Hannah Lind

The Best Winter Wedding Venue in Central Otago

I know it’s the middle of summer… but it feels like the right time to take a step back into midwinter, for those of you considering a wintry Central Otago wedding (and those of you just getting ready to start complaining that it’s too hot - guilty, that’s me!)

wedding above the clouds Central Otago NZ — A mid winter Central Otago ceremony at its best!

This beautiful occasion belongs to an old friend of mine Becky and her now husband Peter.

Central Otago can be cold and unforgiving in winter that’s true… but it can also be absolutely stunning, especially if like Becky and Peter you take your wedding day up above the clouds.

Which is where The Canyon Tarras comes in. A short drive out of Cromwell to Bendigo and up a steep gravel road gets you to The Canyon. On a clear day you have views across Lake Dunstan and much of the Cromwell Basin… but on days like Becky and Peter’s wedding day (and there are quite a few of them thanks to Central Otago's inversion layer) at The Canyon you are up above the clouds, basking in sunshine and feeling like you’re in your own castle in the sky.

Just as Peter and Becky arrived to walk down the aisle (yes they each made an entrance, that is an option) the mist rose up and enveloped us just for a moment, giving her an ethereal entrance before retreating to let us enjoy the sunshine again.

Groom & groomsmen with Land Rover Central Otago mid winter wedding — Groom & Groomsmen with their most excellent wedding vehicle

Bride with long train and veil walking down the aisle in fog winter Central Otago — It was 2 degrees with Becky walked down the aisle - but in her opinion totally worth it!

Their ceremony was a beautiful mix of their story, laughter and happy tears.

I’ll share just a couple of excerpts.

For context, aside from Peter and their now family together… Becky has two great loves. Christmas and Marilyn Monroe.

It’s been a while since Becky was a part of my every day life. For a few years in the early 2000’s I was lucky enough to work with her and get to know her.

And some years later, the day I saw Peter happily dressed up as an elf to help out with the Christmas house on Facebook, I knew they’d each found a keeper.

And we ended their ceremony with my take on a Marilyn Monroe quote.

Becky and Peter before you leave here today as husband and wife, a thought on life from Marilyn Monroe.

You never know what life is like, until you’ve lived it.

So whatever your life is like, be in the moment and watch it happen, embrace the laughter and the tears…

and what you’ll get to do in roughly 127 years is look back at a life you’ve loved living, and a partner you’ve loved living it with…

Guests cheering as bride and groom walk back down the aisle clasped hands grinning — I dos said, introducing Becky & Peter the newlyweds

It’s an honour to get to perform every wedding I’m part of. Regardless of whether we knew each other before your wedding day or not, I’m 100% there to be your friend who has got this.