#budgetw1thme

[lifethroughtime]

Our NZ elopement wedding experience -

How much does our NZ elopement wedding cost?

We just got married a couple of days ago and it was just fun to look back how the past week has gone. It feels that it went so fast and I just wanted to document everything about our wedding (from preparation to the day itself)

So a quick story regarding our engagement - it was just an ordinary Sunday afternoon last March when my husband just suddently knelt down and gave me the best engagement ring I could ever asked for.

We then started with our planning come the holy week break and when we were talking about the things that need to be done and how much itll cost us -- we were just dumbfounded. We know how it is hard to do a wedding in PH, when we are here in NZ (but need to book everything online) and also I think we wont be ready with the cost -- we opted to just spend the money on more important things... And so from then on it was decided - we are going to have our wedding in NZ - elopement wedding style.

We then started browsing for packages, we even think of doing our wedding in Queenstown and also hire a helicopter but then It won't be saving us money :D so we decided to DIY everything.

Marriage License The first thing that we did was we applied for our marriage license. It was very easy with almost to no requirements needed (if we do just even a simple civil wedding in PH there are lots of requirements needed so we were very surprised when we applied our marriage license here)

We only paid $216 NZD for this (P7,560) as we also ordered copies of marriage certificate. We applied for this April 2024 and so it was really decided - we're going to have our wedding in NZ.

2. Celebrant

Media Shepherd - Stephen Spargo Media Shepherd | Marketing | Giggle | Farming

We decided to have a standard registry ceremony (and not the personalised one - where you have to write your own vows) as we wanted a really simple one. The celebrant fee is $90 NZD (P3,150)

3. Photographer for Wedding

Since we are going to do the wedding in NZ, our parents only request was for us to have good wedding photos. I joined an FB group called Student/Beginner Wedding Photographers NZ and met Jacob @ J.B. Photography there.

J.B. Photography (jbphotography.nz)

At the moment I havent seen all the photos but so far the ones that he sent the day after the wedding was good.

He was very good and fun to be with. We were lucky to book him and have paid only $450 (P15,750) for 3 hours because most of the photographers we saw charges like a grand or more. Hope the other photos that he's still about to send is also good.

4. Wedding Venue & Accommodation

The next thing that we decided to find was the venue. We wanted to have an all-in-one venue where we can have the wedding, stay for the night and enjoy lunch with our friends. We were so lucky to have found this place in airbnb. The owners were very kind to have the place re-decorated (and have new lawn being laid out so that the garden will look nice for our wedding)

We stayed from Sunday afternoon and checked out Tuesday morning and we werent ready to leave the place as it was so nice and perfect!

We paid $514 NZD for this stay (P18,005.40)

5. Wedding Rings

We decided to splurge a little on our rings as we know that this ring will be forever with us and is a symbol of our marriage. We got our rings at Michael Hill Jewellers NZ (the same place he got my engagement ring) and bought the rings we liked. It was also on sale that time (Mother's Day Sale) so we had a discount for it a little bit.

We paid a total of $2,062 (P72,184) for both of our rings.

6. Bride & Groom Wedding Attire

I certainly wouldn't want to spend a lot on a wedding dress and we knew what style we wanted to go for our wedding. We decided to wear something that really suits us and our personality and thankfully it wasnt so hard to find something around here in Taupo.

Groom

He already had his brown Sperry leather shoes & black longsleeves that he bought last 2020 and his black Levis pants that he bought just last year so we just need to find a coat.

Albert Pointon Menswear have some really nice ones and we bought his suit from there. His top suit costs $215 (P7,525)

Home - (albertpointonmenswear.com)

Year 2020 vs 2024

Bride

I had a little hard time finding what to wear (as there werent lot of female that wear white suits) and we even went to Hamilton one weekend for this and werent lucky.

We went to Chartwell Shopping Centre in Hamilton but we didnt find everything we were looking for. Luckily, there's a boutique in Taupo that sells white blazer coat. I bought the blazer thinking that it will match the pants that I bought at Farmers in Hamilton. After 1 day, I checked again and found the matching pants for that blazer and also bought it. Thank you so much to Gigi Belle, the pants and blazer is just perfect!!!

Home page – Gigi Belle Boutique

I also bought my shoes at Number One Shoes + Hannahs

Home | Shoes & Footwear NZ | Number One Shoes & Hannahs (numberoneshoesandhannahs.co.nz)

Then my husband ordered a flower bouquet and ribbon veil at Temu. I think it's just $10 (P350)

7. Hair & Makeup

I booked my hair and makeup at Cremebrulee Hair & Beauty so that I can be beautiful on our wedding day. It was really great - I think I looked nice and the hair does suit me. The hair and makeup costs me $301 (P10,535)

Crèmebrûlée Hair & Beauty | Taupo's Finest Hair Salon (cremebrulee.co.nz)

8. Food & Groceries; Other Beauty Care Purchases and Tripod

My husband cooked Filipino meals for our 2 guests + our photographer. He cooked pansit, lumpiang shanghai and chicken (Andoks style) + coffee jelly as dessert. There are also other things we bought at Chemist Warehouse (such as face masks etc) and also bought tripod stand for our wedding.

9. Weekend - Final Touch & Personal Care

On the weekend before our wedding day - I had my haircut at Cremebrulee and browshaping at SMK Bespoke Facials & Grooming Room (gettimely.com)

Paid $73 (P2,555) for the haircut and $25 (P875) for the brows.

10. Our minimoon at Tokaanu Guest Suite

We didnt have time to drive far - as my husband have to work Thursday so we just booked an airbnb for the night after our wedding for us to have a little relaxing time.

We especially enjoyed the geothermal pool and also played pool table all night (I know how he wanted to play billiards) :) This is my wedding gift to him and I paid $275 (P9,646) for this.

Summary:

All in all, below is the cost of our NZ wedding. I personally think we did pretty well with budgeting (it's just that some of these just costs a lot more than what it cost in PH)

If we were to repeat and do it all over again, I think we wouldnt be changing anything. I think our wedding day is perfect and just how we wanted it to be. It would be just nicer if we can have our family here in NZ and be with us then it will be really perfect...