Destination Wedding Photography - New Zealand Wedding Venues

After shooting my first two New Zealand weddings, I still couldn’t believe I was flying back across the world in another two weeks to document a third. For Fiona & Karl’s destination wedding photography, I calculated that I spent 44 hours in transit and 60 hours total on the ground. It was completely crazy and completely worth it to document their Black Barn River Room wedding.

From the minute they picked me up at the airport, we spent the entire day before their wedding scouting locations for photos and I spotted this incredible mountain backdrop called Craggy Range. The only hitch in the plan was that the land I wanted to shoot on was actually owned by a family of farmers. In classic Kiwi fashion, Karl and I drove up to the family’s home and asked if it was possible to shoot some wedding photos on their land. Not only did they welcome us onto their property, but they drove us around in their own truck so that I could pick out the perfect spot. It was an amazing story and led to some of the most breathtaking images I was able to make in New Zealand.

Working with these two Kiwis, living in Australia, was a dream for me as a photographer. They left every decision regarding photos up to me and what I thought would be best. Fiona wound up wearing sneakers most of the day because of all the climbing I had them do on Te Mata Peak. They even had me decide where exactly they should hold their ceremony at the Black Barn River Room. The trust they placed in me was second to none. Time to look at their photos now.