the time the reception was underway darkness had fallen in the redwood grove. Fairy lights sparkled in the marquee and a gas brazier kept guests warm while they enjoyed a buffet dinner and danced to the music of a jazz duet.”