Wedding at Kitenui Deer Farm near Taupo

Kitenui deer farm just outside Taupo was the venue for an unforgettable wedding last weekend. My friend Chrissy's son Ben was marrying long time sweetheart Taryn.

The setting was a woodland paradise surrounded by lush rolling pasture dotted with exotic zebra, bison, thar and ostrich as well as inquisitive deer and goats. The couple were married in the charming garden under spring sunshine to new age melody's played on the harp and guitar. Bridesmaids looked nymph like with circlets of blossoms and tiny drifty dresses. The boys channeled 50's choir boys in bow ties, slim slacks and v necked navy jumpers. The bride was slenderly beautiful in a heavily beaded slip with wafting veil drifting behind her, Ben, the groom in his signature slim navy suit.

Delicate tea sandwiches and Veuve du Vernay champagne flowed under trees adorned with jam jars brimfull of blue-bells and blossom. Later guests played croquet, others table tennis or walked as we did up the airstrip to admire the animals and rustic stone and timber farm buildings. The Antler room, studded with hundreds of animal horns and guns,is regularly used by corporates for conference parties. WW2 jeeps, a chopper and an old air ambulance are amongst some of the unusual vehicles on display too.

Guests then meandered down a winding wooded path to the Marquee draped in fairy lights and decorated in soft white and yellow flowers in old brass atop slices of pine log central to each table. Two gorgeously droopy ivy chandeliers twined with tiny yellow flower lights and big lemon peonies hung over the tables.

Dinner was roasted home grown or wild meats and dessert was the wedding cake I'd made. Pip and I worked with the chef to turn out the dinner for 135 guests but that is another story! In total 13 cakes were baked for the dessert cake, the four different flavours served with coulis, cream for the choccy cake and a lemon curd and yogurt cream for the citrus syrup cakes. My huge base cake was wrapped in layers of fragile porcelain stiff ruffles, the top layer was ivory buttercream garlanded with delicate dogwood flowers made of sugar. I was thrilled with the way it turned out.

This last photo is a close up of sugar ruffles and dogwood blossoms while I was making them.

However I have decided that this was my last wedding cake. I love making cakes but doing this has given me a greater understanding of the time and labour of love these things are. I have retired from Kiwicakegirls, Nicki will go solo from here and I wish her all the best. She is making the cutest novelty cakes for which I predict she will become highly sought after. Remember her when you need that special cake. www.kiwicakegirls.com

******************************************