"It was really surreal," says Tash Vitali of the moment when Unitarian minister Rev Matt Tittle proclaimed her and Melissa Ray "wife and wife." Speaking at The Cloud where the wedding breakfast, including speeches, the throwing of bouquets and their first dance as a married couple took place, Vitali says she is only now starting to relax, "to find five minutes for Mel and me to ourselves." When they exchanged their vows this morning Vitali admits that her mind was more on the mechanics of the ceremony than on her partner. "Mel and I have been together so long, we're already so comfortable together," she says. Instead, she was thinking through what was to come next in the ceremony. "We only had a quick rehearsal," she explains. But the moment the Rev Matt Tittle proclaimed the pair to be "wife and wife" was one Vitali calls "surreal! I mean, 'wife and wife'... you just don't hear that do you! It was just so surreal!" During the service the pair lit a uniting candle then paused for a minute to think of those friends and family members who have passed on. High in their minds were their parents, including Vitali's mother who died when she was just 11 months old, and Ray's mother who died just three weeks ago. Vitali says winning the ZM wedding competition was a complete surprise to Ray, who hadn't known they were entered. "My auntie posted the competition on my Facebook page just a couple of days before it closed, saying 'you guys should enter,'" she laughs. "I decided to do it because having a wedding is so expensive. But I kept it a secret from Mel... she found out when Polly [Gillespie] called us. She screamed out 'What have you done!" But she was thrilled." Vitali has one particular piece of advice for other same-sex couples on their wedding days: "Keep calm and relax and enjoy it," she says. "It's all be over so quickly so take time to enjoy it." An after-reception party is about to kick off in Central Auckland and Vitali and Ray will be helicoptered to Waiheke Island for their official wedding photographs.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 19th August 2013 - 11:53am