Auckland’s Waitakere Estate

We had our wedding at this venue in 2010. A small boutique hotel in the Waitakere hills, it’s got lovely grounds for the ceremony and photos. There’s a dining room (which holds 70 people) and rooms to stay for the guests if they want to have a few drinks on the night. The bar is a bit old fashioned but we all felt right at home on the night. The food on the day was really good — I had a beef fillet for main and a glorious chocolate pud for dessert. The vegetarians (there was about 12 of them) were also well catered for as we arranged all this with the chef beforehand. We all had a great day and there were no major hiccups — perhaps a few minor ones like the best man forgetting the corsage! The only downside with the whole experience was the manager there — he an arrogant Englishman and I did not like him at all. He was rude to us several times in the run up to the wedding and if it wasn’t for the professionalism of the other staff, we may have looked elsewhere for a venue.