Kiwi bride's emotional wedding 'I WOULDN'T LET MY BRAIN TUMOURS RUIN MY BIG DAY!'

Rotorua mum Cherie reveals her rocky ride to the ceremony of her dreams

- Annemarie Quill

Planning a wedding is stressful enough without the added panic of a pandemic, but it’s been an even rockier road down the aisle for Rotorua bride Cherie Waterhouse, who was last year diagnosed with two brain tumours just before her big day.

That health crisis meant postponing their wedding in November, but last month, administrator Cherie, 40, and her partner Phil Gaffaney, 43, a heat-pump technician from Hamilton, finally tied the knot in a rustic, romantic ceremony at Te Miro Woolshed in the heart of the Waikato.

Cherie is still recovering from her second round of brain surgery and growing out her shaved hair from the first, but she wasn’t letting “little details” like these ruin “the best day of my life – marrying my best friend”.

Accompanied by her 23year-old daughter Zoe, Cherie walked down the aisle in white sneakers adorned with daisies – she chose flats because she is prone to losing her balance after the operations – and a breathtakingly beautiful gown from Daisy by Katie Yeung.

She’d entered a competition to win a wedding gown in Woman’s Day because the medication she takes to prevent the seizures caused by her tumours has led to weight gain and meant she couldn’t fit her original dress.

Overjoyed to win, Cherie grins, “I felt like maybe my luck was changing – very lucky, blessed and relieved.” And as for the flattering A-line frock with a boned bodice, stretch lace and chiffon sleeves, she says, “I was very self-conscious trying it on, but Katie did the fitting and made the process relaxing. I felt confident and beautiful – not frumpy, like I had been feeling.”