16 minute read
Shotgun covid wedding runaway kids
On the way to get married the first time … only to find the registry offi ce shut.
SHOTGUN COVID WEDDING runaway kids, language barrier & two bags of rice
Advertisement
BY JODI BRYANT
When Sara Smeath and fiancé Christopher Saunders fled a covidridden China with their three young children and only one bag between them, they thought they’d return in three weeks.
ittle did they know, they’d have a shotgun weddi ng in Tha ilan d with a wedding party of strangers off the str eet, befo re fi n ding themselves back in New Zealand with all their possessions locked away in storage on the other side of the world.
“We were only intending to wait it out in Thailand. The messages we were being told was that everything would go back to normal after a few weeks,” explains Sara.
Northland-raised Sara, 36, met Chris, 32, in Australia, his home country, nine years ago before moving to China following Sara’s career as a fashion forecaster. Chris worked as a web developer and they had three girls, now five and two-year-old twins.
But early this year, the world around them began changing at a rapid pace.
“In January, we were already in lockdown in China - sanitising, wearing masks and staying home. Our social media was full of fun isolation videos and a mix of virus infor mation fr om various places,” Sara recalls.
Flights wer e being cancelled in and out of China and cities and towns around them were being closed off to stop the spread.
“Ambulances were turning up with people in hazmat suits taking sick people from nearby buildings. There was no test back then so fevers, coughs etc were not to be treated by your local doctor and you had to go to a special clinic.
“We also learnt that if you were suspected of having the virus, you would be put in isolation. With three small children, we didn’t want to take the risk.”
After discovering one of their children’s passports was due to expire, they booked flights and left almost overnight with only one bag between them.
Almost half their expat friends also left and the couple decided to head to nearby Thailand as it was af for dable to fl y to last-minute. Sara remembers passengers were spaced apart, masks wer e wor n and, arriving at the deser ted airport, Thailand had already put temperature testing and sanitising stations in place.
Checking into a hotel, they put themselves into a 14-day isolation period while keeping watch on the news as the virus began to evolve around the rest of the world.
Within two days, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia had put a ban on people who had been in China for the past 14 days.
“We had no intention to go back to New Zealand and didn’t worry about the 14-day rule as we would be in Thailand longer than 14 days,” Sara explains.
But, as their third week in Thailand approached with the virus affecting more countries and further flights and restrictions put in place, they took another precautionary step.
www.eko.org.nz
Beautiful Gifts your friends and family will love
66F Kerikeri Road Kerikeri, 0230 09 407 6076 41 Cameron St , Whangarei, 0220 09 946 4156 20 Heuheu Street Taupo, 3330 07 378 3417
ALPACA & MOHAIR THROWS make PERFECT WEDDING GIFTS!
Available on www.batesandkeenfamilyfarm.co.nz
“We could see that the world was moving quite fast and we could see that if you weren’t a New Zealand citizen you wouldn’t be getting back in so we decided to elope as a precaution to keeping us together; we have two different passports in our family and we knew, at some point, foreigners would be stopped from entering countries.”
What followed was a series of failed attempts at getting hitched - much like the series of proposal attempts years earlier, as Sara explains:
“My favourite was in Monopoli, Italy where Chris’s plans of a romantic boat trip, greeted by a band at a look-out which was to be set up for his proposal, then dinner in an amazing cliff-face restaurant were all ruined due to a storm. He tried to pull together a completely different plan B last-minute; a roof-top proposal on top of an old church in such windy conditions that my dress blew up around my face as he proposed with our two-year-old. We were then met at the bottom of the building by a guy holding a guitar singing ‘Yesterday’ by the Beatles - the only English song he knew.
Sara says that Chris, being a romantic, promised to ‘propose better next time’ - that coming two years later in China with perfection … until he forgot the ring.
The final proposal was the morning of the ‘wedding’ in Thailand, at breakfast with the kids.
As for the recent wedding attempts, the first time, the family got dressed up and arrived at the registry offi ce, only to find it closed due to a public holiday. The second, they arrived to a mass wedding of hundreds of couples getting married at the one place, to be told it wasn’t for foreigners.
“We were about to give up and decided to try one more place. We walked right in and they started the paperwork. There were no words as they didn’t speak English and we spoke no Thai. It was just forms being filled out. Then they said: ‘Witness?’ so, we realised, ‘Oh, this is our wedding, it’s happening!’ and raced out to the street to try and find someone. Then they said: ‘Translator?’ so, again, Chris ran out to find someone who spoke English and Thai.”
There were no ‘I do’s’ - just a pile of paperwork and three bored kids fighting over an iPad, so the pair took turns taking them outside for walks while the other signed endless paperwork.
“There were a couple of times where Chris and I looked at each other and said ‘Wow, we are married!’ … only to be handed another round of Thai papers to be filled out. We got shown to another room and asked to take a piece of paper out of a bowl. I gave the paper to the person and they clapped and cheered and handed me a couple of bags of rice and a bus-shaped money tin - our wedding gift. We still didn’t know if we were married. Then we got asked to take a photo at their display with large certifi cates so, guessing these were our marriage certifi cates and we were now actually married, we took the photo and left with our rice and money tin.”
They celebrated with a couple of beers and a bowl of chips for the kids as they climbed the furniture around them.
“It was such a non-event,” Sara laughingly reflects. “It was defi nitely not magical. We tried to make it really special but it was literally us signing papers in another language and running round on the street trying to find a wedding party and chasing after three runaway kids while washing hands constantly.”
Following their ‘big day’, the ‘Corona Refugees’ as they called themselves, turned their attention to their next destination. While Covid-19 cases weren’t improving in China, they planned to travel to South East Asia, until the news that travel insurance wouldn’t cover virusrelated costs. This prompted the family to ‘cane back to New Zealand’. By then it was March.
“Non foreigners were still allowed to travel and coming back to New Zealand was like walking into a different world,” Sara recalls. “There was no sanitiser, no masks no precautions coming in and defi nitely no need for our marriage license.”
Having travelled via Singapore and Australia, upon arriving in New Zealand, the newly-weds decided to put themselves into isolation again before heading to the Bay of
The official ‘just married’ photo The unexpected wedding: ‘Sleeping kids, messy hair and no idea what’s going on’.
Islands where Sara lived until winning the first Hundertwasser art scholarship almost 17 years ago and consequently embarking on university.
“We always wanted to come back to the Bay of Islands. We bought a home here three years ago - we just didn’t foresee the return so soon.”
Sara says losing their jobs and belongings, which have subsequently been packed up and stored in China, and starting again has been challenging. However, they have hit the ground running and put their combined skills and experiences together to start up a business.
“We had to quickly adjust to our new life here. As we started our tourism software business Te Kaupapa (an app aimed at maximising travellers’ cultural experience of
New Zealand), New Zealand was heading towards a lockdown. We had already experienced what was going to happen bef or e an d we boug ht t he d igit al to ol s businesses were going to need - contactless ordering systems, traceability, the ability to count and limit people in venues, online sales funnels etc.
“We were lucky to have had our software company in the pipeline for a while. It’s just made us work faster to make it happen. Now, more than ever, we see the need for what we have built.”
Meanwhile, the couple are still planning on having a proper wedding and most of their friends and family are unaware they have already wed.
“When we returned to New Zealand in March, it was like nothing was going on so, with that, we pretended the wedding never happened and hoped to have an actual celebration with friends and family. Until we get it formalised here, it’s not actually a legal document anyway.
“We’ve always wanted to have a wedding in New Zealand and, now that we are based here, it’s easier to organise. I’d like it to be at one of the wineries in the Bay of Islands with a little more extended family than just our kids,” she laughs. “Having our families together is more important than a perfect wedding to us.
“It’s been a huge adjustment but we are happy to be healthy and we feel safe here.”
Whanga rei Skin Clinic n Clinic
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 9am - 4.30pm Exception Thursday 10.30am - 6pm (Evening Surgery)
Skin Cancer Medicine Cosmetic Medicine
and Surgery • Botulinum Toxin Treatments • Surgical/Non-Surgical SkinS gi l/No Su ical Ski • Dermal Fillers
Cancer treatment • Microneedling • Radiofrequency Surgery • Advanced Platelet Rich Therapy (PRP) • Complete Skin Cancer Checks mp • Cosmeceuticals and Sunscreens
Book now
Have the beautiful you on the big day
Phone 09 4370852 E Info@whgskinclinic.co.nz www.whangareiskinclinic.co.nz 85 Hatea Drive, Regent Whangarei 0112
LOVE & MARRIAGE not exclusive territory for young & beautiful
BY JODI BRYANT When John Pollard and his friend walked into the ‘Grab a Granny Night’ at the Poenamo Hotel and sat at a table reserved for Trish De Mars’ friends, she had three questions to ask; Marital status, star sign and were there dust bunnies under the bed.
he latter, according to Trish, is a sign of poor housework, but all questions were answered adequately and, by the end of the night, the two had exchanged numbers.
That was in 2002 when Trish was 51 and John 49 and, 17 years later, the couple have married in Whangarei but let’s rewind back on their journey.
“It was Valentine's Day,” recalls Trish, now 69. “The night we met was commonly known as ‘Grab a Granny Night’ at the Poenamo Hotel in Northcote. They used to have a disco there on Thursday nights for over-40s, and it was a lot of fun, great music and good crowds.
“John walked into the bar and I immediately liked what I saw. He and his pal came and sat at a table very near my friend Diane and me. It
was me who approached them as I had three important questions to ask if they were going to sit at one of ‘our’ tables, where other girlfriends would soon be arriving.”
After passing the test and exchanging numbers, John called Trish the next day and they went on their first proper date the following night. They have been together since.
Within a year, they had moved in together, were working in business together and subsequently formed a band Back in Time together.
“John was in a band at the time, which impressed me,” Trish explains. “I love music, but, apart from early childhood piano lessons, had never really pursued it. Fast-forward about
for all types of weddings, from traditional to beach or garden.
Quality brands Boston, John Lennon, Berlin and more
Mon – Thurs 10.00 – 4.30 Fri 10.00 – 4.00 and Sat 9.00 – 12.00 2 Rust Ave, Whangarei Ph 09 438 8135 • whangareisuithire.co.nz
3##<@&E G#F ABH !HFGH$A =H&?H/ AB:A B:D @A :;;/ G#F '#?F &H)A H=H&A #F $H;H8F:A@#&7 3##< &# G?FABHF AB:& 0:FF@&EA#&, 0:FF@&EA#& B:D ABH ;#$:A@#&/ ABH D!:$H/ ABH :(H&@A@HD :&" ABH DA:&" #?A :(8@H&$H, >F#( ABH #?AD@"H A# ABH @&/ ABH D!H$A:$?;:F :A(#D!BHFH *@;; @(!FHDD :;; #G '#?F E?HDAD/ &# (:AAHF ABH #$$:D@#&, 2:<H '#?F &H)A H=H&A ?&G#FEHAA:8;H *@AB 0:FF@&EA#&,
>F#( E#;"H& D:&"D A# ABH F?DA@$ *@&HF'/ 0:FF@&EA#& @D : 8H:?A@G?; 8:$<"F#! G#F '#?F D!H$@:; ":', 6@AB @&A@(:AH :&" :A(#D!BHF@$ D!:$HD/ #&D@AH :$$#((#":A@#& :&" : *H:;AB #G AB@&ED A# "# #& :&" :F#?&" ABH HDA:AH/ 0:FF@&EA#& @D : (:E@$:; !;:$H AB:A @D !HFGH$A G#F 8F@&E@&E !H#!;H A#EHABHF,
>#F G?FABHF @&G#F(:A@#& H(:@; H=H&AD4$:FF@&EA#&,$#,&% #F $:;; +- 5+. 1999/ ***,$:FF@&EA#&,$#,&%
a year, and I bought a keyboard just for fun. John had left the band after relocating north of Auckland, but he still played every night, just for ourselves.
Trish describes their music as ‘old-school’ - a mix of classic songs from the 50s, 60s and 70s incorporating country, rock & roll, ballads, Latin and ballroom - with John the singer and rhythm guitarist and Trish performing the vocal harmony along with some back-up.
The couple moved to Northland ten years ago and on Valentine’s Day 2019, Trish proposed to John. “We’d both had a few health issues and I felt like we needed something positive to work on.”
The pensioners, who had both been married – John once and Trish twice - planned their October wedding on a limited budget but, with all hands on deck with families and friends, managed to pull off their dream wedding with 120 guests at Urquharts Bay. The dress was purchased online and Trish’s hair and make-up was done by her niece and granddaughter. As well as a bbq, there was a
John and Trish played for their friends and family on their wedding night.
huge ham, scallops, mussel fritters and salads prepared by family.
The initial entertainment was performed by their good friend John ‘Scratch’ Grey before John and Trish took to the stage which Trish describes as a ‘hoot’.
“Most of our families had never heard us before. They are all scattered throughout the country and the wedding was a wonderful opportunity for our combined families to finally meet and get to know each other. I was always afraid that, if we didn't make this happen now, it would be someone's funeral before our respective sons and daughters, grandchildren and, in my case, greatgrandchildren could meet.
These days, although retired, the couple lead a busy life, learning and practising new songs and regularly performing.
Adds Trish: “Love and marriage are not the exclusive territory of the young and beautiful. I will be 70 in December, two months after our first wedding anniversary. John is now 68, and now that we are wed, I can't call him my toy-boy any more, but he really is the love of my life, and I am sure he would say the same about me.”
ThePerfect Wedding & SocialVenue inNorthland
Your wedding or special celebration will be a walk in the park at Barge Showground’s Events Centre ... located on 64 hectares of beautiful green surroundings, everything is easy for you...
• You can choose your caterer ... • You can bring your own beverages ... • You can have different room sizes and set ups • All on the one level - it’s easy access for everyone! • One place for the ceremony, photos and reception – easy for you and your guests.
Want a wedding venue to fit your budget? Ask about our mid-week and winter special hire rates!
Want to know more? Phone 09 438 3109 events@wap.org.nz | www.bargeshowgrounds.co.nz
