Story: Marriage and partnering

Donnelly–Perry wedding: at home (2nd of 2)

Donnelly–Perry wedding: at home

Maud Perry (née Donnelly) is shown here at her family home after the ceremony (conducted by a bishop and an archdeacon), her new husband Frank to her left and her mother to her right. The celebration was elaborate, with a bridal carriage pulled by four white horses, a scarlet-and-white theme in the marquee and dress of the maids who served the wedding breakfast, and a six-foot-high wedding cake topped with a waka (canoe) rowed by cupids. The happy pair received about 300 presents, a list of which took up more than a column in the Hawke’s Bay Herald. Frank Perry died six years later after a long and painful illness, leaving his wife with three young children.

Using this item

MTG Hawke's Bay Tai Ahuriri, Hawke's Bay Museums Trust/Ruawharo Ta-u-rangi collection

Permission of MTG Hawke’s Bay, P.O. Box 248, Napier, New Zealand must be obtained before any re-use of this image

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Megan Cook, 'Marriage and partnering - Marriage in traditional Māori society', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/30766/donnelly-perry-wedding-at-home (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Megan Cook, published 5 May 2011, updated 1 May 2017