Queenstown Elopement
Packages
A ridge you land on by helicopter, a jetty on Lake Wanaka, a vineyard table in Gibbston, or the Milky Way over the Southern Alps. The South Island does scale like nowhere else — and we shoot here all year.
Check your datesSuperGibo photographs and films elopements across Queenstown, Wanaka and the wider South Island — helicopter landings on alpine ridges, lakeside and jetty ceremonies, vineyard picnics in Gibbston and Cromwell, and night-sky portraits under some of the darkest skies on earth. Coverage can be as short as a couple of hours, photo and film come from the same team, and there is no residency requirement to marry in New Zealand.
The scenery does
half the work
Queenstown and Wanaka are what most couples picture when they imagine eloping in New Zealand, and for once the picture is accurate. Inside an hour of town you can be on an alpine ridge, at the edge of a glacial lake, in a vineyard, in beech forest, or on a road with nothing on it but tussock and mountains.
It is also the easiest place in the country to build a day around light rather than logistics. Distances are short, the operators are used to weddings, and the terrain changes so fast that two locations an hour apart can look like two different countries.
The trade is weather. The mountains make their own, and it changes quickly — which is exactly why the photographs look the way they do. We plan every South Island day with a real alternative built in, so a cloudy morning becomes a decision rather than a disaster.
Six ways to do it down south
Most couples arrive with one image in their head. These are the six that actually come up, and how they differ on the day.
Helicopter to a ridge
- Land somewhere no road reaches, ceremony at altitude
- Snow on the tops from roughly May to October
- Usually 20–40 minutes on the ground per landing
- Pilot makes the weather call on the morning
Lakes & jetties
- Wanaka, Wakatipu, Hayes, Moke — still water and reflections
- Jetties photograph beautifully from the drone
- Easy access, so good if you would rather not hike
- Autumn turns the whole shoreline gold
Peaks & ridgelines on foot
- Roys Peak, Isthmus, Coromandel Peak and quieter ones
- A real walk — tell us your fitness and we will match it
- The views are the reason people fly across the world
- Start early or shoot at last light for empty tracks
Vineyards & a long table
- Gibbston, Cromwell and the Bannockburn terraces
- Ceremony in the rows, lunch straight afterwards
- The most relaxed option, and the easiest in wind
- Works beautifully with a handful of guests
Glenorchy & the back roads
- Forty minutes from Queenstown and another world
- Beech forest, braided rivers, wide open flats
- Horses, boats and 4WD access all possible here
- Quiet, even in peak season
Under the stars
- Night-sky portraits after the ceremony
- Milky Way season runs roughly February to October
- Needs a clear night and a new moon — we plan around both
- See the astro section further down
Two locations in one day is normal here, and three is not unusual. Tell us what you are drawn to and we will build the day around the light rather than the map.
Married somewhere
you have to fly to
A heli elopement is the single most requested thing we do in the South Island, and it is simpler than it sounds. You fly out of Queenstown, Wanaka or Glenorchy, land on a ridge or a glacier, and get married with nobody else on the mountain. Most landings give you twenty to forty minutes on the ground — enough for the ceremony, the champagne and a proper set of portraits.
Couples usually book one landing. Two is better if the budget allows, because it lets you pair a snowy top with a lake or a valley floor and the gallery ends up looking like two days rather than one.
The honest part: the pilot decides on the morning, not you and not us. Wind and cloud on the tops can cancel a flight on a day that looks perfect from town. We always build a ground-level plan for the same day, so if the flight moves, the wedding does not.
Then somebody
feeds you
The ceremony takes twenty minutes. What turns an elopement into a day is what happens next, and down here that is almost always food outdoors — a grazing platter and a bottle on a ridge, a long white table between vineyard rows, or a picnic on a jetty with the lake doing the decorating.
Photographically this is the hour that matters most. It is the only part of the day with nothing scheduled, nobody watching and no vows to remember. It is where the photographs stop looking like a wedding and start looking like the two of you.
We can put you in touch with the people who set these up properly — table, styling, florals, cake, the lot — or you can do it yourselves with a chilly bin and a blanket. Both photograph well. Only one requires a permit conversation, and we will tell you which locations need one.
And then the sky
gets involved
Almost nobody thinks to ask for this, and it is the frame couples end up printing biggest. After dinner we take you back out, light you carefully, and photograph you under the Milky Way. It takes about an hour and it is unlike anything else in the gallery.
The South Island is one of the best places on earth to do it. Aoraki Mackenzie, a few hours from Queenstown, was designated an International Dark Sky Reserve in 2012, covers about 4,367 square kilometres, and rates level 2 on the nine-level Bortle scale — a genuinely dark sky. You do not have to drive that far, though: the skies above Wanaka and Glenorchy are dark enough for this on a clear, moonless night.
Three things have to line up: a clear sky, little or no moon, and the Milky Way core being up — roughly February to October. We check all three against your date and tell you honestly whether it is worth planning for or better treated as a bonus if the night behaves.
How soon can we actually do this?
Sooner than most people expect. The legal side takes days, not months — the things worth booking early are the helicopter and the accommodation.
The legal part
- Apply for a marriage licence online — from here or overseas
- The fee is $158, paid to Births, Deaths and Marriages
- Allow at least three working days before the ceremony
- Once issued it is valid for three months
- No citizenship or residency requirement
A comfortable timeline
- 4–6 months for peak summer or a heli date
- 6–8 weeks is plenty outside the busy months
- 2–3 weeks is possible if your dates are flexible
- Book the helicopter and the accommodation first
- Midweek is quieter on the tracks and at the lakes
Season by season
- Summer — long days, late light, busiest tracks
- Autumn — gold everywhere, the best all-round month
- Winter — snow on the tops, short days, dramatic
- Spring — lupins, changeable weather, fewer people
- Astro is best February to October
If you are flying in, give yourself a buffer day either side. Queenstown weather can delay a flight in as easily as a flight out, and an extra day removes almost all the stress from the schedule.
Who else you might want on the day
You need a celebrant and two witnesses. Everything else is a choice. A few things are specific to eloping in the mountains.
Celebrant
- Must be a registered marriage celebrant
- Ask whether they are comfortable flying and hiking
- Not every celebrant will get in a helicopter
- They will walk you through the licence form
Helicopter operator
- Queenstown, Wanaka and Glenorchy all have them
- Ask what happens to your deposit if weather cancels
- Check seats — celebrant and photographer take two
- We will recommend the ones we have flown with
Hair & makeup
- Ask for a finish that survives wind and altitude
- Book early for peak summer weekends
- Most artists travel to your accommodation
- A trial helps if you are flying in
Gown & suit
- Hire travels far better than checked luggage
- Movement over structure — you will be walking on tussock
- Bring boots for the walk and change at the top
- A warm layer for the photographs is not cheating
Flowers
- Hardy stems only — ridgeline wind is brutal
- Dried arrangements survive a full day and a flight
- A bouquet and a buttonhole is usually the whole order
- They appear in nearly every frame
Witnesses
- New Zealand law needs two, present at the ceremony
- They also need a seat in the helicopter — plan for it
- Friends, family, or people we help arrange
- Nobody has to fly across the world for a signature
Our full supplier list is on the vendors and venues we love page — it is Auckland-weighted, so for the South Island tell us your date and we will make introductions to the people we work with down there directly.
The one thing couples
wish they had added
At a big wedding a film is a lovely extra. At an elopement it is closer to essential, for one specific reason: almost everyone who loves you was not there. Photographs tell them what it looked like. Only a film lets them hear the vows.
So we record the full ceremony as well as cutting a highlight film. The highlight is the one you will share. The full ceremony is the one you will actually rewatch — unedited, both sets of vows, the pauses, the wind. Parents watch that one.
It matters more here than anywhere. A ridge at sunrise does not translate to a still photograph the way it does to motion, and a helicopter arriving is worth having on video.
Elopement films
Carlo & Pamela
Elopement film
Chantelle & Gregory
Elopement film
Mark & Queenie
Queenstown
Four guides that answer the questions first
We wrote these because we kept answering the same things by email. They are free, they name real people and real prices, and nothing on them is sponsored.
Where to get married
- Twenty locations, with the light and the season for each
- Which spots need a permit, and which do not
- What happens when it rains, and where to go instead
- The marriage licence, start to finish
Who you will need
- Thirteen celebrants across Queenstown, Wānaka and Tekapo
- Flowers from $320 for a bouquet and buttonhole
- Gown hire $650, suit hire $299 — and who takes short notice
- Hair and make-up who will start before sunrise
If you want to fly
- Where a helicopter can actually land, and how long each takes
- Close-in ridges versus the twenty-minute destinations
- When there is snow, and when there is not
- What weather really does to a booked flight
Planning something bigger than the two of you — a venue, guests, a dinner? That lives on our Queenstown wedding page, with a venue guide covering seventy-odd places from Glenorchy to Tekapo.
Eloping in the South Island
Can we get married in New Zealand if we live overseas?
Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement. You apply for a marriage licence online — from home or once you land — the fee is $158, you need to allow at least three working days before the ceremony, and the licence is valid for three months. Your celebrant will walk you through the form.
How much does a helicopter elopement cost?
The helicopter is billed by the operator rather than by us, and it depends on the aircraft, the number of seats and how many landings you want. Our side is the photography and film. Tell us your date and roughly what you have in mind and we will send our pricing and point you at the operators we fly with so you can compare.
What happens if the helicopter is cancelled for weather?
The pilot makes that call on the morning, and in the mountains it happens. We always build a ground-level plan for the same day — a lake, a valley, a vineyard — so the wedding still goes ahead. Ask your operator directly what their policy is on deposits and rescheduling; it varies.
When is the best time of year?
Autumn is the all-round favourite — gold everywhere, settled light, fewer people. Winter gives you snow on the tops and the most dramatic heli landings but very short days. Summer has the longest light and the busiest tracks. Spring brings lupins and the least predictable weather.
Can you really photograph us under the Milky Way?
Yes, and it is the frame couples print biggest. It takes about an hour after dark and needs three things: a clear sky, little or no moon, and the Milky Way core being up — roughly February to October. We check all three against your date and tell you honestly whether to plan for it or treat it as a bonus.
Do we have to hike?
Only if you want to. Some of the best spots are a short walk from a car park, some are a serious climb, and some you land on. Tell us your fitness and what you are willing to do in the shoes you are wearing, and we will match the location to it honestly rather than talking you into something.
How short can coverage be?
A couple of hours is enough for a ceremony and portraits. Most South Island elopements run longer because the day naturally spreads across two locations and golden hour. We price by what the day actually needs rather than a fixed minimum.
Do we need witnesses?
Two, legally, and they must be present. Remember they also need a seat in the helicopter if you are flying. If it is just the two of you we can help arrange them.
What about permits?
Some conservation land and some council sites require a permit for a ceremony or for commercial photography. We will tell you which of your shortlisted spots need one and roughly what is involved, so it is sorted before the day rather than argued about on it.
Are you based in Queenstown?
We are based in Auckland and travel south regularly through the year. That means we plan South Island days properly rather than treating them as a bolt-on — travel is quoted as one number with everything else, so there is nothing to settle afterwards.
Eloping in Queenstown?
Tell us your dates and what you are picturing — ridge, lake, vineyard or all three — and we will come back with a plan and a price.
Check your dates