Auckland is New Zealand's hub of different cultures, a melting pot that brings together scores of people from every corner of the globe. As part of our work, we get to witness the union of couples from such diverse cultures, it makes us appreciate the diversity of the world we live in.
When we first received an email from Federico, we were super excited. He was from Italy and Manu from Tonga. As New Zealand wedding videographers, did we ever imagine we would witness an Italian-Tongan wedding? We were about to and it was stunning!
Manu & Federico wanted their Markovina wedding video to capture the diversity of their wedding and something they would see in 30 years from now and still feel it's relevance. They were a very reserved couple and were not the type of people who would enjoy a lot of direction. Our discreet and non intrusive style of filming was perfect for them. We almost never direct the couple and let the day unfold naturally. There are enough natural moments for us to capture and that shows in the authentic films we create.
Manu & Federico met in Auckland their story is quite amazing. Federico and Manu had been together for 3 years and they decided to visit Italy to meet Fede's parents. Along with his parents, they went for dinner at a well know Italian dining establishment and as the evening came to an end, they went towards their hotel rooms. Fede asked Manu to go in first. Once the doors opened, Manu saw a huge bouquets of flowers in the room and turned around to find Fede on one knee! There was no hesitation in Manu's affirmative response and they decided to host their Italian & Tongan wedding at Markovina.
Manu arrived early at Markovina to get dressed, with help from her bridesmaid and her mother. Federico's parents had travelled all the way from Italy. He didn't have a best man because he had a best-woman! and that was his dear friend from when he was a child. She travelled with his parents as well and although he would have loved to have a lot more of his family, it seemed like the people there were the most important to him.
As we awaited for the ceremony in the beautiful gardens of Markovina, Manu walked down the aisle with her father. She looked absolutely stunning and Fede couldn't hide his tears. The ceremony was beautiful and after a small photo session with the photographer, we headed for the reception indoors.
Manu's cousins had planned a surprise traditional dance for her and the delivery of the surprise was pretty amazing. One of her cousins got up for a speech and pretended to be very emotional. He said he wanted to give her a gift and that's when the DJ dropped the joyous Tongan music and a group of her cousins jumped on the floor and entertained us with the famous Tongan dances. Manu was thoroughly surprised but in hindsight, she probably knew her cousins were up to something!
After a few more speeches, Fede and his mother had their first dance to Zucherro's Diamante. Fede was then joined up Manu for their first dance after which the crowd joined them on the floor to dance the night away!
If you are reading this and want your own Markovina wedding video, please get in touch with us and we can discuss things further.