Canberra radio announcer Kristen Henry has finally had her dream wedding.
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She and Iain Davidson were married in Blanket Bay, New Zealand last Saturday, May 4, but the wedding celebration stretched over three days with 44 guests.
It was a tough week for Kristen who lost her "Nan", her mother's mum, only a few days before tying the knot.
"As a surprise she had given our celebrant her tips for a long-lasting marriage which were read out in the ceremony. That was very emotional for myself and my family," Kristen said.
Her grandmother had suffered a stroke and passed away as the couple landed in New Zealand. Her funeral has been postponed until Kristen returns to Australia.
"Her tips included, 'Always make sure you talk through things, good communication is everything and family is everything. Never try to sort things out on your own, come together. Most importantly never be too busy to sit down to an evening meal together, eat, share, laugh'," Kristen said.
Kristen, one half of the Kristen and Nige breakfast show on MIX 106.3, wore a custom-made Steven Khalil gown for the wedding. Her bridesmaids wore dramatic red gowns.
She and Iain made sure there were plenty of surprise elements to the nuptials.
"The opportunity to be our witnesses was a prize at the trivia night the night before the wedding," she said.
"We broke the 44 guests into teams and played trivia, which consisted of some Iain and Kristen trivia and some trivia about NZ and our guests.
"The winning team won personalised jackets with the wedding hashtag #ohhappydavos and images of Blanket Bay.
"Then the names of those on the winning group were put into a hat, two were drawn and were our witnesses."
But that wasn't the end of it.
"As a surprise for our guests, post the ceremony we organised four helicopters to land on the property and fly us all to the top of the alps in Glenorchy for champagne and photos," she said.
"Guests were completely surprised, some freaked out, but every single one got on those choppers which made for an extraordinary experience for the group.
"We we got back to the reception, we danced until three in the morning."
The couple fly out of NZ on Friday. They spent a couple of nights at Millbrook golf resort, a wedding gift from Iain's work at Colliers International.
"He played golf, I went to the spa. We did a winery tour which included an exclusive tasting at Felton Road," she said.
They were enjoying Queenstown foodie destination restaurants Botswanna Butchery and the Amisfield winery.
"Sightseeing on the Queenstown gondola and a ride on a Shotover Jet for Iain is also planned," she said.
Kristen and Nige return to the airwaves on May 13, when she will be now Kristen Davidson, which just might be shortened to Kristen "Davo".
"We haven't stopped. I don't want to. I'm afraid post wedding blues will kick in," she said.