Jaeda and Adrian in Queenstown

Adrian kissing Jaeda’s cheek as they stand in golden grass beneath snow-streaked mountains, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Eloping in Queenstown, New Zealand had been Jaeda and Adrian’s dream for years. Mountains, a little adventure and a wedding with just the two of them. They came from the Gold Coast with a clear idea of how they wanted their day to feel, and left with a story that included a few literal roadblocks on the way to Paradise.

When they first wrote to us, they had been together for six years and were newly engaged. Both avid foodies, with creative interests and a close circle of people they love, they had spent plenty of time imagining married life. The wedding they kept coming back to was intimate, personal and somewhere beautiful.

“We’ve always loved the idea of an intimate elopement with just the two of us in a stunning natural location,” they told us. Queenstown was the place they couldn’t stop thinking about.

A quiet beginning above Queenstown

Their day began at an alpine Airbnb in Forestlines Rise, in the Ben Lomond hills above Queenstown. Lake views through the windows, mountains outside and room to get ready at their own pace.

Jaeda wore a white dress with a sheer, flower-appliqué top and veil. Adrian’s deep green suit had white piping and a turquoise bolo tie: a little personality against all that alpine scenery. Their first look happened outside, where Adrian lifted Jaeda’s veil with the lake behind them. The photographs already feel like the two of them having a good time together.

Britt Withers planned their elopement, bringing together Josh Withers as celebrant, Harley and Dan from Bulb Creative for photography and film, and Orange Blossom Designs for the flowers. Jaeda’s bouquet mixed white orchids and soft pink blooms with sculptural pink anthuriums.

Roadblocks on the way to Paradise

The plan was to head towards Paradise and the Dart River, beyond Glenorchy. It’s a beautiful part of the Queenstown region, where forest and open fields sit beneath enormous mountain peaks.

Recent flooding meant we couldn’t get all the way to the intended spot. We found a beautiful field along the way instead, with golden grass, a wooded hillside and snow still tracing the mountains above it.

There, Josh led their ceremony. Jaeda and Adrian held hands, exchanged rings and laughed together in a landscape that gave their small celebration a remarkable sense of space. It was the intimate mountain elopement they had imagined, with a different route to get there.

Having a team around them meant the change of plan became part of the day’s adventure. Their own words afterwards say more than we could:

“Adrian and I wanted to thank you guys for an amazing elopement (despite there being literal roadblocks on the way to Paradise haha) yet the day was so fun, stress-free and was just so beautiful overall.”

Moke Lake, and a dream come true

After the ceremony, we came back to Moke Lake for portraits. They walked through the grass, held each other close beside the water and finished with photographs against the evening sky. Bulb Creative’s gallery moves between colour and black and white, quiet moments and the two of them running through the field together.

They had wanted photographs they could share with the people they love. Even the first sneak peeks had them writing from their New Zealand honeymoon to say they were “so so blown away” and that Harley and Dan had done an amazing job.

“We’re so so over the moon, and it was a dream elopement come true.”

That is what we love about planning a Queenstown elopement with our Australian team: getting to know what matters to you, bringing the right people together and making room for a day you can enjoy. For Jaeda and Adrian, it meant the mountains, each other and a little unexpected Paradise of their own.

Explore eloping in Queenstown, or tell Britt about the day you’re dreaming of.

Jaeda having her bridal makeup applied beside a window overlooking the lake and mountains, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Adrian’s tan tassel loafers, turquoise bolo tie, watch and cologne arranged on a gold velvet chair, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda’s white pointed bridal shoes and perfume displayed on a timber table beneath a framed print, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Wedding rings resting on two white vow books on a timber table, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Adrian adjusting his bolo tie in a deep green suit with white piping, with the lake and mountains behind him, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Adrian sitting on the timber deck in his green suit and tan loafers, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white portrait of Jaeda on the deck in her white dress, sheer daisy-appliqué top and veil, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white photograph of Adrian waiting outside while Jaeda approaches from the open doorway for their first look, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Adrian lifting Jaeda’s flower-appliqué veil during their first look, with the lake and mountains beyond the deck, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian facing each other outside their alpine accommodation during their first look, in black and white, at their alpine Airbnb in Ben Lomond, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Celebrant Josh Withers smiling with a microphone in the meadow beneath forested slopes and snow-streaked peaks, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian with celebrant Josh Withers in a wide grassy field surrounded by forest and snow-streaked mountains, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A close view of Jaeda and Adrian holding hands during their ceremony, with his green suit and turquoise bolo tie visible, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda smiling up at Adrian as they hold hands during their intimate outdoor ceremony, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white photograph of Jaeda and Adrian facing each other and holding hands in the meadow, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Snow-streaked mountain peaks rising above native forest beneath low clouds beside the ceremony field, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A close view of Adrian placing a wedding ring on Jaeda’s finger during their field ceremony, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian kissing in the open field after their ceremony, with forest and snowy mountains behind them, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda laughing as Adrian kisses her cheek and holds her close in the golden grass, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian standing together beneath the mountains, with her pink and white bouquet by Orange Blossom Designs, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white portrait of Jaeda and Adrian smiling together in the meadow, with her Orange Blossom Designs bouquet, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A motion-blurred photograph of Jaeda and Adrian running hand in hand through the golden grass, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian laughing and running hand in hand through the meadow in black and white, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Adrian leading Jaeda by the hand through the tall grass as she gathers her dress, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda holding her pink and white Orange Blossom Designs bouquet in the meadow, with Adrian and the mountains behind her, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white photograph of Jaeda and Adrian standing together beneath a sweep of snow-streaked mountains and forest, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian kissing beneath her sheer flower-appliqué veil in the golden grass, with snowy mountains behind them, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian standing close together in the meadow, framed by forest and cloud-wrapped mountain peaks, in the field on the road to Paradise near Glenorchy, in the Queenstown region of New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian standing together on a gravel track between green hills, with her Orange Blossom Designs bouquet, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian walking hand in hand through short green grass, with Jaeda carrying her Orange Blossom Designs bouquet, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A close portrait of Adrian leaning towards Jaeda as they embrace, showing her sheer daisy-appliqué sleeves and his green suit, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian holding hands beside Moke Lake, with her veil trailing over the grass and steep hills across the water, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A wide view of Jaeda and Adrian beside Moke Lake, surrounded by green hills beneath a softly coloured evening sky, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian walking together across the grassy hillside near Moke Lake beneath a wide evening sky, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda and Adrian silhouetted against the evening sky as they hold hands between the mountain ridgelines, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white portrait of Adrian in his piped suit and bolo tie, with the hills behind him, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A close view of Jaeda’s Orange Blossom Designs bouquet of pink anthuriums, pale roses, white orchids and rounded white blooms against her daisy-appliqué dress, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

Jaeda holding her pink and white Orange Blossom Designs bouquet in front of the green hills, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

A black and white bridal portrait of Jaeda holding her Orange Blossom Designs bouquet beside the mountain landscape, at Moke Lake, Queenstown, New Zealand, for an Elopement Collective Queenstown elopement. Photograph by Bulb Creative.

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