Anam Cara Otaki

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!

photo of brides wedding dresses hanging
photo of the bride getting her makeup done
brides and bridesmaids wearing matching silk pjs
flower girl playing pool
groom getting dressed
photo of bride seeing her reflection in mirror
flower girl hugging bride
pearl wedding veil for bride
groom greeting his guests before ceremony
anam cara gardens wedding ceremony photos
groom seeing bride walk down the wedding aisle
anam cara wedding ceremony photos
grooms emotional wedding vows
bride reading wedding vows
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Bride portraits black and white
black and white wedding ring photos
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classic and minimal wedding reception decor with black candle holders
photos of wedding reception speeches
bride and grooms first wedding dance photos
Otaki beach wedding photos
bride and groom beach photos
brides wedding details
photos of the grooms and groomsmens suits hanging up
bride silk pjs
flower girls reaction to bride
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flower girl walking down ceremony aisle
bride walking down the aisle
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bride and groom kiss photo ceremony
wedding family photos
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portrait of Groom
creative and fun wedding photos
romantic black and white wedding photos
wedding cake photos
wedding menu food photos
photos of wedding reception speeches
flower girl wedding speech
bride and groom cut their wedding cake
bridesmaid catching wedding bouquet toss
otaki beach wedding photography
romantic wedding photos
drone wedding photos at Otaki Beach NZ

* 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!)

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!

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Anam Cara Ceremony location
flower girl wedding ceremony
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Otaki beach wedding photos
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wedding first dance photos

Anam Cara Gardens Wedding in Otaki - Photography and Videography

Jana and Tim’s wedding day at Anam Cara Gardens was a treat! They were so cruisy and completely trusted us to do our thing!

We did their first look before the ceremony which gave them more time to catch up with their guests before the reception. Their family photo list was super short and sweet (something we are always grateful for, this is always the hardest part of the day for everyone), but we were able to get lots of candid moments and photos with their guests during the cocktail hour.


After a few speeches and a yummy dinner made by Nosh Catering, we made our way to Otaki beach for some sunset photos with the bridal crew, while their guests treated themselves to some delicious cake and expresso martinis (how good having a signature cocktail on the menu). Overall a stunner of a day and a perfect match these two!

wedding dress photos
getting ready wedding photos
bride preparations
bride getting ready putting on shoes
groom getting ready
first look wedding photography
wedding photos at Anam Cara Otaki
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Bridal photos
Wedding ceremony location Kapiti Coast
Wedding ceremony at Anam Cara
Wedding photos at Otaki Beach
Bridal photos at Otaki Beach NZ
Otaki beach wedding photos