All Black Campbell Johnstone marries his groom Ben Thomson in a glorious wedding that is anything but normal

For a start the grooms had already had already wed secretly back in October. Campbell. “Even the groomspeople and our families didn’t know. We had a day with just the two of us, when photographers videoed and photographed us getting ready together in a hotel. Then we went out to Castle Hill Station and held our ceremony on top of a mountain.” “It was literally just us, the two photographers and the videographer on that hill, so it was quite cool,” recalls Ben. “We didn’t even have a celebrant.”

This time round, violinist Arna Morton entertained the crowd until the frenzy of photos and well wishes settled. The couple poured a whopping six-litre bottle of Moët & Chandon Brut over a Champagne tower and then the speeches ensued.  Ben says his groom’s party surprised him by cleverly stringing their speeches together, so each person presented a line or two of a rap-like rhyme.

Another great wee  touch was when the whiskey lounge opened, which was in this new room that was renovated in the last week before the wedding inside one of the vats of the flax mill.  Ben explains of the venue, which was built on his grandfather’s 400-hectare farm in the 1940s and has been in the family ever since. As 10.30pm struck, a “night club” opened up to reveal DJ Vito hosting a rave in a dark room. A UV reactive mural of neon trees lit up each wall.

“We didn’t do much of anything traditional,” jokes Ben. “Everything was new. I just used my engagement ring. Maybe we could call that old because it wasn’t new for the wedding?!”