Rhiannon + Corey Final Proof

Rhiannon

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Corey

Rhiannon

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FEBRUARY 27, 2021

Corey

K A U A E R A N G A VA L L E Y H A L L , T H A M E S

Bridal Party BRIDE

R H I A N N O N WA LTO N

G RO O M

C O R E Y WA LTO N

MAID OF HONOUR

PA E H O R O S I M O N

BRIDESMAID

H AY L E Y W A LTO N

BRIDESMAID

O L I V I A WA LTO N

BRIDESMAID

GEORGIA DEADMAN

BEST MAN

J O S H K E N N E DY

G RO O M S M A N

A A R O N S U L L I VA N

G RO O M S M A N

DEVIN CLARK-BOGLE

G RO O M S M A N

DALEY POMARE-TELFER

Words from our celebrant It is an incredible honour and pleasure to be standing here in front of you to marr y together my son to his stunning bride. If I get through this without tears, it will be a minor miracle. When Corey asked if I would marr y them, I said no, until Corey mentioned I would have the best view of the ceremony- and he was so right, I do. I get to see your gorgeous faces looking on these two with such love and happiness, I get to see this wonderful bridal par ty up close and personal, and best of all, I get to see these two looking at each other like this… So, Corey. Thank you. Best spot ever. I am a wee bit excited to officially join you two in matrimony. You are already committed to each other in ever y way that matters, and now we get to witness you take that next step to become husband and wife. We, those who love them, have been using their names in the same breath for a long time, Corey and Rhi. Like all great things that become exceptional when combined, like fish and chips, Corey and Rhi are just better together. The most remarkable moment in life is when you meet the person who makes you feel complete. The person who makes the world a beautiful and magical place. The person with whom you share a bond so special that it transcends normal relationships and becomes something so simple but so wonderful, that you can’t imagine spending another day of your life without them. As a parent, when this happens, you hope that person holds your child’s hear t safe. You hope they won’t be hur t, and that they will be happy forever. No one can guarantee a hear tache free passage through life, but Corey, Rhiannon- Shar yn, Craig, Roger and I are incredibly proud of the care and devotion you two have shown each other from the ver y star t, and we wholehear tedly believe you are each other’s person. Some people know that person from the get-go, some grow into the knowing, and some it comes on them as a surprise a wee bit down the track. Rhiannon was going places when she met Corey. She had big plans and they didn’t include a boyfriend, so she played it pretty cool. She was going to move to Auckland, have a gap year to save for uni, get a degree and then conquer the world, one HR crisis at a time. Corey also had plans, and he was leaving himself wide open for the possibilities, but they also included moving to the big smoke, and… fate decided that would be just down the road from Rhiannon’s dads… and the rest is histor y- their histor y, that one day, in the not tooooo distant future, they can maybe star t to tell to their children. It’s no accident that each of you is here today. Each of you was invited to be here because you represent someone impor tant in the individual and collective lives of Corey and Rhiannon.

Two people in love do not live in isolation. Their love is a source of strength with which they may nourish not only each other but also the world around them. I am sure that you will all agree that it is a ver y cool thing to be a par t of their village and to enjoy the fun and laughter they bring to our lives. So, we have a responsibility to this couple. By our care, respect, and love, we can suppor t their marriage and the new family they are creating today. We can ensure these two are always surrounded with our suppor t, our wisdom, our ability to see both sides in any argument, and most of all we can help them in the making of many many happy memories, including this one. So I now ask you all to make the first vow. Will you, the loved friends and family of Rhiannon and Corey, vow to honour, cherish and suppor t their marriage? We will.

Corey’s Vows Beautiful Rhiannon, I’ve loved you since the moment I met you, it might not of been obvious, and others might find this hard to believe. But when someone fits so perfectly in your life, it’s hard to even remember when that love began and I believe it’s always been there.

Ka nui taku aroha ki a koe My love for you knows no bounds You loved me when you thought I was perfect, and loved me even more when you found out I wasn’t. I love that you’re willing to trust me, even when you have fear in your eyesespecially when my adventurous spirit forces you jump off that proverbial cliff with me. I love that ever y time you jump, you realise how much you are capable of. My weaknesses are your strengths. And I hope to always be your strength when you feel weak. I promise to always be there to defend, suppor t and care for you, when and where ever you need me.

I will always keep you safe, and tr y to give you ever ything you need. I will always trust you and listen to you, and even if I disagree, I will value you, your thoughts and points of view.

I will take care of you, your hear t and our love. You’re my best friend Rhiannon, and are bound to my hear t forever.

Rhiannon’s Vows Corey, you and I both know how indecisive I can be at times but if there is one decision in my life that I know is the right one, it’s to spend the rest of my life with you. There are an infinite number of things that I love about you, and I am discovering more ever y day.

I love your smile.

I love that you will spend hours learning about some random thing and then just move on to the next random thing.

I love the way you can make anything into a joke and laugh for hours.

I love that you can never take a serious photo.

I love that you will take a serious photo if I ask you to.

I love the way your face lights up when you talk about your hobbies and dreams.

I love it when you make us breakfast for dinner.

But most of all, I love the way we work.

You push me in ways and I pull you in others.

You help me be a little wild, I help you stay grounded.

You dream big and I look after the details.

Ever y day with you is an adventure and I swear I enjoy it all.

I vow to be your best friend first, to be a safe space for you, and to always be in your corner.

I love you, always!

Roger’s Speech My wife tells me I am the king of understatement. If I can use a moderator to downplay something, I will.

And she is right, of course, she always is. But to demonstrate- Imagine I have just had the best day of my life, and you ask about it, I would say, ‘it was ok.’ If I thought you looked like a million bucks, I would say, you looked alright. If I have just enjoyed a really nice meal, I might say, it was quite good. Now, I’m not sure when this habit star ted, but I am tr ying hard to break it. So, the old Roger would say today was ok, you all look alright and the food has been quite good. This new and improved version can do better. This has been a fantastic day, watching my absolutely favourite son marr y the girl he loves. Even better, that girl is not only drop-dead gorgeous, she’s kind, clever, loving, funny and fits in our family like she was born to it.

Welcome to the family, Rhiannon. I am now the proud dad of three stunningly beautiful women. The old Rog wouldn’t have used so many words, but not only am I the new and improved version, but Krissy wrote my speech and she knows how to use a thesaurus. I’d like to spend a few moments talking about our son.

For me, life with Corey star ted when he wasn’t even a year old. A lot of you have already heard the stor y that the first time I met Corey we spent about three seconds deciding that we would love each other forever, and for me at least, this has never changed for a second. He has never treated me like a stepfather, and I have never felt like anything other than his proud dad. Corey was the sweetest natured kid you could ever meet, he was honestly the cruisiest introduction into parenthood you could wish for. And then he became a teenager. Somewhere between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, Corey went on a pretty big life adventure, and back at home I was both terrified he wouldn’t make it out alive and secretly envious that he was strong and independent enough to just do things his way, even if that was harder than it needed to be. Somewhere in those years, Corey star ted to become the man he is today- still with the good hear t and humour of the boy we knew, but now with a new appreciation for family, for people, and for the world around him. He is not a man of few words. He also has a new hobby or interest ever y time I see him. Rhiannon, life with Corey, as I am sure you already know, will never be dull. What I admire most about my son is his willingness to leap head first into adventures. He doesn’t seem scared to take risks or tr y something new, and I am in awe of that aspect of his personality. Hopefully, Rhiannon will help him to pause just long enough on the cliff to assess the risks, especially as he will probably want her to jump with him. I know first-hand what it is like to be married to someone who never looks first, and I can tell you it is one hell of a ride. Before I finish up, I just want to point out that their gene pool is pretty spectacular, look at them both- anytime you two want to give me some little tackers to run around after, I’m keen.

I only hope they have half of Rhiannon’s measured consideration and half of Corey’s guts.

Sharyn’s Speech Hello ever yone, for those of you who haven’t met me yet, I’m Shar yn, Rhiannon’s Mum. Thank you all for being with us today to celebrate the marriage of Rhiannon and Corey. Rhiannon has always been a ver y focused, determined person. She has worked immensely hard to achieve the goals she set for herself, and is now enjoying her success.

She is a kind and loyal friend, and an amazing daughter, of whom we are all ver y proud. When Rhiannon first star ted talking about this cute guy Corey, she seemed pretty sure from the beginning that he was going to be significant in her life. And he is. As we got to know him, we realised Corey is a real out-doorsy action-man type of guy. Rhiannon however was not out-doorsy, and has always been just slightly clutzy. So the thought of her trekking, parasailing, canoeing and shooting things was slightly alarming. Happily, she has become quite the adventurer herself, and in looking out for her, Corey is perhaps not quite so gung-ho as he once was. And that’s what is so special about both of them. They look out for each other. They each have strengths and skills to compliment each other, and are willing to tr y things and learn together. Marriage is about suppor t, understanding and love. That’s why I know Rhiannon and Corey will have a wonderful, lasting marriage, and why we are delighted to welcome Corey into our family. Rhiannon and Corey, today will be the happiest day of your lives, but there are many more ahead. You are star ting on an amazing journey together, and we wish you ever y happiness. May your life be full of dreams realised, suppor t for each other, and never-ending love. Could we please raise a glass to the happy couple.

Paehoro’s Speech Hi ever yone, for those who don’t know me, my name is Pae and I have known Corey and Rhiannon for about 5 maybe 6 years now and have had the honour of being the temporar y or step in boyfriend when Corey hasn’t been around! So I met Rhiannon during our second year of uni, where we were both thrown into the same group for a group project. I think Corey was working down in Tahora when we met, but the moment we bonded was when Rhi asked me one day if I wanted to go down to the local park once it was dark and steal some daffodils to put in vases in both of our homes. This became a semi-regular thing and our friendship just blossomed from there. We’ve been through so much together, being forced into Rhi’s car after being friends for 3 days to go and find Pixie who had gotten out, living in their living room because the people across the road kicked me out before I had even moved in so I had nowhere to go, we’ve worked together at uni, we both graduated uni, watched people get fired, gone on multiple girls on tour adventures, bungy jumped, zip lined and went luging together. Rhiannon’s been my step in family at multiple Maori events, Pixie having her puppies, volunteered. Mentored international students at uni, gone to multiple boot camps together, but one of my favourites was when we had gone to a 21st while we were at uni with our box of alcohol and hung around for 15mins. We looked at each other and just star ted walking down the driveway. We then sprinted down the street with our box and waited for our taxi ride home in a bus stop. Once we were home we both hopped into our dressing gowns, had a cup of tea and went to bed. That’s when I knew I had found my best friend. But jokes aside, both Corey and Rhiannon have been there for me through some pretty rough times in my life. They were there for me when my Dad passed away 3 years ago. Rhi was prepared to drop ever ything to come and be with me in Taupo which I will be forever grateful for. They were also my backbone when I had ankle surger y and would just be lying in bed in a cast. Corey would ask if I wanted chicken nuggets most nights because I was miserable and that’s all that would make me happy.

I am soooo thankful to have you both in my life. You’re loving, caring, thoughtful, funny and there for me whenever I’m having a crisis telling me to “just move home!” I love you both so much and wish you nothing but happiness in this new journey together. I can’t wait to become an Aunty, and just want to make a special shout-out to Corey for promoting me to temporar y husband!

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