Beach wedding on course despite spill

A Welcome Bay couple will tie the knot on Mount Maunganui beach today (Saturday) despite most of the coastline being closed because of the oil spill from cargo ship Rena.

Lisa Wood always dreamed of a beach wedding and planned to marry fiance Grant Forlong at the cenotaph opposite Mt Drury.

But when Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef and began to spill oil, their beach wedding dream almost came crashing down.

"I love the ocean and the Mount is a very beautiful place ... and I was really worried about if the beach would be open or not," Ms Wood said. "I had people texting and ringing two weeks ago asking if we would change it but we didn't have a plan to have it anywhere else because I wanted to have it there."

Mr Forlong, an avid Christian, said he had "total faith" their beach wedding would be perfect, even after the Rena disaster.

"There wasn't a question of if it would go ahead. I prayed about it and I had total faith the beach would open and it has."

Ms Wood said: "After what's happened I take my hat off to the volunteers who have helped clean [the beach] up."

It was love at first sight when the two met at a party about 12 months ago.

They began dating, got engaged about six weeks ago and today they're tying the knot.

"When the rings go on the past will finish and we will start writing a whole new page for the two of us," Mr Forlong said yesterday.

"I am so excited because she is totally the one and I know we are meant to be together.

"From the very first time we met we both knew and we haven't been apart since."

Mr Forlong is a well-respected member of the BOP Coastal Cruisers and will cruise to his wedding on his Harley Davidson Street Glide with 20 others following behind on motorbikes. The group will parade from Welcome Bay, along Devonport Rd, over the Harbour Bridge, through Mount Mainstreet and along Marine Parade to Mount Drury.

Ms Wood will follow the same path in a procession of classic cars. When she arrives at the beach, she will walk down an aisle lined by motorbikes.

After the ceremony, Ms Wood will ride on the back of her husband's Harley Davidson, back to the Coastal Cruiser's members club, followed by a large procession of classic cars and motorbikes.

They've opened their invitations to members of the Coastal Cruisers and Bay Rodders clubs because "they're my brothers, both clubs are like one huge family", Mr Forlong said.