Hobbiton wedding photographer & videographer
Getting married in the Shire. Ceremonies on the green, portraits at the round doors, and a lantern-lit banquet inside the Green Dragon Inn — photographed and filmed by a team that has shot a full wedding day at Hobbiton, start to finish.
Check your datesSuperGibo photographs and films weddings at the Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata, about two hours from Auckland, for New Zealand couples and for couples flying in from Australia, the United States, the UK and Europe. Coverage runs from the ceremony on the green to the banquet inside the Green Dragon Inn, with travel included in the quote.
There is nowhere else
that looks like this
Hobbiton is not a venue you photograph the way you photograph a vineyard. The light moves fast across the hills, the best portrait spots are a walk apart, and the guided nature of the set means you get windows rather than the whole afternoon. Knowing where to be, and when, is the difference between a gallery of scenery and a gallery of your wedding.
We have shot the full day here — the ceremony on the green, the round green doors, the pond at dusk, and the banquet running late inside the Green Dragon. We know which hobbit holes photograph best at which hour, where to take you when the light drops, and how to move a bridal party through the set without losing half your reception to walking.
And when it rains, which it does in the Waikato, we do not wait it out. Some of our favourite frames from this day are under an umbrella with the Shire soaked and glowing behind.
The Shire, hour by hour
The ceremony
- Ceremony on the green, benches and floral arch
- Guests arriving through the set
- Vows, rings and the walk back down together
- Family and bridal party groups, run briskly to a list
Portraits in the set
- The round green doors — the frame everyone comes here for
- The hillside paths and the hobbit holes above the pond
- Golden hour across the hills, and the pond at dusk
- A rain plan that turns Waikato weather into atmosphere
The Green Dragon
- The entrance into the inn, lantern-lit
- The banquet table, laid out in full, before anyone sits
- Speeches and toasts with clean audio on film
- Dancing, late, by lantern and firelight
A destination wedding
worth the flight
A good number of couples who marry here are not New Zealanders. They are fans — of the films, of the books, of the world — flying in from Australia, the United States, the UK or Europe to get married somewhere no other venue on earth can imitate. If that is you, you are not being indulgent. You are choosing a dream location, and it photographs like one.
Coming from overseas changes the planning more than the photography. You will be working across time zones, arriving days before, and trusting people you have only ever emailed. We build the timeline with you on a call rather than assuming you know how a New Zealand wedding day runs, we handle our own travel and gear, and we can recommend the celebrants, florists and stylists who already know this set.
The Hobbiton team are genuinely excellent at this — organised, warm with guests, and protective of the day in the best way. Between their coordination and a photographer who has worked the set, you can land in a country you have never visited and still have the day run properly.
The film
Andrew and Amy’s wedding at Hobbiton, filmed by the same team that photographed it — rain, lanterns, the banquet and all.
Andrew & Amy
Hobbiton Movie Set, Matamata
What a Hobbiton booking covers
Included
- Full-day coverage from preparations to the dance floor
- Travel from Auckland to Matamata — no separate line item
- Second photographer available for larger guest lists
- A planning call to build the timeline around the set’s access windows
- Sneak peek within days, full gallery on the timeline we agree
Add on
- Wedding film — one team, one timeline
- Same-day edit screened at the banquet
- Livestream for family who cannot travel
- Film & Super 8 — suits this place perfectly
- PhotoBooth or 360 booth for the reception
Before you ask
Have you actually shot a wedding at Hobbiton?
Yes — a full day, ceremony through to the banquet and dancing inside the Green Dragon Inn. The gallery and film on this page are from that wedding. We are not learning the set on your day.
Do you charge extra for the travel from Auckland?
No. Travel to Matamata is built into your quote as one number, so there is nothing to settle afterwards.
What happens if it rains?
We keep shooting. Some of the strongest frames from the wedding on this page are under an umbrella with the hills wet behind — and the Green Dragon interiors are made for a grey day. We will always have a plan that does not depend on sunshine.
How do we build the timeline around the set?
Together, on a planning call. Hobbiton runs to its own schedule and the good portrait spots are a walk apart, so we map where you need to be and when before the day, then keep it moving so you are not spending your reception on a hillside.
Can you cover the banquet and the dancing?
Yes, right through. The lantern-lit banquet is the part couples rewatch most, and we shoot it and film it to the end rather than packing up after the speeches.
We are flying in from overseas — can you help us plan it?
Yes, and we do it often. We build the timeline with you on a call, work around your arrival date and time zone, and can recommend celebrants, florists and stylists who already know the set. The Hobbiton team handle their side superbly, so between us you can arrive in a country you have never visited and still have the day run properly.
Can family back home watch?
Yes — our livestream broadcasts the ceremony on a private link, which matters more here than almost anywhere, because most of your guest list is usually on the other side of the world.
What does it cost?
See Services & Pricing for a starting point, then tell us your date — we will quote the full day including travel. A deposit holds the date and the balance is due a month before.
Getting married at Hobbiton?
Tell us your date and we will come back with a plan for the whole day — travel included.
Check your dates