We both believe in tradition, & the sanctity of marriage. All our friends live together in defacto relationships & we feel they're afraid of marriage because they're not convinced they've found 'the one'. We dont have any doubts - we both think we're the luckiest people in the world to have found each other, so we decided to stay together for life, & we wanted to make that promise in front of our family, and friends.

We originally planned on a wedding in March, but just couldn't wait! We checked our schedules for the closest weekend when we would both be free as our lives are very busy (Jayson's a professional fighter, Katrina's an international Flight attendant), and picked a date... 4 weeks later, on a Tuesday!

We did our own flower arrangements, made of flax and paua, and my best friends did my nails, hair and make-up.

We wanted to come back to our roots and include all our cultures in the wedding. We simplified it with a flax/paua theme, but wore outfits that reflected our cultural heritage and individual personalities. We hoped like you wouldn't believe that the weather would be fine on our big day. It rained everyday up till our wedding, and the day after, but the wedding day was just PERFECT! We didn't have a 'wet weather alternative' so we were so grateful for nice weather.

My grandfather had been diagnosed with Cancer and only had 2 weeks to live. We knew the trip would be too much for him so didn't expect him to come. He pulled himself out of bed, and even walked down to the beach assisted by my brother. We got some beautiful photos with him, and spent our honeymoon with him at the hospital. He passed away 9 days later but it was a blessing to have him with us on our special day.

We weren't going to have a reception but my cousin Zak & his wife Stef opened their beautiful home for us & put on a huge feast complete with hams, olives, trifle, mushrooms & Jays dad brought Chop suey. It mightn't sound like the traditional meal but it was all our favourite foods!! To us, it was the perfect reception!

Jayson is a cook-island-maori but his step father is samoan so he showed respect to all sides by wearing a samoan tapa cloth, cook island shell necklaces & just before the ceremony my family honored him by placing our korowai (cloak) around him. There were tears everywhere! My dress was white, strapless princess line, with paua & hematite beads. I wore black pearl earings to show my respect for Jay's love of his cook island culture.

My bridesmaid wore a green/blue strapless dress (hired from vicky-lee ball gowns in Hamilton) with paua detailing, Jays best man wore a blue shirt with pareo (like a lavalava). My father walked me down the aisle, but when the celebrant asked 'who gives this woman away' everyone said 'we do' then cracked up laughing!!!

My uncle spent hours detailing his holden for us, even though the beach was a 2 minute walk from where I got ready - he wanted us to arrive in style.

Definately our vows... they were also the funniest. We wrote our own, which included why we love each other so much. I promised Jayson to support him in his dreams, nurse his injuries after every fight, and even step in, and fight for him if he ever gets tired!

One example is from Jaysons vows to me: "I love that you buy me peanut m&m's when I'm sad, your happy little bunny dance, & you're the best looking corner person a figher could ever ask for".

After we signed our licence I had some boring background music set up to play. Jaysons family surprised us with their cook island drums & just at the right moment they let rip with the most amazing beat, & they started singing & dancing... we had a party on a tuesday, on the beach! Everyone had a turn to dance. People walking down the beach actually stopped to watch.

Our best decision was to keep the wedding simple. Our family and friends turned up with a few surprises that made the day even better than we had planned but by keeping it simple and not worrying about the little details, we were able to relax and enjoy the whole thing. If we could do it all again, we wouldn't change a thing.

I didn't have much time off work so we used what time we did have to sit with my grandfather before he passed away. We plan on honeymooning next year some time when we've saved a bit of money.

My biggest advice is to keep everything simple - never argue with the one you love over something that won't matter in 10 years time.

Mr & Mrs Jayson and Katrina Awa