Planning your wedding can be an exciting yet stressful experience. The key to enjoying this special once only time is careful planning, or having a wedding planner! After enjoying some time floating on cloud nine as a newly engaged couple, there are a few key components that you should consider to ensure your day is everything you dreamed of. First, set a date. Second, select the wedding venue. Finding a venue and setting the date can go hand in hand. You may find the venue that will suit you to a T, but you may need to be flexible with the date as wedding season can fill up venues pretty quick. In saying that, you may have a special reason for a specific date like the anniversary of your first kiss (awwww), in this case your venue selection may be narrowed if places you like are already booked.
When choosing your venue it’s important to consider what style of wedding you imagine. Do you love the vintage look? Is rustic more your thing? Perhaps you have always dreamed of a glamorous affair? Or maybe you are truly laid back and can see yourself tying the knot Kiwiana style, jandals and all. For all these styles there is the perfect wedding venue to suit.
Vintage Homestead Wedding Venue:
A whimsical, romantic, vintage style wedding could include special details like pastel coloured bunting, pearls, lace and precious china. Bridesmaids will carry baby’s breath flower arrangements and the groomsmen will wear delicate grey. Vintage weddings are perfectly suited to gorgeous old homesteads such as Newbery Lodge. Built in the 1930’s and surrounded by stunning gardens, this venue is just a short drive from the Christchurch CBD. An advantage of holding your wedding at a venue like this is your reception and ceremony can be held all in the same spot. This means your guests can relax and enjoy your day without having to plan transport between the formal gathering of the ceremony and celebrations of the reception.
Rustic Winery Style Wedding Venue:
Picture a rustic theme with tin bucket beverage coolers, drinking out of mason jars, hessian table runners with doilies dotted around and bunch
es of beautiful blooming flowers. From start to end this day is all about charm. Wherever you choose to hold your ceremony whether it be a church, romantic garden or at home, a spectacular way to transport your guests to the winery reception venue is by London Double Decker bus! Hassle-free Tours offer private charters for exactly this purpose, imagine the atmosphere of your guests clambering onto the bus to start the celebrations, this will truly create the impact of a rustic wedding. Winery wedding venues provide a picturesque backdrop, perfect for your wedding photos with your new husband, bridal party and all of your most cherished. The great thing is we have so many to choose from within the Canterbury area. Of course no rustic wedding is complete with a sparkler send off at the end of the night, so magical.
Glamorous Function Centre Wedding Venue:
Function spaces really are a blank canvas ready for you to dress and impress. Sparkling fairy lights, mirrored centrepieces, stunning candelabra, lots of silver and black, that’s the glamorous look of a function venue or hotel. Options for function centres are scattered all over the city, picking one to suit your style, number of guests, budget and location preference should be easy. Take Peppers Clearwater Resort, the floor to ceiling windows look over a magnificent lake and the manicured lawns of the golf resort. With space to seat 140 guests plus room for a band and dancing this is a great option for a larger wedding. Many function venues or hotels offer packages which can include food, beverage and even accommodation for the bride and groom. This option makes life so easy for the wedding couple as most hotel venues will have in-house catering, all you need to do is pick the menu choices and wine.
DIY Laid Back Marquee Wedding Venue:
On the beach, in a forest, Mum and Dad’s backyard, the options for a marquee wedding are endless. A way around the wedding venue selection saga of getting in quick to get your preferred date is to have a marquee wedding. The beauty of a marquee is you can set it up almost anywhere and dress it up to the nines with ceiling and wall drapes or keep it casual and relaxed. Don’t be fooled though as marquees can end up costing you just as much as paying a venue hire if not more. There are many great marquee supply companies in Christchurch so it pays to shop around, or better yet let us do it for you! An alternative to a marquee is a tipi which we (as it happens) have arranged for a beautiful lake side wedding earlier this year. Take a look at how this magical day came together here.
