Ruth Thompson Photography / Supplied
Marlborough’s Big Fat Free Wedding winners Alana Powick and James Rondel tied the knot on May 1st.
From the speech of her maid of honor to the dance of her father and daughter, Alana Rondel (formerly Powick) enjoyed every moment of the “perfect” wedding she won with her current husband James.
In December, the couple entered a Facebook competition called Big Fat Free Wedding, the idea of four women – a celebrant, a photographer, a caterer and a DJ.
The couple won the $ 27,000 worth of wedding package after garnering more than 18,000 votes on social media, and their dream came true on Saturday.
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At 2:30 p.m., 80 guests arrived at the Blenheim Ūkaipō-Rangitāne Center to see the couple tie the knot.
“It was beautiful. The weather was perfect for the day. Everything went so smoothly,” said Alana.
“We were both a bit nervous beforehand, but it was absolutely perfect, we couldn’t have asked for better weather or better people.”
Scott Hammond / Stuff
Rachel Tau’alupe, left, Bex Gardiner, Roxanne Phipps and Ruth Thompson stood behind the Marlborough Big Fat Free Wedding package.
The service was broadcast live to people who were unable to attend.
“I have a lot of family members in Australia who we really would have liked there but couldn’t because of Covid-19,” said Alana. “So the videographer set up a live stream and 150 people used it.
“So in total we saw at least 230 people watching us get married. That is very impressive.”
The bride said the event was everything she hoped for with special moments.
“My maid of honor and I have a little quote that we keep sending each other. It’s from the movie The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
“There’s a scene where the character Mia (Anne Hathaway) has her hair done in a very bizarre style and says, ‘I look like a moose,’ and her hairdresser replies, ‘Yeah, but a very cute moose. Let all the moose cubs ‘WHAAAAA’ go and she included that in her speech. “
Alana then had her father and daughter dance to the same song they had for their first dance when she was only three months old.
“It was really something special for both of us. It’s a song from The Pogues called Streams of Whiskey. It’s kind of a country song, it was very nervous, my dad danced around, it was fantastic, it was a great time. “
The Rondels are now enjoying their honeymoon in Hanmer Springs.
When you return to Blenheim, write your thank you cards to the guests and to the salespeople.
“We want to make sure they know how much we appreciate what has been done,” said Alana.
“Honestly, we couldn’t have gotten nearly as much as they would have provided if we’d done it on our own.”
The couple met at the warehouse in Blenheim and have been together for two years. Powick worked at the jewelry checkout and Rondel was a tech specialist for warehouse stationery.
Rondel was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and the judges of the wedding contest were impressed with his positive outlook on life.
The young couple now want to buy their first house.