Married by Friends

🐶 W O O F 🐶

Planning a wedding and can’t bear the thought of leaving your fur baby out of the fun? 🐶✨ Dive into the wild world of dog-friendly weddings! From matching bow ties to canine cake toppers, we’ve got all the tricks and treats to make your day pawsitively unforgettable.

Picture this: your dog walking down the aisle with the rings, stealing the show, and maybe even the cake! 🍰🐾 If you’re a dog lover, like all of us - you probably have it covered - alas, are you ready for some tail-wagging tips?

Hit up our blog for the scoop! 📖 Link in bio!

Wedding pictured, captured pur-fectly (sorry, we couldn’t help it 🙊) by our talented friend

Planned by, our very detail-orientated and gorgeous friend, Steph 😍

🧁 C A K E + F L O W E R S 💐

Nothing quite like rolling straight from a ceremony into 🧁🍰 & 🍾🥂 surrounded by 🌹🌸💐🌺🌷🌻🥀🌼🪷🪻

Snapped and planned by the team at

✨ Y O U R C E R E M O N Y I S F U N ✨

Let’s work together, and figure out how to make your ceremony, your FAVOURITE part of your day 🥰

“We’re not lovey-dovey” // “he’s worried everyone’s gonna be bored” … well, not here mate. We promise to make your ceremony the perfect blend of laughs, happy tears, a memorable walk down memory lane (to trigger those emotions) + of course, serious for a moment or two at all the rights times. And mostly, leave with everyone asking if we’re friends because we knew you so well 🥰

Check out our latest blog, to get you thinking… but for the goodies & hidden 💎 - you’re gonna have to check out the 🌟EPIC 🌟 resource section on our website 😋🥰

📖 VOWS - you’ve gotta do it! We are massive fans of personalised vows, but we know starting with a blank piece of paper can be super daunting. So, we’ve got a resource outlining what usually happens, examples of structures, templates and even some prewritten viws which you can chip and change - or just take inspiration from. We strongly encourage you add your own spin - and we are always here to sense check / bounce ideas off!

♾️ HAND FASTING - we love this, because, if we do our job right - it’ll form an infitiy knot, which you can gram and keep as a piece of art in your home - as a reminder from your ❤️ day you said “I do”!

🏝️ TWIST IT - get creative! Instead of a hand fasting, unite your lives by planting a tree together, blending the soils from your home base (ie, your family homes, or hometown). If you’re international, get wild and blend a cocktail together to roast with! 🍸🍹

🐶 BYO pet - who doesn’t love a friendly fur baby at their wedding?! We love it so much, that our next blog is dedicated solely to our fluffy friends 🥰

For some funny snaps & more idea - LINK IN BIO

Cover pic snapped by our talented pal (who we road tripped to Mt Cook with for this wedding)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Thank you so much for our ceremony. It was so beautiful, and Scott and I could not be any happier with how it all came together. You were amazing!

Small world.. we caught up with our friends while in Queenstown and told them we had eloped. Turns out you married them also!”

— Vanessa & Scott

This is our fave, and happens so often now - sometimes from recommendations from friends, other times from vendors, other times the couple were past guests at a ceremony we officiated.. we are SO stoked when this does happen 🥰😍

Snapped & planned by our pals at 🥰😍

✨ P H O T O B O M B ✨

Ceremonies to make you laugh & cry… plus a cheeky photobomb every now & then (only when asked 😋)

Swipe to see 🙊

Snapped & planned by our pals at who are also up for a bit of fun! ✨

✨ B L O G ✨

We did it. We wrote another thing.

If you’re an international couple planning a wedding here in Aotearoa, New Zealand - check out our latest blog post for everything you need to know about saying in this breathtaking country! 💍💐

Happy planning xx

✨ J U S T M A R R I E D ✨

The feeling when you take those first steps as a married couple is something quite magical 💖

The rush of excitement, the flutter of hearts, and the promise of forever - it’s pure magic! 🔥

Captured by the insanely talented Melissa

We did it. We wrote a thing. And we think it's worth a read 🤍

Link in bio, or just head to our website & look for 'inspiration' in the top bar xx

Pictured here, is local pilot 🚁 Mark from Alpine Helicopters , Soph (our very local team), our couple Sally + Sam (they travelled 😉) ...and captured by local photographer 📸 Andy Hide and Seek Elopement Co .. oh, and we're eating 🍰 from local White Rabbit Cakes NZ

Happy reading x

Married by Friends - Love Local: The Benefits of Using Homegrown Wedding Vendors Picture this: you wake up on your wedding day to find that the weather has other plans for your outdoor ceremony. But fear not, because your local wedding vendors have got your back!

✨ F R I E N D S ✨

✨ T H I N G S W E L O V E D ✨

At Morgan & Aaron’s wedding..

1. Woof

2. Woof

3. Woof

Ok, Rio 🐶 was the star, but there was a LOT of things we loved. The couple, their friends, the vibe, their planner, their photographer…. You get the point - it was GOOD 🥰

But also, incase you missed it, they brought their furry friend, Rio 🐶 & we are here for it! 🙃

Planned by the legendary Steph from // snapped by the talented

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Anna is a superstar to say the least, she’s patient, organised, takes initiative and gets the job done to a very high level with ease. We couldn’t be more thankful to this powerhouse of a wāhine toa for keeping us calm and collected on the days leading up to and on the wedding, even when facing a storm at an all outdoors ceremony! We highly recommend Anna and the team at Married by Friends, your expectations will be exceeded by their care and professionalism throughout such a special time for you and your loved ones.”

— Angela & Ben

Captured by

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Thank you so much for everything, you did an absolutely amazing job being our celebrant and MC!! I can’t thank you enough!!! I will definitely be recommending you to others!!!”

— Nicole & Niall

Snapped by our talented pal

✨ M A G I C T R I C K ✨

Well, not really… but one thing we love is seeing the transition from a rehearsal to the ceremony - because we promise you, 🪄 M A G I C 🪄 happens 😍

Check out the transformation of this local backyard 😍

1: ceremony
2: rehearsal
3: ceremony
4: rehearsal
5: set-up

All snapped by for Grace & Luke ❤️

✨ V O W S ✨

To make you laugh, cry (happy tears), smile + everything in between.

It always so hard to know where to begin, and we have the *PERFECT* resource to get you started!

Got other questions about your ceremony? Chances are we probably got resources for those too - or we just love a yarn, and are always happy to chat anything + everything weddings 🥰

Snapped & planned by the team at

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“Thank you so much Stevie you were incredible; you made everything so seamless! You are a superstar, we had the best day ever.“

— Gennady & Sean

Planned in under a week by & .. captured by … full rundown on 😍

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Thank you so much for all your hard work! You were perfect and made the day very memorable for us!! Couldn’t have picked a better celebrant, everyone said that you were really good! Will be recommending you to our friends”

— Grace & Luke

Snapped by our pal, Simon 🤍

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Anna, our amazing celebrant, radiated beauty, kindness, and bubbly energy. With her expert management of time and seamless flow of events, we felt completely at ease. Anna’s effective communication and meticulous attention to detail made our ceremony extraordinary. She even went above and beyond, helping me steam my dress at the last minute. Thanks to Anna, we were able to fully immerse ourselves in the joy of the day, without a worry in the world.”

— Jess + Braden

Snapped & planned by the team at

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“We can’t thank you enough for the part you played in our special day. It was so nice having someone as positive, professional (yet relaxed!) as you were! Such a vibe.”

— Zoe + Corey

📸

When we send a final gallery of photos, we don't just include the 'perfect' scenic ones. Our absolute favourites are those that capture an unexpected moment. The ones we know our couple will look back on in years to come and remember how they felt at that precise moment, the ones that tell a story, the ones that make you laugh (or cry), the ones that make you remember just how windy it was!

With Charm Beauty Married by Friends The Flower Room Heliworks Queenstown
Pics + Plans / Scott + Melissa / Sunshine Weddings - Elopements

www.elopementweddings.co.nz

🪻 L U P I N S 🪻

Such a beautiful spot, before an epic intimate wedding with the team over at 🥰

Snapped by our talented pal Mickey.

✨ 5 0 0 C E R E M O N I E S ✨

Wow, on the 8th of December - we hit 500 weddings. And yes, if you’re feeling like we said 300 less than a year ago, you’d be right! 🎄

Ironically feeling very speechless that we all get to call this ‘work’ when really we’re just out here sharing love stories with friends, new and old.

Thank you to each and every one of you for welcoming us in to one of the most intimate and important days of your life. And into the hearts of many of your families. We have LOVED and continue to LOVE 🥰 every minute of it!

And to the vendors, we see you day-in, day-out - let’s keep living this beautiful life together, spending our days in helicopters, chasing sunsets & sunrises, telling tales & snapping pics (ok, we won’t snap any pics - we’ll leave that to the professionals) 🫢😉🤩

# # # Soph, Anna, Jacqui + Stevie

✨ L O V E R S ✨

Hands up if you made said ‘I do’ and entered into the forever lovers club in 2023 🥰😍

Snapped & planned by the team at

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Soph was incredible! We could not have hoped for a better wedding ceremony. She wrote the most beautiful ceremony that reflected us as a couple perfectly! All our guests were also raving about how great she was.

Soph also expertly guided us through the pre-wedding process and gave us plenty of materials to write our vows and design our ceremony in a way that fit us. Communication was easy from Australia and Soph always responded promptly.”

— Alyssa & Chris

📸 🤙🏼

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“If your getting married in the Wanaka or Queenstown Lakes area
then I cannot recommend Anna at Married by Friends enough!

Anna spoke extremely well and made our ceremony fun, funny and comforting as I had a lot of anxiety to be in the spotlight. She made this so much easier for [us] with her all beautiful fine touches and additions to our ceremony, including our guests which we had requested to take the pressure off of us a little. We couldn't have imagined a better wedding and I couldn't have done it without Anna! I cannot speak highly enough for her and what she has done for our dream wedding. She is passionate, funny, conscientious, reliable, considerate and heartening.”

— Sacha-Lee & Rob

📸 Katie from

✨ B T S ✨

We’re going to call this series… ‘What you think your celebrant does VS what they actually do’ 😜

Swipe to see what Stevie’s got going on behind the scenes of your ceremony 😉

First pic snapped by our pal 💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Soph was incredible, and was a perfect fit for us, her warm and comforting energy was felt not only by us, but our guests as well, everyone commented on how personlised and relaxed the ceremony was. The resources Soph shares to help in writing the vows were greatly appreciated and the prompt follow up with information was very helpful as well, she has great communication and a seamless experience all the way through, I would highly recommend Soph!”

— Caitlin & Trent

Snapped by the lovely Yaeh at // planned and styled by the incredible team at

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Soph was an amazing celebrant! The ceremony was an absolute match to both my partner's and my personality and vision of our elopement. Planning everything from California was seamless and still felt like we were involved from such a distance. Making the decision to use Married by Friends is an easy yes!”

Kind words from Annie + Steve about Celebrant Soph 🥰

📸 snapped & planned by

✨ 4 0 0 W E D D I N G S ✨

Wow, on the 13th of May - we hit 400 weddings. Yep, you heard us, 400. And 100 of those have been since Christmas (well, mid-December) 🎄

Humbled, blown away, in absolute awe of the incredible couples we’ve had the privilege of spending time with.

Thank you to each and every one of you for welcoming us in to one of the most intimate and important days of your life. And into the hearts of many of your families. We have LOVED 🥰 every minute of it!

And to the vendors, we see you day-in, day-out & are SO stoked to be doing life with such incredible, talented & most of all kind humans - turned friends. We are so grateful ❤️

# # # Soph, Anna + Stevie