Getting Married In Christchurch

And we did it – just us, Sean (our celebrant), his wife, Vee (a witness), and Chris (witnesses and photographer) – we eloped in New Zealand.

Sean recommended The Sign of the Bellbird for our ‘I dos’ which had gorgeous views of the Port Hills, bright blue skies and gentle bird song.

Sean had us write down things we value in each other and send them to him via email; a less intimidating task than writing vows.

We did this thinking Sean would put them into his script, but the day before, in his warm Irish accent, Sean said to us, “Your emails are beautiful. You can read these to each other.”

Stew and I exchanged nervous glances, “we don’t want to do that.”

“It’s a great idea,” Sean assured sweetly but assertively, “and it’s what you’re going to do.”

Well, ok…who are we to argue 🤭

During the ceremony, Sean stepped back to give us this very intimate moment.

I got through half of vow one and the tears started. This is exactly why I wanted to avoid personal vows.

But it was so worth it.

It added a lovely layer to the day, and I’m so grateful Sean knew exactly when and how to push us out of our comfort zone.

Sean, who recently married his 700th couple came to my rescue with a handkerchief.

He really was brilliant. He knew exactly when to let a moment breathe and when to break the lovely but intense moments with a perfectly timed joke or light comment.

Under the direction of Chris, we posed for photographs. He directed formal pictures mixed with playful poses and even had us dancing outside.

That night, we went to a hotel; the only people dressed in wedding attire. We drank cocktails had a fancy meal, and toasted our new marriage.

The staff took amazing care of us with free cocktails, a cake and claps from the excited waitresses.

For days, we relished our secret marriage without uttering a word, then we told our immediate family who, thankfully, were as happy as we are.

#JustEloped #NewZealandElopement #ElopeNewZealand #christchurchweddings #newzealandelopement #nzbride #nzbrideandgroom #elopements #justmarried #weddingsofinstagram #elopenz #togetherjournal #elopehere #elopenewzealand #adventurewedding #gettinghitchedinnz #weddinggoals