11 September 2025
From Ballgowns to Gumboots
Ngā Mārena. Rural Weddings.
writer: ANNA BRANKIN (KĀI TAHU, KĀTI MĀMOE)
photographer: SAM CAMERON
It was love at first dance for Molly Barker, who was swept off her feet by Simon Dalgliesh at a university ball. But it was back in their gumboots that this farming couple truly bonded.
Top Image. “We were definitely looking forward to having a big party,” says Molly. “Our friend groups had dispersed pretty widely after uni, both internationally and around the country, so it was really cool to have basically a massive reunion. That part of it was pretty important for both of us.” Above. “We got married at Orui Station, right on the beachfront at Riversdale Beach. It was a really awesome spot, and it’s quite close to where we live so it was nice to be able to have everyone spend some time there. They’ve got a shearers’ quarters onsite so most people could stay, which was really awesome. Our caterer made a big ham and that went back to the accommodation at the end of the night and everyone had a big feast.”
Molly Barker and Simon Dalgliesh’s love story didn’t begin on a dating app or in a shared friend group – it started on a dance floor. “We met at a ball while I was at university,” recalls Molly. “He quite literally swept me off my feet! We danced together all night, and the rest is history.” It was a surprisingly formal start for two people more at home in gumboots than ballgowns and suits. “Our normal get-up is pretty opposite to that,” Molly laughs. “Simon is a very good dancer and I’m not, so I spent most of the time just trying to stay upright while he did all the spinning and whatnot.”
“I wore my mum’s necklace that she was given by her father for her wedding day,” says Molly.
From the very beginning, there was something special between them, and Molly, now 28, says she was smitten after the first night. Their second meeting, a weekend at Palliser Ridge Station, where Simon, now 34, was working, sealed the deal. “It was my idea – he wanted to take me out on an actual date but I said I was quite happy to come out to the farm. I was at uni and missing farm life, so the idea of having a roast dinner and going out for the day was pretty ideal for me.”
Even though the day itself turned out to be less than ideal – it was muddy and cold, and they ended up having to rescue a steer that was stuck in a tree – Molly said it was still a perfect date. “After spending a cold, wet winter’s day working in the rain together, I was pretty convinced I was going to marry this guy. I think, after that, we were both pretty sold that we’d found the one.” The first few months went smoothly. The Wairarapa ki te Tonga South Wairarapa farm where Simon worked was only a couple of hours away from Te Papaioea Palmerston North, where Molly was studying to become a mixed-animal vet. “I would go down there for weekends whenever I could and get a break from student living. It’s beautiful down there, so it was a cool place to be able to visit. And Simon would come into town to visit me as well, whenever he could,” she says. After Molly graduated, she moved up to Waikato for work, so juggling the longer distance during the pandemic was slightly trickier. “It was already a difficult decision to move away, and then Covid hit and we were apart for a lot longer than we expected,” she says. “We got pretty sick of that and wanted to move in together, so Simon actually got a job up in the King Country, and we lived there for another year or so before the opportunity came up at Kohiwai Station, where we are now.”
On a perfect bluebird day three years after they first met, Simon proposed on their annual ski trip to Mount Ruapehu. “I had never skied before we met, so we had made it a tradition to go once a year and Simon had gradually been teaching me,” Molly says. “I was totally oblivious, although afterwards he said I very nearly found the ring in the carpark because I insisted on helping to get all the bags out. Once we were up the mountain he pointed out a spot he thought we should ski down, and I said ‘No way, that looks way too hard’. Somehow he talked me into it, and luckily it was because he wanted to propose, and not because he wanted me to ski down this isolated bit of mountain!” It was a very easy yes from Molly – although Simon had managed to catch her by surprise with the proposal itself, they were very much on the same page about wanting to spend their lives together.
“At the start we were very enthusiastic about wedding planning, and then about three months in we bought our own farm block, neighbouring Simon’s family farm,” Molly says. “That proceeded to take up a lot more of our time than we thought it might. I think we were literally buying ewes the day before the wedding, to the groomsmen’s amazement.” Despite this, the couple managed to pull together a wedding that was completely their own, with family and friends pitching in to get everything organised in the week leading up to the big day. “The last week was a little bit of a mad rush. We did a lot of things ourselves, and probably hadn’t realised how much time it would all take,” Molly laughs. “Everything from the flowers to painting the signs and getting hay bales there for the guests to sit on – they’re all ten-minute jobs, but by the time you add them all up it took a lot longer.”
The newlyweds swapped a month in Italy for a long weekend glamping in the Hawke’s Bay before getting straight back into work in the Wairarapa – splitting their time between Simon’s role at Kohiwai Station and Molly’s vet work in Whakaoriori Masterton, and their own block at Longbush. “We have lots of very romantic date nights crutching lambs,” Molly says. “I’m also pregnant at the moment, so Simon actually came and helped me on a vet callout last weekend, putting a prolapse back in a cow. Very romantic stuff like that.” Between a new addition to the family in September and taking over the lease of Simon’s family farm early next year, the future looks bright indeed.
“Both sets of my grandparents were farmers, and it’s always been something I was dead keen on for myself,” says Molly. “Simon is a fourth-generation farmer, so it’s all worked out really nicely. Our lifestyles and goals for the future were very similar.”
Bride: Molly Barker, 27, daughter of Joanna Harvey, Auckland, & Matthew Barker, Auckland
Groom: Simon Dalgliesh, 32, son of Pip & Nigel Dalgliesh, Longbush, Wairarapa
Wedding Location: Riversdale Beach, Wairarapa
Ceremony & Reception: Orui Station, Riversdale Beach
Celebrant: Wendy Morrison
Photographer: August & Vine
Bride’s Dress: Custom-made by Clara
Bridal Jewellery: Bride’s mother’s necklace
Shoes: Mi Piaci
Makeup: Georgia Rouch Makeup Artist
Hair: Dollhouse ‘Do
Flowers: Bridal bouquet from Bloomwood Flower Design, all other flowers from the couple’s garden or the groom’s family gardens
Catering: Salt Streetfood
Cake: Paige’s Cakery
Beverages: Luna Estate
Car: Daimler organised through the Wairarapa Vintage Car Club
Honeymoon: At Patangata Valley Glamping in Central Hawke’s Bay
Living: Kohiwai Station, Riversdale Beach, Wairarapa
Have you recently tied the knot in provincial Aotearoa New Zealand? Do you want to see your special day featured in the pages of Shepherdess? We love a beautiful, rural wedding - and so do our readers. Romantic, adventurous, rustic, or traditional, we want to hear from you!
“I had my sister, Bridget, my childhood friend Ginnie, and two of my school friends, Mel and Annabel, as bridesmaids. Mel flew over from the United Kingdom especially for the wedding, which was pretty special. My bridesmaids and I all wore furs that were from friends or family. I loved my dress. I had a rough idea of what I wanted: simple and timeless. I didn’t mess around and made a decision pretty fast.”
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This story appeared in the Kōanga Spring 2025 Edition of Shepherdess.
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