Ruth and Donnacha

An Irish love story, rustic charm and a New Year’s Eve wedding at Old Forest School

Ruth and Donnacha chose the fabulous oldforestschool.co.nz as their wedding venue here in the Bay of Plenty just out of Te Puke. A unique but stunning wedding venue settled just within the Rotoehu Forest. Rustic country charm with gardens designed so you can wander the property which makes for stunning wedding photography. Every corner has history. It was in fact the old school back in the day taking care of the community for the Rotoehu Forest and Pongakawa rural folk and it’s all been lovingly and beautifully restored.

Ruth and Donnacha originate in Ireland and were fortunate enough to have family members present on their day. They chose the unique day of December 31 to be married so there was the added bonus to celebrate the New year freshly married! It was a family affair wedding party with Ruth’s three sisters being bridesmaids and Donnacha’s brother as best man. Lots of cheeky Irish banter and a first for me was seeing the bridesmaids swap bouquets for tennis rackets to have a little round of tennis literally a few minutes before walking down the aisle!

Pukehina beach is just down the road which has plenty of holiday homes for accommodation which is where we started the day with Ruth and her bridesmaids and family. Love these guys. Love their obvious adoration for each other and their relaxed and fun wedding. Thanks for having me on board – Rochelle

Old Forest School, Rotoehu Forest, Bay of Plenty, Wedding Photography by Pure Images, Tauranga