It's not always easy for a four year old to make herself heard. But the voice of little Tonica filled the ears of 400 guests with a resounding "I do" when she gave her mum, Megan Cassie, away to be married to her dad, Pita Alatini, at their lavish and lively wedding ceremony at a Tongan church in the Auckland suburb of Otara. "We felt it was appropriate for her to join the two of us," Megan explains, "This is a new stage in our life as a family. It was very special - having her take part like that. The minister told her at the rehearsal it was important she spoke loudly, so everyone could hear her - and they certainly did." "And it's always been Tonica's dream for us to be married," Pita adds.
The wedding and reception, which was held at The Formosa Auckland Country Club, topped off a year of fulfilled dreams for the Cassie/Alatini family. Firstly, Megan shot to fame with her badn, TrueBliss, and then Otago Highlanders rgby star Pita played for the All Blacks at the World Cup. The high school sweethearts have been engaged for three years, since Pita proposed surrounded by friends and family on Megan's 20th birthday. They originally planned to marry the following year but rugby and music commitments meant the date was postponed several times. "When we were overseas last year for the World Cup, we set the date," Megan says. "We decided we wouldn't change it, no matter what happened - even if we just eded up having a big party." "Last year was a big test for us," Pita admits. "We both learned heaps, with Megan making TrueBliss and me making the All Blacks, and we knew we were ready to take the next step."
With Pita based in Dunedin and Megan in Auckland, much of their reoeationship has been conducted long distance and planning the wedding was no exception. "All our telephone conversations became about wedding day preparations," Megan says. "We began by trying to organise everything ourselves but, in the end, I had to say 'Mum, help - I need you'." And preparation was no east feat with a guest list of 400 and a bridal party of 18. There were several hiccups in the lead-up, the numbers on the guest list kept fgrowing and land at the venue had to be levelled off to fit the huge marquee - but the actual day went off without a hitch. "It was more than I ever thought it would be," Megan says, "We have lots of family and friends and, when I walked down the aisle, I was overwhelmed by their support. I'll never forget what it was like - saying our vows. I've always known I was going to marry Pita and have been preparing for this for a long time but it was amazing when I was actually up there, saying those words. I couldn't hold back the tears." The most memorable moment of the day for Pita was seing his wife-to-be and daughter come walking down the aisle towards him. "I almost broke down," he says. "They looked so beautiful."
For the ceremony, Megan wore a satin gown she and her mother designed with the help of their dressmaker. Then, she changed into a purple outfit for the reception. "It's always been my dream to get married to someone I love wearing a beautiful big gown and live happily ever after, like in a fairy tale," she says. "But I also liked the idea of wearing something modern, so I decided to go for two dresses." Another dream was wearing a tiara on her wedding day - but making that one come true was a little more difficult. "I couldn't find what I wanted and was getting a but frustrated," she says. Then, Megan walked into an Auckland vridal shop and saw exactly what she wanted locked away in a display cabinet - but it wasn't for sale. She discovered the tiara had once been used in a Miss Universe pageant. Fortunatley, she managed to persude the owner to sell it to her. "One of the things I really like about it is the African shape," says Megan, who was born in South Africa. "I'd like to pass it down in the family. My sisters and I have all got very different taste in clothes, so it's unlikely we'd wear the same dress, but this crown is something they might want to wear. If not, it can wait until Tonica gets married." The crown was set off perfectly by Megan's golden braids. The week before the wedding was a very busy time for her mother, Barbara, who had to braid the hair of all but one of the bridesmaids and flowergirls.
Megan and Pita wanted their day to be a mixture of their two cultures. The ceremony was held in a Tongan church and guests ate traditional food at the reception, including 21 pigs lined up on the head table. Someof Megan's family travelled from South Africa for the ccasion. "It was great to see all our friends and family having a good time," Pita says. Not surprisingly, music was a big feature of the day. TrueBliss sang a Bryan Admas song during the ceremony and there was no shortage of performers at the reception, where gests partied ntil 3am. Megan intended to sing a couple of numbers herself but didn't quite get around to it. "We were so busy seeing friends and family that I didn't have time," she says. "Besides, I was so emotional during the entire day that I think I'd have broken down in tears."
Work commitments meant the couple postponed their cruise ship honeymoon until later in the year. In fact, just two days after the wedding, Pita was back on a plane to flfil his rugby commitments in Otago. Megan also has a busy period coming up, with TrueBliss planning to begin recording their second album within the next couple of months. "The time has definitely come for us to live together as a fmily," she says. "We just have to work out how to do that. Tonica starts school soon and it's important she has a family life. I mean, we're a committed couple now - we've got the papers to prove it." There rae also plans to add another member to the fmily, especially ifthe father and daughter of the household have their way. "Pita and Tonica gang up on me with the baby thing," Megan laughs. "And it's something I want soon too."
Hannah Dickson
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Last updated 25/02/2000© 1999-2000 scaramouche@tribeworld.com