Beautiful wedding venues in Palmerston North & Manawatū

From beautiful gardens and historic homesteads to relaxed country venues, here are a few Manawatū wedding venues worth adding to your list.

If you’re planning a wedding in Palmerston North or around the wider Manawatū, you have a surprisingly varied collection of venues to choose from.

There are beautiful historic spaces right in the city, country venues where your entire wedding can happen in one place, gardens, rural landscapes and places where you can turn the wedding into an entire weekend away.

Having spent plenty of time in the Manawatū, this is also an area I’ll always happily come back to photograph.

So if you’re currently venue hunting, here are a few places I’d have on the list.

Caccia Birch House, Palmerston North

Right in Palmerston North, Caccia Birch House is one of those venues that feels tucked away despite being incredibly close to the city.

The historic homestead sits beside Hokowhitu Lagoon and is surrounded by almost three acres of established gardens, giving you plenty of greenery and beautiful little pockets to work with throughout the day.

From a photography perspective, I love a venue that gives us variety without needing to disappear somewhere else for portraits. Between the house itself, gardens and lagoon, there’s plenty to work with here.

Location: Hokowhitu, Palmerston North
Style: Historic, garden, romantic
Explore: https://www.caccia-birch.co.nz/Home

Orlando Country, Palmerston North

Orlando Country is one of the better-known wedding venues around Palmerston North and offers that lovely combination of being close to the city while still feeling like you’ve escaped into the countryside.

For couples who want to have their ceremony, portraits and reception all within the same venue, this kind of setup can make the wedding day flow really easily.

It also means less time sitting in cars and more time actually celebrating, which I’m always in favour of.

Location: Newbury, Palmerston North
Style: Country, established, all-in-one
Explore: https://www.orlandocountry.co/

Wharerata, Palmerston North

Set within the grounds of Massey University, Wharerata gives you something quite different again.

The historic homestead and surrounding gardens make it a lovely option for couples wanting something elegant and established while still being incredibly convenient to Palmerston North.

It’s also one I’d look at if having plenty of greenery and beautiful outdoor spaces for photographs is important to you.

Location: Massey University, Palmerston North
Style: Historic, elegant, garden
Explore: https://wharerata.co.nz/

Roseburn Park, Aokautere

Just outside Palmerston North in Aokautere, Roseburn Park is another option for couples wanting to get out of the city without travelling particularly far.

If you’re picturing a wedding surrounded by countryside and greenery rather than city streets, this is one I’d add to your venue-viewing list.

There’s something particularly lovely about being able to settle into one property and let the whole wedding unfold around you.

Location: Aokautere, Manawatū
Style: Country, garden, relaxed
Explore: http://www.roseburnpark.nz/

Pohangina Heights, Pohangina Valley

If views and landscape are high on your wish list, head a little further out towards the Pohangina Valley.

Pohangina Heights gives you a rural Manawatū setting away from the city, which can be beautiful for couples who want the scenery to become part of the feel of their wedding.

From my side of the camera, venues like this also give us room to play. Beautiful landscapes, changing light and a few minutes away from the crowd can make for some pretty special portraits.

Location: Pohangina, Manawatū
Style: Rural, scenic, relaxed
Explore: https://www.pohanginaheights.com/

Mākoura Lodge, Āpiti

If you’re happy to venture a little further from Palmerston North, Mākoura Lodge is worth looking at for a destination-style country wedding.

It’s an all-in-one venue with ceremony and reception spaces, catering and accommodation on site, so you can essentially turn your wedding into a weekend away with your favourite people.

There’s also a huge amount of surrounding farmland and countryside, which gives us plenty of options when it’s time to sneak away for photographs.

For couples with guests travelling into the region, having accommodation right there can be a particularly lovely way to extend the celebration beyond just the wedding day.

Location: Āpiti, Manawatū
Style: Country, destination, wedding weekend
Explore: https://www.makouralodge.co.nz/

Finding your Manawatū wedding venue

The venue you choose will shape a surprising amount of your wedding day, but that doesn’t mean there’s one particular type of venue you should be looking for.

Start with how you want the day to feel.

Do you want everyone together in the countryside for the whole day? Somewhere elegant and established? Gardens and greenery? A wedding weekend where nobody has to rush home afterwards?

Then think about the practical things too. Where you’ll get ready, what happens if it rains, how much travelling you’ll need to do and whether there are beautiful spaces you can use throughout the day rather than only one perfect ceremony spot.

And if you’re deciding between venues and wondering how they’ll work from a photography perspective, you’re always welcome to ask me.

I’ll happily look at beautiful buildings, interesting light and potential photo locations in the name of research. It’s a terrible burden, really. x