Songbird Retreat Garden Wedding - Up to 150

Songbird Cottage Intimate Wedding - Up to 35

This is a difficult question to answer as each wedding is unique and there are numerous wedding suppliers offering varying levels of service. However, we would expect a minimum budget of $30k for approx. 80 guests for a relaxed wedding including food truck catering to $80-100k for the full wedding including a fine dining sit down meal (at approx. $175 per head) and all the bells and whistles.

From $2k to $10k, with an average of around $6k for 80-100 guests

It all depends on what style you want as there are clear marquees, Hampton style, tipis, stretch tents etc. and the number of guests you are inviting (always ask if the price includes labour to set up/pack down and travel costs)

Grand Lawn - 30m x 20m

Cocktail Terrace - 12m x 12m

Ceremony Terrace - 15m x 12m

Round Lawn - 20m diameter

We provide a luxury toilet trailer, but we leave it up to you to decide what style of wedding you want set against the beautiful backdrop of Songbird gardens, and source the right marquee and furniture for you.

If we had a marquee already in situ then you wouldn’t be able to choose from the wonderful styles of marquees that are available.

We have a permanent luxury toilet trailer on site that can easily accommodate up to 150 guests and is included in the venue hire price.

We are open for marquee weddings from Labour Weekend to the end of April each year. Our Songbird Cottage Intimate Wedding season extends throughout the year.

Our weekend weddings include the ceremony on a Friday or Saturday and our mid-week weddings normally have the ceremony on a Tuesday

18 months in advance is ideal but 3 months is fine too. Just remember, we only have a limited number of wedding dates available so it’s best to get in quick!

We prefer weekday viewings as the venue is often booked at the weekends, but we will try to fit you in at any agreeable time

Yes, bring the entire family if you so wish, even the dog can come too!

Just under 2 days in total but spread across 3 days (including 2 x nights accommodation at Songbird Cottage)

We would suggest 3 months is the minimum period you should allow yourself to organise a marquee wedding, but ideally 12 to 18 months is a suitable timeframe

We have an excellent source of wedding suppliers on our vendor recommendation list which we supply to you when you are ready to book our venue. We are also happy to answer any queries and requests, with a strong ethos of ‘let’s try to make it happen’!

We have many couples who have organised their own marquee weddings using our vendor recommendation list and also have a professional wedding co-ordinator on the day. We do suggest that for those who are time constrained to engage the services of a wedding planner or stylist.

Like all venues there are times when the weather just doesn’t behave as we want it to! However, the quality and integrity of marquees are excellent and often equivalent to a permanent structure – they are built to survive the New Zealand wind and downpours.

Like any venue, inclement weather just means you have to stay inside the marquee until it passes – have another drink and join in the dancing!

We have beautiful lawns that don’t require flooring. However, we do allow marquee flooring to be put down

Yes, of course! We have the Round Lawn, which is a short stroll from Songbird Cottage and can accommodate a marquee

Yes, and we can recommend some great live bands on our vendor recommendation list

Live and amplified music must be turned off by 11pm, with guests departing by midnight. Further information on our sound policy can be found in our Venue Hire Agreement (available on request)

5 persons – 2 in the upstairs bridal suite, 1 in the cute ground floor room and 2 in the bunkroom sleepout

No, we hire out the entire venue for your exclusive use only. If you don’t wish to stay in Songbird cottage, why not give it as a gift to your parents, friend or relative as a thank you for their help with your wedding arrangements 

Yes, we love dogs!

However, too many dogs can upset our beautiful birdlife and therefore only the dog of the bride and groom is allowed and must be kept on a lead around the wedding venue.

Any droppings must be picked up and disposed of in the rubbish bins.

Yes, we love children and the lawns are great for running and playing on. However, we do have large ponds on site without any barriers so please inform your guests of this prior to attending

When you book your wedding with us we will ask you if you want to have a designated smoking area for your guests and if you do we will clearly signpost this

We would prefer you not to as its difficult to clean up, especially as it can blow into the ponds. However, please ask us if its super important to you

Unfortunately not as we normally have an Auckland Council fire ban during wedding season so it’s easier to say no from the start

Yes, you can have candles in your marquee (as long as this is agreed with your marquee hire company). The candles must contained within glass jars or similar or they are the type that go out if they fall over – please check with us before you buy any!

Yes. We have recommended caterers and food trucks on our vendor recommendation list but if you have a preferred caterer please put them in contact with us and we will arrange a visit to show them the facilities we have on site

Yes, we have mains power supplied to strategic locations throughout the venue, along with water supply from our on-site bore ( this is NZ drinking standard but we highly recommend you bring your own drinking water or advise your drinks supplier to provide bottled water)

We even have 3 phase power for the Grand Lawn and catering area

Yes, we are completely BYO drinks with no extra costs like corkage and we have a recommended supplier who can source your chosen drinks at competitive prices, or you can source them yourself.

We recommend hiring a drinks caravan bar to serve your drinks, as not only do they look great and act as a social gathering point, they also offer a professional and seamless service

Yes, we have parking, along with a large turning circle for coaches and other larger vehicles.

For those less able to walk up the steps to the top Ceremony Terrace we have a grass covered track to transport them there and back down again

Yes, we have installed a mobile phone repeater to provide 4g/3g coverage on Vodafone and Spark throughout the venue or you could have an ‘unplugged wedding’ where you ask guests to stay offline and not take any photos

Your caterers will usually remove their own rubbish from site and any remaining rubbish will go into household rubbish and recycling bins provided on site.

We do ask that you clear up the remaining rubbish around the site yourselves to leave the venue as you found it

Once you have visited the venue and have a date in mind you will be asked to complete a booking form. When we have received the booking form from you we will send you an invoice for payment and when the payment has been received we will confirm your booking.

We don’t hold or pencil in dates

Yes, we ask for a non-refundable 50% deposit at the time of booking