John and Valentina tied the knot (literally) in a beautiful wedding ceremony held in rural Levin, New Zealand.
I arrived to the stunning location, overlooking forest and gully’s, and immediately felt an ancient magic in the air. Nothing felt rushed. Nothing felt staged.
Valentina, Italian-born with this effortless, grounded elegance and John, a Kiwi anthropologist with a deep respect for ritual and meaning.
Together, they didn’t just plan a wedding. They created something that felt lived in … like it belonged to them long before the day even arrived.
A Ceremony Rooted in Ritual and Meaning
This wasn’t your standard walk-down-the-aisle moment.
Their ceremony drew on pagan, Celtic, and Viking-inspired traditions, but not in a theatrical way, in a way that felt deeply personal.
There was intention in everything. The way they stood together. The way their hands met. The quiet pauses that weren’t filled with noise, but with presence.
There were no forced moments. Just something extremely honest.
The Kind of Wedding That Lets You Breathe
There’s a certain energy at weddings like this.
No one’s rushing you. No one’s pulling you away every five minutes. No timeline panic. No performative pressure.
Just space.
Space to talk. To laugh. To be in it.
And that’s where the real moments live - the in-between ones most people miss. That’s always what I’m watching for. Not just what it looked like… but what it felt like.
Capturing It, Without Interrupting It
My approach to weddings has never been about staging perfection.
It’s about slipping into the background just enough that you forget I’m there, and then catching the moments as they unfold.
The way someone looks at you when you’re not paying attention.
The small touches.
The weird, beautiful, completely unplanned stuff.
Because years from now, that’s what brings you back.
Not the pose. The feeling.
For the Wild Ones (and the Quiet Ones Too)
You don’t have to be loud to have a powerful wedding and you don’t have to follow tradition to make it meaningful.
John and Valentina’s wedding wasn’t about being different for the sake of it. It was about being true. True to their love story. True to themselves.
And, it was f*cking fantastic.
Planning Your Own Alternative Wedding in NZ?
If you’re dreaming of something a little different - whether that’s a pagan wedding, a nature-led ceremony, or just something that actually feels like you…
You’re allowed to do it your way. And you should! I love photographing all weddings, but there is always something deeply moving when people are unapologetically themselves and plan their day with that in mind.
No rules. Just something personal to their journey together.
Looking for a Wedding Photographer in New Zealand?
I’m based in Levin and travel across Wellington, Kāpiti Coast, and beyond.
I photograph weddings for people who don’t want to spend their day posing - but still want images that feel like something.
Honest. Relaxed. And a little bit feral when it needs to be.
Use the form below to book in your date (or just reach out for a chat - no pressure, ever!).
---
Wedding photography by Wildstyler Wedding Photography
Flower crown by The Wildstyler