Pictures: Callum Curnow, Georgia Watt, More FM.
Kelsey Maaka may have bent the truth a bit to get her partner of 11 years, Kawana, to agree to enter a More FM radio competition to win a free wedding. “I had to,” she laughs. “I know he hates being the centre of attention, so I just told him it would be a quiet weekday wedding at the stadium.”
Kawana, 27, quips, “She left out that it would be in the middle of a Crusaders rugby game in front of a packed stadium of 13,500 people! But when she did finally break that news to me, she quickly followed that up by saying we’d also get to spend up to $10,000 on a honeymoon, so that got me over the line!”
When Woman’s Day catches up with the Christchurch newlyweds, the high-school sweethearts are still recovering from their big day at Apollo Projects Stadium, organised by Simon Barnett, Lana Searle and the More FM crew.
Marriage wasn’t really on the cards for them, says Kelsey, 26. “Kawana never saw the point of a wedding. I always pushed for it, but he said it wouldn’t change anything for us. But with the arrival of our baby Khairo four months ago, I wanted our family to share a last name. When I saw the competition, Kawana said if it was meant to be, the universe would make it happen.”
The universe – and all the listeners who voted for them – certainly came through, scoring the pair a wedding they’ll never forget, including two nights at a hotel, flowers, a red-velvet cake, a marriage licence and a priceless opportunity for Kawana to meet his childhood idols.
“We got to go into the Crusaders changing room,” grins the rugby fan. “I got to have my fangirl moment! They were all so cool to meet, including halfback Noah Hotham and winger Sevu Reece, who was almost more excited about the wedding than we were!”
Kawana had wanted to play for the team as long as he can remember, but injuries put an end to his sporting dreams. Luckily, being on the field with his rugby heroes was the next best thing.
The wedding day itself wasn’t without hiccups. High winds and a snapped hair tie ruined Kelsey’s first hairstyle, then Khairo required a speedy last-minute nappy change. But when Kelsey finally stood in the tunnel with her dad Mark, wearing her pitch-friendly Nike shoes and a smart-casual dress she’d bought three weeks earlier, all the stress melted away. “I wasn’t nervous – just excited,” she recalls. “Then when I saw Kawana standing there with tears in his eyes, I was taken aback. It was really emotional.”
Wearing a treasured pounamu his dad gave him on his 21st, the groom wasn’t so calm.
Kawana admits, “It’s my worst nightmare being in front of a crowd, but I had to hold it together. Simon said I was visibly shaking, but I knew it was only for a few minutes. When are you going to get that opportunity again?”
The couple had six minutes for the ceremony. While it was short, they say the More FM team bent over backwards to make it memorable.
“It may have been a radio competition, but it was still our wedding. They just wanted to make sure we felt special,” smiles Kelsey. “They sent a bottle of Champagne with a handwritten card to our hotel, and spoke to all our family and friends in the box with us. Honestly, they did a great job – even with thousands watching, it felt like an intimate moment.”
Loved ones watched on and later celebrated with the newlyweds in a private box.
“The whole thing was perfect,” beams Kelsey. “The best part was not having to plan a thing!”
Their love story started with the help of social media when they were 15.
“I added him on Facebook because we had heaps of mutual friends,” says Kelsey.
Their first date was a trip to the cinema to see Frozen, followed by a walk through the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, where Kawana asked Kelsey to be his girlfriend.
After a tricky 18 months, when Kelsey moved to Auckland to start her teaching career, while Kawana stayed behind to complete his building apprenticeship, the pair reunited in Christchurch in 2021 and bought their first home.
In 2022, they decided to start a family, but the road to parenthood wasn’t easy, with Kelsey diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome at 18.
“We experienced two heart-breaking losses – a miscarriage and a tubal pregnancy,” she shares. “By the third pregnancy, we were guarded, just waiting for something to go wrong.”
But then came baby Khairo, born last October.
“He’s the sweetest, most chilled little boy,” tells Kelsey. “I was induced early due to complications and after a tough three-day labour, he arrived and completed us.”
Now the newlyweds are dreaming of their Bali honeymoon. “We love snorkelling and the beach,” says Kawana. “It’ll be the perfect getaway before Kelsey’s maternity leave ends.”
It’s a new chapter for the family, adds Kelsey. “For the first time, we’re not racing towards a goal. We just want to enjoy being a family.”
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