Benefits of Hosting a Destination Wedding in the Bay of Islands
Always dreamed of having the ultimate destination wedding? You’ve come to the right place!
Baylys’ Farm is located right in the heart of the tropical Bay of Islands, which is the tourist hub for a region famous for its breathtaking scenery and historical landmarks. Not only is it easy to travel to the Bay of Islands, your guests will also be treated to all that the region has to offer when they arrive.
Check out what we think are the top benefits of hosting a wedding in the Bay of Islands below:
Embracing That Holiday Feeling
Travel to the Bay of Islands in New Zealand’s tropical Northland and you’ll instantly feel like you’re on holiday. Our closest town, Paihia, is a vibrant beachside town built as a gateway to the Bay of Islands. Here you’ll find beautiful beaches, tropical landscapes and delicious seaside eateries all culminating in the perfect holiday destination where you and your wedding guests can switch off and relax. In fact, we often find that guests attending weddings at Baylys’ Farm add multiple nights to their trip to relax and make a holiday out of it.
Easily Accessible
The Bay of Islands is located just three hours drive or a 40-minute flight north of Auckland making it a very accessible and convenient region for wedding guests to travel to.
The region is well-connected to Auckland via an easy drive all the way up SH1. The recent highway extension up to Warkworth has made the journey even smoother, and traveling by car gives you freedom to explore the region once you arrive. Most accommodation providers have free off-street parking available.
There is also the option to fly up to the Bay of Islands Airport from Auckland, which is a quick 40-minute flight with Air New Zealand and recently, Barrier Air. The Bay of Islands Airport is located 20-minutes drive from Paihia, and there are transfer and rental options available at the airport.
Baylys’ Farm Wedding Venue is a very short 10-minute drive from Paihia, which ensures that the trip to and from the venue doesn’t take up too much of your precious holiday time!
Learn more about Transport options to and around the Bay of Islands here.
unique Experiences
The Bay of Islands and Northland region has a huge selection of activity options to keep everyone entertained before and after your wedding. Whether you want to relax on a beautiful beach or do something a little more thrill-seeking, the region has something for all preferences and budgets.
The region is known for its cultural landmarks, golf courses, walking tracks, vineyards, mountain biking tracks and much more. Check out some of our favourite activities below:
Take the passenger ferry over to New Zealand’s first capital, Russell
Explore the Waitangi Treaty Grounds
Join an Explore boat cruise around the Bay of Islands
Shred it up at the Waitangi Mountain Bike Park
Indulge in a wine tasting at a local vineyard
Tee off at the Waitangi Golf Course
Try your luck on a fishing charter
Walk the Paihia to Opua Coastal Walkway
These are just some of the many activities options available to you in the Bay of Islands. Get in touch if you would like us to provide you with some more recommendations.
Extended Celebrations
Another benefit of hosting a destination wedding in the Bay of Islands is that your celebrations can extend beyond the wedding itself, turning it into a multi-day event aka one big party!
Planning welcome drinks the night before your wedding is the perfect way to greet everyone as they arrive into town. This is a really nice opportunity to kick off the celebrations and spend some quality time with your guests before the craziness of the wedding day, and also allows guests to meet each other or catch up with family and friends they haven’t seen in a while. We have some great bars in central Paihia who would happily host this event for you.
You could also consider hosting a next-day recovery and send-off at a local restaurant or your accommodation where guests can pop in, debrief on the incredible wedding as well as eat and drink all of the leftovers. We’ve known many next day events to be just as big of a party as the wedding itself!
Plenty of Accommodation & Vendor Options
With the Bay of Islands being one of the most renowned tourist regions in New Zealand we are lucky to have a huge selection of accommodation options just down the road from the venue in Paihia, which is the main tourist hub for the area. Couples who host their wedding at Baylys’ Farm will often book a holiday home or apartment for their families and wedding party, and guests tend to book themselves into one of the many resorts, hotels, motels and campgrounds. There is a huge selection available at a range of price points meaning there is something to cater for everyone.
We also have a large range of talented local wedding vendors, who would love to work with you to bring your dream wedding day to life. Whether this is for catering, hair and make-up, music, photography, wedding cakes and more there are heaps of great vendors to choose from. Another bonus is that most of our local vendors have been to Baylys’ Farm before which makes things easier in regards to planning, and also means you save on travel costs.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like us to send you our recommended local accommodation and vendors.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our thoughts on what makes the Bay of Islands the perfect place for a destination wedding. If you would like to learn more about our packages and hosting your wedding day at Baylys’ Farm please don’t hesitate to get in touch via our enquiry form or email.
Images by Holly Shin Photography: @hollyshin.photography