THE ULTIMATE NEW ZEALAND ELOPEMENT GUIDE
Secluded Beach on the North Island, we had no idea existed until a local told us to check it out.
An Elopement isn’t confined to you both hiking up a mountain or drunkenly getting married by an Elvis in Vegas. It can be SO MUCH MORE! Eloping gives you the power to construct every aspect of your wedding with the focus on what matters most: the two of you. New Zealand is a magical place where dream elopements come true!
WHY I LOVE NZ AND THINK YOU SHOULD ELOPE THERE
I’ve spent 2 weeks on the North Island and 1 week on the South. You can catch me backpacking through Milford Track in 2023! For someone who always wants to visit anywhere new… something keeps pulling me back to New Zealand. They really have it all! From the city of auckland, to black sand beaches, hot springs, bioluminescence, forests, mountains, glaciers, the list goes on and on. What makes it such an ideal adventure wedding location is how diverse the landscape is, no matter the season. I am a big advocate for getting married, YOUR WAY. That means, if you want to race down the Rotorua Luge in your wedding gown, let’s do it. Helicopter ride to a glacier? No problem. If you want to hike one of the Great Walks and do your vow exchange on a mountain peak, I’ll grab my boots. Let your imagination run wild! I really don’t believe a single human on planet earth could visit New Zealand and not fall in love. If you appreciate nature and are a bit of an adrenaline junky, New Zealand was made for your elopement.
Our trusty Osprey backpacks on the Kepler Track. The red guy on the left is my trusty sidekick named Watson. The one on the right is named Shackleton. Naming your pack is a must.
MAKE IT LEGAL
First, the nitty gritty. Paperwork may not be the most exciting part of planning your wedding, but it’s still important to make sure you have what you need. You’ll need to make sure you do paperwork for your home country as well. For US Citizens info click here
You need to get a marriage license before you are married so you can apply for a NZ marriage license online here. A marriage license costs 150NZ, or 98 in US dollars. You can apply for one up to 3 months in advance. Don’t wait too long, as you’ll need it at least 3 days before your ceremony. You will also need to find a celebrant, or officiant, to marry you. You can find a registered celebrant in New Zealand at this website. The last thing you’ll need are two witnesses. If you’re eloping just the two of you, any vendor like the photographer or videographer can sign! You can also simply ask anyone nearby that is over 18 years old. Kiwi’s are some of the friendliest and most helpful people I’ve ever met, so I’m confident someone will help.
There are two types of ceremonies. Personalized Ceremonies are anywhere you and your celebrant agree while Registry Ceremonies have standard vows and happen only on weekdays. Can you guess which one I’d recommend? Either way, one option is to go on an adventure, exchange vows, and then do a shotgun-courthouse-type-thing after the fun to make it legal.
COSTS
Rather than spending 20K on a big wedding for a single day, you can elope and have an entire week long (or more) adventure experience! On average a 7 day experience with everything included can run as little as $12,000 or less. That's a big bang for your buck compared to single day traditional weddings. The price to memories ratio is off the charts!
North Island
WHERE TO ELOPE
Did you know that you are never more than 2 hours away from a beach in New Zealand? Yeah. It’s cool. Anyways, the North Island is perfect for if you want colorful landscapes, costal elopements, or a forest.
Check out these on the North Island
Mountains - Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Lake Taupo
Forest - Tarawera Trail
Forest - Whanganui National Park
Costal - Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve (Cathederal Cove)
Costal - New Chums Beach, Coromandel
Costal - Piha Beach, Auckland
Waterfall - Bridal Veil Falls, Hamilton
Waterfall - Whangarei Falls
And for the real adrenaline junkies, the South Island has insane offerings. The South Island is perfect if you want Huge dramatic mountains, snowy peaks and picturesque lakes. It’s one of the best places in the world to hike. The south island is famous for its epic helicopter rides to glacier as well.
Check out these on the South Island
Mountains - Roys Peak, Otago
Mountains - Ben Lomond, Queenstown
Forest - Hooker Valley track
Waterfall - The Devils Punchbowl Waterfall, Arthur’s Pass
Snowy - Mount Fyffe, Canterbury
Snowy - Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook
Snowy - Central Otago
Great hiking - Abel Tasman National Park
snowy - Fox Glacier
Putangirua Pinnacles
Milford Sound
BRAINSTORM
With so many gorgeous locations to choose from, I recommend working backwards. Start with what activities you love. There’s heli-hiking on glaciers, Sky diving, wind sailing, skiing, Hobbition, Kayaking, and more. Then think about the ideal scenery you would want. I encourage you to continue down this path until you come up with something exciting and wild.
WHEN TO ELOPE
Don’t forget, New Zealand is way down in the southern hemisphere. A fantastic time to go is October to December for Spring! Their summer months from December to March are the busiest with tourists due to the prime weather and outdoor activities. April to early May you’ll enjoy less tourists and fall! There is really no bad time to visit. With two islands and such diverse landscape, your choice will really depend on the type of elopement experience you want.
*PRO TIP I recommend connecting with your photographer and videographer FIRST, before selecting a date. That way you can coordinate a date that works with your dream vendors!
START BOOKING
Once you’ve decided on when and where, let the booking begin.
*PRO TIP Before your flights, check to see that the activities you want to do have availability for the general time you want to go. This website is a great resource https://www.newzealand.com/us/
Next check flights to Auckland AKL (north island) or Queenstown ZQN (south island). Due to travel time and the amount of activities you’ll be craving, give yourselves a MINIMUM of two weeks to explore. Google has flight tracking that gives you average ticket cost updates so be sure to utilize that.
It’s a good idea to book a place to stay in Auckland or Queenstown for the first and last night of your trip, that way you know you’ll be ready to recuperate from the long flight on arrival and not stressed about getting to the airport on your way back.
The rest of the places you stay will depend on your budget and location. You can look at fancy hotels, or rough it by camping, stay in an Airbnb, or find a hostel. You can even mix up a little of luxury and grit. In my experience the hostels in New Zealand are kept to a very high standard and are a great budget option.
Book your vendors as soon as possible. If you’re bold enough to fly to New Zealand to marry the love of your life, you should pick vendors who are experts on travel and elopements. They will be a huge asset for all your questions.
Reservations for campsites, huts, lodges, and Great Walks can be made here https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/online-bookings/ When checking availability, make sure to account for space for necessary vendors.
Next book your rental car. Once you have these main things booked, talk with your vendors to iron out remaining logistics. They will help guide you through the journey to make it stress free!
GAME PLAN
If your planner, photographer and videographer know what they are doing, they should be scheduling a call with you at least a month before your wedding day to run through a game plan again. We’ll build you a perfect customized timeline for your wedding day(s) and help you along the entire process.
*PRO TIP If a vendor is flying in too, make sure you ask them to give you live updates on when they arrive in the country and where they’ll be staying.
HAVE THE MOST EPIC AND INTIMATE ADVENTURE
Get out there. Hike. Explore. Experience a stress free adventure with the person you love and we’ll capture surreal and authentic moments along the way!
FINAL STEP
Re-live your adventure through a jaw-dropping film and gorgeous photos. If New Zealand sound right for you click below