Melissa and Michael, featuring their special fur baby Doug who walked them back down the aisle as Mr & Mrs Langley! 🤍 This was such a relaxed and fun day. We loved being there for photos and video! We left with our cups full, reminded of why we love our jobs so much.
Vendors:
Hair: @amyrose_hair
Make up: @charlottelouisebeauty
Venue: @brackenridgecountryretreat
Celebrant: @wendymorrisoncelebrant
DJ: DJ luke
Flowers: @jillfranceshavill
Video: @traveller.video
Wairarapa Wedding Venue
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.
Our top Wairarapa Wedding Venues - Tarureka Estate, Brackenridge Retreat and Martinborough Tree Church
The Wairarapa has a range of stunning wedding venues for your ceremony and reception. This list showcases different venues with links to their websites where you can access more information!
TARUREKA ESTATE FEATHERSTON
Located in Featherston, Tarureka Estate has been voted as one of the world’s top 10 barn wedding venues. The 130 year old historic homestead can accommodate 18 guests, while the restored loft can seat 120 guests.
BRACKENRIDGE RETREAT
Brackenridge is a country-style wedding venue in Martinborough, Wairarapa. Their venue can host up to 130 guests for your reception and ceremony, and has a number of on-site cottages available for accommodation. We love photographing and filming here as everything is in one place and their team of staff and coordinators will have you covered in all areas making our job more enjoyable.
MARTINBOROUGH TREE CHURCH
Martinborough Tree Church is an outdoor ceremony space planted in 2015 which can seat 180 guests. They have recently expanded this venue to include a reception area called The Vue, a renovated 100-year-old historic woolshed. There are so many places on-site for photos after or before your ceremony.
LACEWOOD
Lacewood is a wedding venue located on Tuhitarata Estate, South Wairarapa. The 1860s homestead is surrounded by old English trees and formal gardens. There a number of cottages which can be used as accommodation for up to 22 guests and a barn for your reception which can seat up to 200 people.
ROSE & SMITH
Rose & Smith is a boutique venue at The Tauherenikau Racecourse, located 15 minutes from Greytown and Martinborough. Rose & Smith was named after the “Rose & Smith Builders” who built the newly renovated Racecourse Tea House in 1923. The Tea House can seat 200 guests and their onsite accommodate in The Ranch House can sleep up to 37 guests.
THE LANDING AT HOMEBUSH
The Landing at Homebush, located 5 minutes from Masterton, is an elegant country wedding venue with a number of outdoor spots for your ceremony and an indoor area for your reception of 140 guests. The main house is also available for hire with 4 bedrooms available.
Brackenridge Wedding Venue - Martinborough
Hayley and Shaun contacted me about their wedding plans at Brackenridge and we decided that 6 hours of photography would be plenty of time for their day! They wanted the wedding to be about spending time with family, their kids (who were their bridesmaids and groomsmen) and having a great time with guests. In the 6 hours that I was with them, we were able to cover the finishing touches of their preparations, the ceremony, photos afterward with their family and kids, the very start of their reception and sunset photos! That’s one of the great things about Brackenridge as a wedding venue, everything is on-site and you can make your timeline really streamlined without lots of travel between locations. I’m all for these shorter wedding days, sometimes you don’t need a 10-hour package and you can actually capture so much in a shorter time.
During their first speeches, we had a small window of opportunity to decide if we were going to head out for sunset photos, which we preplanned to be before I finished. It was raining, completely clouded over and I said sorry we won’t get a sunset but then the sky opened up (I’ve had this happen before in Martinborough, it changes within minutes). They got their sunset photos! Take a look.
Thanks for joining me @jessdewsnap as my second photographer and it was great to see you @wendymorrisoncelebrant!
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.
Orui Station Riversdale Beach - Wairarapa Wedding
Feeling incredibly grateful to have photographed Hanna and AJ’s wedding at Orui Station in Riversdale! A week prior to this I wasn’t sure if I was going to be well enough to photograph due to recovering from Covid19, but everything worked out perfectly! It was soul-healing being back photographing.
I haven’t had any beach weddings recently and this venue was so unique! It was my first time visiting the little town which is about 40km east of Masterton. If you’re keen on a day trip it’s worth the visit! Have a look through these highlights for cute pics of their doggo who loved being in the photos and also some fun with sparklers at the end of the night.
Bouquet Flowers: @floriade_wellington
Catering: @bluecarrotnz
Dress: @astrabridal.wellington
Suits: @rembrandt1946
Brackenridge Martinborough Wedding - Steph and Anthony
On a very windy and sunny day in Martinborough, we photographed and filmed Steph and Anthony’s wedding at Brackenridge Country Retreat. I had previously taken maternity photos for them in 2020 so it was special being asked to take photos a second time and to be able to capture their wedding day!
Wedding video by my partner Traveller Audio & Visual
Brackenridge Country Retreat Wedding Ceremony - Gemma and Sam
Congratulations to Gemma and Sam who tied the knot at Brackenridge Country Retreat in Martinborough! Karl and I documented their day from preparations through to when the party started with dancing.
We did a first look before their ceremony in an olive grove on the property of a couple whose wedding I photographed back in 2018! It was near the same spot where we did their first look all those years ago, so it was really special being back in this location.
We lucked out with the weather. Did you know that cloud on your wedding day is not a bad thing! It makes the light so soft and we can take photos anywhere (makes our job much easier). The sunset broke through the clouds for not even 10 minutes during their reception. We didn’t think anything was going to happen but then it all changed so we quickly stopped eating our dinner and rushed out to catch it (dedicated clients, I'm all for it)!
The Weddingcoach NZ did the most incredible job of coordinating the whole day! It was the first time I’ve work with a coordinator and it blows my mind how much of a difference it made for us vendors and the couple. Everything was exactly where it needed to be and the whole day went so smoothly. Thank you Britt!
