Destination Weddings on Waiheke Island

Why you should select Waiheke Island as your Destination Wedding location?

Destination weddings on Waiheke Island are a popular choice for many couples who want something a bit special for their special wedding ceremony – including those couples who have jetted in from further afield to those who also have Waiheke Island in their backyard.

Destination weddings are certainly growing in popularity. Although there’s still a lot of couples going down the conventional path of getting married in a church, followed by a reception at a wedding venue…there’s no denying that destination weddings are gaining popularity for couples looking to tie the knot.

Waiheke Island punches above its weight for its wide-ranging options of stunningly amazing wedding venues and clever wedding suppliers that can all contribute to offering one of the best options for an Island Destination Wedding, without the need for a passport (for kiwis!).

Photo credit: Mudbrick wedding captured by Pausefilmsandphoto

Benefits of a destination wedding on Waiheke Island;

Waiheke Island is just a short 40 minute commute from Auckland city and a slightly longer 60 minute trip on the car ferry.
Waiheke Island offers stunning scenery including white sand beaches, vineyards and olive groves.
There are a number of stunning venues that can be selected according to your budget or your desire for something a little different and offbeat.
There’s a really big range of wedding suppliers on Waiheke Island that are experienced, creative and passionate about sharing their crafts – so there’s no need to bring any suppliers over from the mainland (adding more cost and logistics). Getting the services of a Waiheke Island based wedding planner also takes a lot of the stress out of organising a destination wedding. Many of the larger wedding venues also offer this service to wedding couples.
Accomodation on offer ranges from boutique hotels to holiday batches.

Photo credit: Bridal party at a Waiheke Island destination wedding captured by Pausefilmsand photo

Other advantages of having a destination wedding includes…

Having your guests feeling more connected and having the time to get to know each other better in the surrounding days, and to bond. That’s your family and friends becoming one, and that’s one huge advantage!

You can also have more than one party! With more nights together, you can have a dress up party, rehearsal dinner, charades night, girl’s hen party etc.

You and your guests get to celebrate together and then you all have some time to holiday and chill either after or before your wedding ceremony.

It’s also worth noting that there are some cons of having a destination wedding, including that not everyone will be able to make it (due to budget, child constraints etc). You also might need to finalise some of the details much sooner, giving your guests advance notice to book flights and accommodation.

If you want a child free wedding, you might need to organise a sitter to look after all the kids, (or offer bribes to the grandparents or uncles or aunties).

Sometimes…it’s just about the two of you. So a destination wedding can give you the best of both worlds. You get to get married and to have a short holiday break – all in one!

If you want to enquire about my celebrant services – Helen Oakes Celebrant Services for your Waiheke Island Destination Wedding then call me on 0274455636.

I’d love to hear from you – please do get in touch

Eloping on Waiheke Island

Technically the definition of eloping is ‘running away’, but in wedding speak it means getting married without having anyone else at your wedding.

We eloped on Waiheke Island

It’s just the two of you.

Celebrating love on Waiheke Island

Photo credit: wildfolk photography. Styling by My Waiheke

Often couples who choose to elope will have told their families of their plans before the ceremony or just after the ceremony for that extra surprise! Sometimes couples will invite a couple of close friends to share the special occasion with.

What is essential is obtaining a marriage licence, securing the services of a registered marriage celebrant and having two witnesses.

I’ve been chatting with Sophia Hoadley who is the creative director of My Waiheke Weddings – a specialised wedding company on Waiheke Island, that amongst the other services they offer, also helps plan and carry off stunning elopements.

“Everyone wants to have an amazing experience and to create beautiful memories of their marriage union. And that’s where we can help with finding that stunning location on Waiheke Island to get married, whether it’s a vineyard or on the beach. We can find you a photographer to capture those special images and we also provide the styling and special touches such as flowers and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate your union at the end of the ceremony”.

Benefits of eloping

For many couples – just making their wedding about the two of them is a perfect solution for;

Not having the dilemma about who gets included on the guest list
Not having to find a ‘wow’ factor venue to match the budget
Not having to spend a fortune on a wedding
Not having the stress about logistics – outsource the ‘tough stuff’
Not having to get passports to travel to tropical beach locations.

Some variations for eloping

If you and your fiance decide that eloping is the right option for you, consider these variations that might avoid some of the pitfalls of eloping;

Have a ceremony that’s just the two of you but throw a reception afterwards for all your family and friends.

Hire a professional photographer then send out great pictures of the event with your wedding announcement.

Invite your parents and best friends to come with you – the small group can go out for a celebratory dinner afterward.

Elope now…but make plans to have a blowout ten year anniversary party. You might even include a cheeky note with your wedding announcements saying something like “Our wedding day was just the two of us, but we hope you’ll come and celebrate when we make it to ten years on June 24, 2030!”.

Secluded beach location for an elopement on Waiheke Island

If you want to enquire about my celebrant services – Helen Oakes Celebrant Services, for your elopement ceremony, then call me on 0274455636.

I’d love to hear from you.

Winter Weddings on Waiheke Island

Hi there – my name’s Helen Oakes and I’m a wedding celebrant located on beautiful Waiheke Island. When people think about getting married on Waiheke Island, they typically think of summer time weddings.

However, with an average winter temperature on Waiheke Island of 15C to 18C – Winter Weddings on Waiheke Island can be just as amazing.

Winter can be perfect for weddings on Waiheke Island

I recently spoke with Beccy, a wedding coordinator ‘extraordinaire’ at Mudbrick Winery & Restaurant on Waiheke Island. Mudbrick’s heritage extends to 25 years of hosting weddings on Waiheke Island. Beccy told me that although the bulk of their Waiheke wedding ceremonies held at Mudbrick Winery & Restaurant are during the ‘traditional’ wedding months of November to May – she is getting more and more requests for winter weddings on Waiheke Island.

“At the Mudbrick lodge we can hold weddings outside on the courtyard of the lodge and also inside in an intimate setting. We light the candles and create the most amazing romantic atmosphere in there for our wedding couples.”

Waiheke wedding ceremony in Lodge — Photo credit – Mudbrick Winery & Restaurant

Benefits of winter weddings on Waiheke Island;

Often discounts are available for weddings that are held outside of the main wedding season. Remember to ask your suppliers for these.
Autumn weather on Waiheke Island is still stunning and warm allowing for outdoor weddings.
Photographers love the softer light that autumn and winter months can offer and weddings can be scheduled earlier to make the most of the stunning sunset views.
Waiheke Island is a little less busy and accommodation for wedding guests is easier to secure.
Autumn flowers offers the option of achieving a rich and vibrant wedding colour theme think of orange and burgundy colours.

At Wild Flower Waiheke a fantastic florist on Waiheke Island that’s been creating stunning flowers for weddings for the last 20 years, Zoe tells me that she loves winter weddings. She likes to offer her wedding couples the deep rich colours of reds and browns that look striking.

Photos by Chase Wild

As a wedding celebrant on Waiheke Island, I love conducting winter wedding ceremonies. The lower autumn temperatures help to make guests a little bit more relaxed and comfortable at an outside wedding ceremony, where they don’t have to worry about getting sunburnt. More importantly the grooms and groomsmen are also more comfortable in their three-piece suits and the bridal parties can utilise those stunning winter hues.

If you would like more details about winter weddings on Waiheke Island at Mudbrick Winery & Restaurant contact Beccy at [email protected]

For an idea of what flower varieties are available for winter weddings give Zoe a call Wild Flower on 0210718181.

And if you want to enquire about my celebrant services to craft your personalised winter wedding ceremony then call me on 0274455636.

I’d love to hear from you, so please do get in touch