Micro Weddings in New Zealand

What are Micro Weddings? And what makes a good one?

A micro wedding is another term for what many people call elopements or intimate weddings. Due to the current travel restrictions, micro weddings are on the rise big time. In this post we want to offer some helpful advice for anyone looking to have a micro or smaller wedding. So here are our best micro wedding tips!

Micro weddings are classified as something with 20 or fewer guests.

Don’t miss the chance to celebrate!

We’ve stopped many couples just going straight to the courthouse with no plans. Why would you miss the chance to celebrate such a special day? The small size of your micro wedding means you can do it anywhere - how cool! You can marry in the mountains with an amazing view, infront of your fav classy building, at you home. You have the chance to plan something really special and it doesn’t need to take a lot of work!

Let you imagination run wild

With fewer guests, you can plan anything. A ceremony somewhere cool and then a unique dinner celebration. You can rent out a cafe, restaurant or bar for your reception celebration - they are already so nicely decorated you won’t have to do much.

VENUE, CELEBRANT, PHOTOGRAPHER

These are the first elements you’ll want to plan your micro wedding right.
A cool venue to get married at. Somewhere awesome for your party. A relaxed and fun celebrant. A photographer to help you plan something epic and of course, take next level photos you’ll love forever. Get these basic things right and your plans will be set in motion.

The party basics

Even if you are having just a few guest at your micro wedding, there are few elements that make up every good wedding party. Good food, good music, and a little alcohol. Of course flowers, cool stationary and decor are amazing, but they aren’t totally necessary - start with the basics and add to it from there.

MAKE IT MEANINGFUL

We are huge fans of extra personal vows. Don’t skip the chance to say something meaningful to each other. Other little personal touches throughout the day really make the day memorable. It’s up to you to infuse it with meaning so don’t let the day slip by without it.

HELPFUL LINKS

We know it’s still overwhelming even planning a micro wedding. We would love to help so make a time to meet us and we can chat you through the whole process.

If you’d like some more information, here are some great resources to turn to.

Together Journal
How to get married in New Zealand

Jimmi and Charlotte featured in Together Journal Issue #20 ||

We are very very proud to have the amazing wedding of Jimmi and Charlotte featured in print in the latest Together Journal (Issue 20!). We would HIGHLY recommend going and picking yourself out a copy. It’s full of stunning wedding inspiration, ideas, features and is so perfectly laid out. Greta never fails to do an amazing job.

We’ve planned to do a bigger feature of Jimmi and Charlottes wedding on our site, but for now you’ll have to grab the magazine for a sneak peek.

-> Together Journal

Chasewild Workshop 14 June 2020 - Only the Goodness

Last weekend we held our long-awaited Only the Goodness workshop again. We held over 10 of these each year in the past, however, due to getting busier with other commitments we have dialed it back to hold just the one workshop this year! If you are interested in our next workshop, do email us now and just on a waiting list.

We were lucky enough to have the amazing Sam from Wild Hearts jump on board and help us organise a stunning bridal shoot and reception set up. Here are all the industry leaders we had on board!

Styling: Wild Hearts | Flora & Styling: Floral Stylist Co | Gowns by Brooke Tyson Ritual | Earrings: Kami & Kindred | Makeup: Beauty By Blair Gamblin | Hair: Hare & Hunter | Models: ⁠Mikal + Farrel from Red 11 | Dinner Set + Glassware: Royal Laboratorie | Ceramics: Fiona Mackay Ceramics | Cutlery: The Pretty Prop Shop | Furniture: Flock Events | Linen: Tble. Linen⁠ | Stationery⁠: Papier Hq

How to get your wedding in a magazine

So many couples would love to have their wedding featured in a blog or in a magazine. No wonder! It’s a perfect keepsake and something really special to look back on. We have been lucky enough to photograph many weddings that have been published, either in online blogs, or in print magazines. It’s always so special to see the weddings recognized and then put out there as inspiration to other couples.

For those of you hoping to have your wedding featured or printed in a magazine we thought we would round up a few thoughts to help you get there.

A selection of print magazines we have been featured in

Authenticity

Magazines want to feature weddings that are unique - not copied from pinterest or another blog. So bring yourself to the table. Bring your unique style to your planning and don’t just follow what is trendy. For your wedding to stand out amongst the thousands of submission these mags received it will need to display authenticity - something real - something you.
So let loose on your planning.
Think of things you love to do and think of a way to do that at your wedding. Toasting marshmellows? Do it. Designing your own dress? Make it happen. Serving cocktails to your friends? There’s a good one.
Couples in their element, not the ones putting on a show are the ones that stand out.

Brya and Ruperts unique table set ups - all the dried florals where saved by Brya over the year prior

Attention to detail

The details matter to magazines.
They want to see the table settings, your invitations, your cuff links, your flower girls flowers.
This is your chance to show off your style.
Save up those dried florals. quilt those blankets, hire an amazing stylist that you admire, put those two random colours you love together.

This does not mean you have to have a million different small details everywhere. You can, but often a few well planned and well executed details can go a long way. An amazing ceremony backdrop, a unique dress, a crazy light display or genius designed table menus - whatever it is put that authenticity into the details and you’ll be well on your way to being noticed by the magazines.

James and Laura and their epic floral details from Amanda Norwood Design

Use great vendors

Use great vendors and trust them! From your florist, to make up artist, to reception co-ordinator - be sure to hire people who’s work you love and who you can trust. Spend time with them chatting about your vision and get them excited for your wedding too. Many vendors will go above and beyond to help you make something that stands out!

Here’s afew of our favs who we know do that!
Amanda Norwood Design
Arkade Hire
Ruth Baron - Make Up by Ruth
Rose Tinted Flowers

Photography

Plain and simple - you won’t have a magazine worthy wedding unless you have a top class photographer who can capture it all. There are a million reasons to invest in good photography for your wedding and getting into a magazine is one of them.
We know what the magazines are looking for - we shoot in good light, we get the right variety of shots, we focus on the details, we know how to create stunning images magazines will love. Hiring an uncle or a friend with a camera is not going to get the same result.

Making coffee together is what Jake and Naomi loved to do - so why not on your wedding day!

Timetable Planning

Your timetable will have a big effect on how your photographer can capture your wedding.

We love to have a chance to shoot all the details of the wedding. The ceremony set up, the reception rooms, your jewelry and details in the morning. It’s important as well that some of these set ups aren’t crowded with people. So we need time to capture these details right. Allow your photographers to arrive at the ceremony site a little early, same with the reception. Hire them for plenty of time in the morning.

Another consideration is your portrait session timing. Shooting at sunset is preferred by almost all wedding photographers. So make that shoot a priority! You’ll get the best images that are magazine ready.

Madam Woo made for a unique ceremony spot for Anushi and Kurt

Ask away

We are lucky enough to have some great relationships with the leading magazine editors around and they often review our client galleries to see if there is something they like. This is not the normal process however - most of the time you will need to follow the proper submissions process. Most will have an online submission portal where you can let them know all about your wedding, tell them your love story and sell it all to them. So our last tip to getting your wedding featured in a magazine is just to ask - submit your wedding! Your photographer might not have time to go through and submit weddings so it may be up to you to make it happen.

We’ve been lucky enough to have so many weddings printed and featured. You can see a list of our blog and print features here.

Chasewild Wedding Albums | Custom Legacy Albums

We have streamlined our album making process to make it easier than ever! So get in touch now about making your wedding album with us.

There’s not much better than seeing, touching, holding your photos in real life. Imagine sitting around with friends, over wine, turning the pages, reliving the moments and experiencing your wedding photos in the best way possible - a wedding album. Your wedding photos are too special to be left on a hard drive, or just shared on social media. Make an heirloom, make something special.

We design the albums in tandem with you to ensure you get something you love! We make the process easy using our online software where you can leave comments to make changes. You’ll get a choice of leathers or fabric covers and you can emboss anything you want on the front, back, side, anywhere.

Get your hand on one of these stunning wedding albums - something to hold onto forever.

See the full details here and get in touch to make your order.