Pictures: Dave Richards. Hair & makeup: Anna Trenberth. Videography: Layton Creative.
When former Married At First Sight New Zealand star Jono Trenberth and his fiancé Josh Martyn began planning the best day of their lives, they both had slightly different ideas of what their wedding might look like.
“When we first met, I told Josh I wanted a really out-there wedding,” laughs Jono. “I was thinking a rooftop in Auckland with fire performers and DJs. Josh was like, ‘That’s not me at all!’”
Though Jono compromised on the theatrics, Josh admits he took a backseat to the wedding planning and let his groom take the reins – and trusting Jono turned out to be the best decision he could have made, besides getting married to his best friend, of course.
“It was actually exactly how I pictured it,” smiles Josh, who met the reality star on Tinder during lockdown in 2020, a year after Jono appeared on MAFS. “He planned it with my preferences in mind, so my family and I would be comfortable.”
Explains Jono, “It was a real love letter to Josh. The only thing I had to really sell him on was the tattoo artist!”
As well as the on-site tattooist, other quirks at the Canterbury ceremony included karaoke and brightly coloured suits, custom-made by menswear label Theodore. Jono laughs, “We call them our Dumb And Dumber suits but classier.”
It was all carefully catered to the guest experience – something that was important to Jono and Josh, both 36, despite having very different people to cater to.
Jono shares, “For my family, karaoke is a standard Wednesday night for us.”
Josh adds, “For my family, it’s not, but they embraced it. They’re always up for a party – and everyone loved that there was a tattoo artist!”
The couple had planned matching etchings of a love heart – and Jono had a sneaky unplanned one on the night. “It’s a diamond because I didn’t get a diamond ring!” smiles Jono. “My auntie’s in her sixties and also got her first tattoo, which she was really happy with.”
Despite Josh’s traditional tastes, Jono didn’t feel bound by conventions when it came to planning the big day. Instead of walking down an aisle, the two grooms greeted guests as they arrived. There were no planned group photos and we limited speeches to two minutes, to allow more time to mingle.
“But that didn’t go as planned,” reveals Jono. “Everyone’s speeches were at least 10 minutes long and it was more of a roast! But in hindsight, it was probably our favourite part of the whole night. There was a lot of crowd involvement. There was cackling and cheering, and we were all in hysterics.”
Josh confesses, “I was really worried about that part, but afterwards, so many guests came up to us to say our families said the nicest and funniest things.”
The more worrying part was still to come for Josh. Jono started the karaoke by singing Whatta Man by Salt-N-Pepa, complete with back-up singers, including his cousin Stacey Morrison, who was also their celebrant.
Josh laughs, “He placed a chair in the middle of the dancefloor and led me to it, then I sat there uncomfortably locking eyes with my mum while Jono gyrated on me. It was a crowd pleaser, though!”
After Josh’s embarrassment subsided, they both realised it was their loved ones who made the day so special.
“I’m still trying to comprehend what happened,” says Jono. “The way people pulled together, it was a real family event. Everyone pitched in to make it epic. It was absolutely incredible.”
The stunning venue – where the pair exchanged rings made by Melbourne jewellers Nardour – is owned by Jono’s brother-in-law’s parents, who offered up their home, located just outside of Christchurch, for the nuptials. Having grown up in Canterbury, it’s somewhere Jono has spent many Christmases.
“It’s this beautiful property with ponies, a flower garden, a huge lawn and paddocks,” he tells. “Having it there felt extra-special. It was like our family wrapped around us at this place we love.”
The grooms agreed music and food were the two most important aspects of the wedding, so Jono was thrilled to stumble across Christchurch caterers Food By Fire, who specialise in slow-cooking meat on site.
“They cook meat over coals and embers on a fire in front of you, which is entertainment in itself, and we had an amazing five-piece band, Black & Gold.”
Though Hauraki District councillor Josh is known as the organiser of the two, influencer Jono – who also runs dog-walking business Pooped! – relished the role of wedding planner from start to finish.
“I was a bit of a Monica about the whole thing,” he laughs, referencing the obsessive-compulsive Friends character. “But around the time we got engaged, we were also having conversations about starting a family. It was then we decided I’d be the captain of the wedding planning and Josh would be the captain of the surrogacy. Actually, it was Woman’s Day we have to thank for that!”
In our last story with the couple, after their engagement, they confessed they’d love to find a surrogate.
Jono grins, “Because of that article, an old school friend reached out and offered to be our surrogate. Now we’ve done all the counselling, all the tests, got ethical approval and done all the legal stuff, so we just need to do the science part, which we’ll start in March, hoping for a pregnancy not long after that.”
Jono’s sister has donated an egg and they’ll use Josh’s sperm to genetically connect them. “If it all works out, we’ll be closely linked to the baby,” says Jono. “We know it’s not really about that, but we’re really lucky in that respect.”
It’s taken over a year to enable them to start this journey and Jono says he’s grateful to Josh for taking charge. It was no small feat, he explains, but it was the type of challenge Josh is made for.
Jono adds, “As I said in my speech, we’ve got this whole yin-and-yang thing going on. I’m the personality hire and he’s the engine that moves our family forward.”
Josh smiles, “He listed all my achievements and the things I do for him, which was really great. It showed my family and friends how much he appreciates me.”
Jono adds, “He does all the DIY and the laundry, and he cut up my credit cards and got me financially sorted, while I make fun TikToks!”
Jono has been racking up millions of views on social media with his hilarious gaming and lip-syncing videos – something he started making during lockdown and has since gathered him a huge global following. He says where he is now is a far cry from when he appeared on MAFS, where he was disastrously matched with Ray Wedlake. He credits Josh for that turnaround.
Jono tells, “In a very real sense, Josh rescued me from an incredibly dark place. He’s my hero and now, three years in, we got married, we’re having a baby and we’re building houses. We’ve even started businesses.
“I’m just so far from where I was. I was so down after the MAFS experience, but I don’t regret it. It led me to Josh and this amazing life. We have such a special relationship. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
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