Anam Cara Gardens, Kapiti Coast wedding venue review - Georgia and Hayden

Anam Cara Gardens is one of our favorite venues in the Kāpiti Coast and we love when clients book us for photos and videos here!! The venue is spread across 10 acres of serene garden settings, includes an indoor venue and two separate spaces for getting ready making it the perfect venue with everyone on site for your day. Their venue has a capacity for up to 120 guests, and includes a modern commercial kitchen for caterers and a bar for BYO. Pick from 6 different ceremony locations and many areas for photos, including the beach which is only a short drive away for sunset photos.

Teresa and Tim are so great to work with as the venue’s owners and hosts, we can wholeheartedly recommend their venue to all of our couples. Here is a recent full-day wedding that I photographed at Anam Cara in January 2024. This was an 8 hour package, which included a second photographer for 4 hours*. We covered Georgia and Hayden’s preparations through to their first dance and sunset photos (although on this occasion we didn’t get much of a sunset down at Ōtaki Beach but we still took the opportunity to head out for 15 minutes). The examples here show parts of the full day, it is a longer blog post to scroll through but I hope it shows couples the variety of images they can receive from a wedding of this size. If you love these images and want to reach out about your wedding at Anam Cara Gardens, please do!

* With the mention of a second photographer helping me with this wedding, my packages and inclusions are subject to change in the coming years, however second photographers will always be available for packages. A special mention to Jess Dewsnap who helped me with this day!

All the talents 👇🏼
@anamcaragardensweddings
@paperswanbride @heracouture
@wildvioletcosmeticink
@styledbynicky_o
@rembrandt1946
@traveller.video
@jessdewsnap (the best second shooter!)

Tarureka Estate - Wairarapa wedding venue review and wedding photos!

Mr & Mrs Becker-Stewart! A true love story that dating apps can work their magic and these beautiful humans found each other! A laid-back guy from the Naki and a stunning registered nurse, an absolute perfect match these two ♥️ They are now living the dream together in Melbourne and came back to NZ to celebrate with friends and family on their wedding day at Tarureka Estate in Featherson!

Review of Tarureka Estate - Rustic Barn Wedding Venue Wairarapa, NZ

I wanted to share this wedding day as an opportunity to showcase Tarureka as a New Zealand wedding venue and why we enjoy photographing and filming weddings here! It’s located in Featherson at the bottom of the Remutaka Range hill, only a short drive from Wellington and Lower/Upper Hutt, so if you’re exploring venues in the Wairarapa or Wellington region this would be a great choice.

Get ready on site in the Historical Homestead

The homestead sleeps 18 people and has a bridal suite on the second floor. As photographers, we appreciate that everyone can get ready on-site for their wedding day. This makes it easy for us to go between rooms and spaces, if we have a groom getting ready at the same time a bride is having her hair or makeup done for example. The historic homestead has been recently renovated but holds its original charm and character. Once you’re ready for your ceremony and wedding day, it is only a 30-second walk to greet your guests.

Your wedding ceremony

Tarureka Estate offers an indoor and outdoor area for ceremonies which is great for all weather conditions. This is the outdoor area situated in a grove of trees. After your ceremony, guests are invited to the main lawn near the homestead for cocktails, canapes and games.

Wedding photos

The gardens at Tarureka provide backdrops for all your wedding photos however if you would like to go off-site with your bridesmaids/groomsmen/wedding party crew there are optional locations nearby! Most of the photos below are on-site (aside from the photos taken in the Olive Grove which are at a private property).

The Loft Barn

Voted as one of the top barn venues the loft was built in 1868 and is one of the oldest and largest barns in New Zealand. Since 2001 it has been running as a wedding venue. The top floor can be used for your ceremony and or reception, which seats up to 120 guests. The ground floor is where the bar and dance floor are located.

Brac and Bow Catering

At the time of writing this blog post Brac and Bow is the caterer for Tarureka and their food is delicious! The venue also offers BYO alcohol for no extra cost.

I also wanted to make a special mention to the wonderful Sarah McEvoy who joined me for part of this wedding day, she took some of the cocktail hour photos that I’ve shared in this blog. Two of my wedding packages include a second photographer so while I’m photographing in one area with the wedding couple, I have another person capturing some of the candid moments that couples often didn’t see on the day.

Sarah and William's Boomrock Wedding! It's all in the smaller details (cat lovers you'll like this one)!

When Sarah and Will first emailed me about their wedding plans they mentioned they had a cat named Sandwich, I knew they were my kind of people 😻

I loved everything about their intimate wedding with 30 guests at Boomrock. It was possibly the most relaxed wedding I’ve been to! They started with getting ready together at their home in Karori which was so sweet having their ‘first look’ in the comfort of their own home. We did most of their portraits before the ceremony so they could put all their attention into hanging out with guests for the rest of the day.

To get to Boomrock guests will usually travel via bus from the city which takes about 30 minutes. It’s exciting for anyone who has never been here, I imagine guests may think … ‘There is no way this bus can drive down this narrow road and up this crazy hill’. You go from city to very rural within a few minutes, it’s an incredible place! On this day the weather was so clear out at Boomrock that we could not only see the South Island but at sunset we could see Mount Taranaki in the distance (I grew up in this area so that was cool seeing it for the first time in a while).

An extra special mention to the smaller details from their day that I’m obsessed with. Sandwich appeared on their wedding invites, dinner menus and wedding cake made by our favourite @stilettostudiocakes. I also really loved how Sarah and William walked down the aisle to their ceremony together.

Venue: @boomrocklodge
Celebrant: Sam McDonald
Hair/makeup: @alana__muha
Florals: @melissajane_flowers
Suit: @barkersclothing
Dress: @wendymakinbridal
Tailor: @sues.repairs

Ohariu Farm Wellington Wedding - Abbey and Anthony

When your clients are from Taranaki (where I grew up) and you instantly click 😍 I’m so grateful that Abbey and Anthony asked me to capture their engagement photos and wedding day! The girls had a great Airbnb near Ohariu Farm, so if anyone needs a recommendation for accommodation please check out Ohariu Alpaca Farm Stay. If you have pets and you’d like some creative ideas for including them on your wedding day, scroll down to see how Abbey and Anthony incorporated their doggos into their wedding reception.

There is an incredible list of vendors from their wedding!
@marriedbyashleigh
@jaymiejarvis.makeupartist
@ohariufarm
@stilettostudiocakes

Anam Cara Gardens Wedding - Amy and Liam

When your wedding day turns out to be a one-year wedding anniversary. SURPRISE! Amy and Liam thank you for asking us to capture your special day and for doing things authentic to how you wanted them to be! These two eloped on this exact day 1 year prior and managed to keep the secret until their wedding day at Anam Cara Gardens. We started off their day with preparations over in the main house before their first look together and then a first look with some of their immediate family members (loved this idea of including family). We then went around the gardens for photos with their wedding party friends!

To finish off the day we had cocktail hour with lots of catching up with their guests, the shoe game (is this what it's called?!), sunset photos down at Otaki beach, an epic reception entrance and a first dance.

As always thanks so much for having us at your beautiful venue Teresa and Tim at Anam Cara Gardens and to Olivia Melhop for your help on this day as my second photographer!

Wellington Begonia House - Intimate wedding ceremonies for couples

In this world where we are presented with trends online and all the ‘must haves’ ‘must dos’ it can be extremely overwhelming for couples to plan a wedding. When couples come to me with ideas for a smaller wedding or elopement-style ceremony I’m all in.

Here in this blog, I’m showing highlights from a recent intimate wedding that I felt so honoured to photograph. This was a 2-hour package and we went to 2 different locations in Wellington, did a first look and portraits before their ceremony, plus a bunch of family photos afterwards at their reception venue.

Plan to have your wedding in a way that aligns with your ideas, your vision, your lifestyle and in your own timeframe. You don't always need to have the full day captured, let’s customise it to suit. These smaller weddings have just as much of an impact on me as my 10-hour bookings.

Begonia House at the Wellington Gardens was the perfect first-look location for Brooke and William! When we arrived it was raining so being undercover in this stunning building with its impressive plants meant we could still capture the special moments before their ceremony. Just as we started to finish here the rain stopped for us to get some photos quickly outside. We then made our way to the Canape Room for their intimate ceremony.

Big thank you to Brooke and William for asking me to capture their special day! And to the Begonia house for having us (just a little note for anyone interested, if you want photos at this location it requires permission and a small fee for use of the space).

Tesh and Tim - Sudbury wedding, Te Horo Kapiti Coast

Here are some of my favourite moments from Tesh and Tim’s wedding day! ♥️
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They booked us for photo and video back in 2021, so we had lots of time to get to know more about these two by following them on socials and even getting some help with plumbing issues (shot Tim!) Straight away I could tell we were all going to vibe as I love their values and the connection they have for each other. A special mention to their love of cats which we relate to and also how ironic it was that a cat walked right into the middle of their ceremony during their vows.
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Their wedding was at Sudbury farm and we also popped down to the beach for some sunset photos, which was one of our favourite parts of the day. On our way back from sunset at the beach Tesh popped into Cottage 103, where the girls got ready earlier in the day, and got changed into a second outfit for their dancing. They walked down the road back to the venue and surprised their guests with an entrance in a new outfit!

Should you have a first look before your wedding ceremony? Pros and Cons! Tarureka Estate Wedding - Ruby and James

Couples sometimes ask me what my thoughts are and my preference is for having a ‘first look’ and all wedding/bridal party photos prior to the ceremony. Ruby and James had a first look before their ceremony so this is a perfect example of how the day can look doing things in this order!

I personally don’t have a preference because it’s completely up to each couple and their priorities for the day. For our own wedding, we hired a photographer for 4 hours and did the bulk of our photos before our ceremony so that afterwards we could relax and party (talk about some weird priorities considering photography is my job!)

PROS OF DOING A FIRST LOOK

There are some really sweet and intimate moments that can be captured when it’s just the two of you. You might feel nervous and worried you’ll lose your cool in front of all your guests (which is not a bad thing by the way, I love and respect vulnerability), but if this gives you anxiety then it can be a great way to keep the moment just between the two of you.

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll get more time to socialise with your guests after the ceremony. This was really important for our wedding since a lot of guests travelled from afar who I hadn’t seen in a while. Doing photos after your ceremony could mean being away from guests for 30 minutes - 1 hour (I even hear stories of this being longer if there is travel to a particular location).

CONS OF DOING A FIRST LOOK

The main downside for a photographer is the lighting conditions. It will mean doing photos earlier in the day which is often when the sun is at its brightest. BUT if you have a venue with some shaded areas with tree cover and a great photographer this should not be an issue. For Ruby and James’ wedding, we had some clouds in the sky which really helped defuse the bright light at 1pm and I used this driveway which was mainly covered by trees and in the shade.

Once we finished family photos after their ceremony, Ruby and James were able to spend 2 hours with their guests before heading into the reception. Lots of time to mingle, enjoy the canapes and drinks, play some tennis and get some photos with your friends!

Later in the evening Ruby and James were happy to head out for more photos of just the two of them while the light was really nice. They said they appreciated just having this short moment for the two of them after such a full on day.

Rose and Smith Wairarapa Wedding - Rosa and Ben

My first time out at Rose and Smith! I had so much fun hanging out with this wedding crew and documenting the day for Rosa and Ben. I started off the day by driving down a long gravel road that looked like a shortcut to Rosa's Airbnb, Google maps did me dirty and my car was not the best for that kind of road. Thankfully I safely arrived to see the wonderful Alana MUA doing hair for Dollhouse Do. Alana worked her magic and made Rosa feel like Kim K, she looked incredible.

It rained every 10 minutes and then the sun would come out. On my way to the venue, I was driving through torrential rain so I was feeling very thankful for the indoor ceremony at that moment. Then for the rest of the day, we had NO RAIN and look at their outdoor photos! The party went off and the costumes came out. I was eyeing up the expresso martinis but mahi and professionalism, plus driving back over the Remutakas, not a good mix.

Thanks again Rosa and Ben!! My heart felt very happy on this day. Also a big thank you to Jess Dewsnap Photography for joining me as my second photographer on the day, can’t wait to team up again soon!

How to choose your perfect wedding venue?

You’re engaged, congratulations! Now you get to plan the biggest party of your life - your wedding day. It can be overwhelming all of the decision makings but there are loads of resources and tips out there for free to get you started. I’ve put together some tips on how to choose the best wedding venue as this is usually the first big decision to make.

Ohariu Farm wedding venue Wellington

Ohariu Farm wedding reception Wellington

KNOW YOUR STYLE AND VISION

What is your decor style and aesthetic for your wedding? Are you leaning towards elegant and modern, traditional or relaxed, rustic and retro, outdoors or indoors etc? Perhaps start looking for inspiration on Pinterest and get a feel for the overall look you like. When you start to visit venues or look online you’ll begin to build a picture of whether or not your vision fits with the space.

Foxglove Wellington wedding venue

Foxglove Wellington reception venue

BUDGET

First things first, let’s talk budget! For our wedding we originally wanted to make it happen with 20k, we quickly realised for what we wanted that wasn’t realistic and it ended up being 30k. Start with categorising the ‘must haves’ first and then work your way down the list. The most expensive things for our wedding were the venue, food, alcohol, photographer and wedding dress. They weren’t things we were willing to compromise on. When it comes to budgeting for your venue there may be extra costs like rubbish removal and waitress staff so make sure you do your research.

Old Saint Pauls Wellington

GUEST LIST/NUMBERS CAPACITY

Before you start looking at venues you’ll need to write a draft guest list so you have a rough idea of how many people will attend. When we started writing our guest list for our own wedding we aimed for 60 people, this quickly escalated to 80 people and unfortunately our booked venue usually only catered for 60-70 max (it was a tight squeeze during the reception, whoops). I definitely recommend sticking to the guideline that your venue provides otherwise it makes it really hard for waitress staff and guests to move around during the reception.

Sudbury wedding ceremony

Sudbury wedding venue Kapiti Coast

AVAILABILITY

What time of year do you want to get married, do you want a summer wedding or do you prefer cooler months? We decided on May for our wedding because we wanted our ceremony to be as close to sunset time as possible for the nice light in our photos. It was nice not standing outside on a hot summer’s day (being a photographer and working in the sun for hours on end is really challenging and also those wearing suits find it way too hot in jackets and pants).

Give yourself lots of time and pick a date that is 12-18 months away so you can ensure all of your favourite vendors are available.

Ohariu Farm wedding reception

Ohariu Farm wedding Wellington

ACCOMMODATION

Do you need to provide on-site accommodation or make this available for your VIP guests? Some couples like to make it easier for their guests traveling from afar to have accommodation included at the venue. This means that guests don’t need to worry about transport and can party without planning a sober driver.

Brackenridge wedding reception Martinborough

Brackenridge Martinborough

TRANSPORT

Is your venue easy to get to and order taxi’s from, or do you need to pre-book a bus to make sure guests get home safely. If there is alcohol at your wedding this is an important thing to factor in. For our wedding, we prebooked a large bus which did one trip from the accommodation our guests booked and then one trip back in the evening for about $900 NZD. Make sure you add this into your budget so it’s not a surprise when you start to look at booking transport. We also booked some earlier taxis in the night for children and grandparents.

Brackenridge wedding ceremony

Brackenridge Wairarapa

WEEKEND HIRE

Find out when you have access to the venue. Some questions to ask before you book are: can you set up your decorations the day beforehand, or do you only have access the morning of the wedding (which means hiring a team to make this happen since you’ll be getting ready)? And when do you need to have the venue cleaned and cleared by the next day?

Poppies wedding venue Martinborough

Poppies wedding ceremony Martinborough

CATERING AND BYO ALCOHOL

Some venues will have specific caterers that they work with or allow into their kitchen only. Find out what the catering options are and if the kitchen is fully equipped for an offsite company to use. You’ll need to choose between plated meals or a buffet-style, we picked a buffet style because we wanted larger portions and simple options.

Not all venues allow BYO alcohol due to licensing reasons so you may need to budget more for your venue’s drink prices. Find out if you can purchase wine by the bottle for your tables which will help slow down the bar tab. Don’t be afraid to be specific about what spirits your guests can drink to keep costs down (some weddings will even do spirits for bridal parties only for example).

Martinborough Tree Church wedding venue

The Vue at Martinborough Tree Church

SOUND LIMIT AND LIVE MUSIC

Check with your venue if there are any restrictions on noise for your reception party. Live music is great but it can be louder. Most venues will have a bar cut-off time which is often when the music gets turned down.

Peppers Parehua Martinborough wedding ceremony

Peppers Parehua Martinborough Vineyard

COVID19 POLICY

It’s a strange time we are living in so make sure you find out what your venue’s policies are around covid19 and if you have the flexibility to reschedule without penalty fees if needed. There is always the possibility of an outbreak, talk about the options and have a backup plan.