Lionel Tan, Author at Lionel Tan Photography

Wouter & Kirsten – Stamford Plaza Auckland Wedding

Wouter and Kirsten were married at the Chapel of St. Christopher located in the Devonport Naval Base. It was an interesting experience entering the base for a wedding, and upon arriving at the chapel I was stunned at how beautiful the interior was! As the naval base is where Wouter spends quite a bit of his time, it made this venue that much more significant to them and it was fitting that he wore his uniform for the special day.

We were blessed with a beautiful day for photos and whenever the bridal party is as easy going as theirs, it made the day go by so quickly and before we knew it we were headed towards the wedding reception at the Stamford Plaza Auckland Hotel in the heart of the city. The reception hall was beautifully decked out and guests were not shy showing their moves on the dance floor after the formalities ended.

Thank you Wouter and Kirsten for entrusting us to document your day and we had such a good time doing it! Here’s a little preview of the day!

auckland bridal party photos at the domain

auckland domain wintergardens wedding photo

bride and groom photo at the auckland museum

couple arriving at stamford plaza auckland

first dance at the stamford plaza auckland

guests having fun at the wedding reception

Ceremony venue – Chapel of St. Christopher – Devonport Naval Base

Reception venue – Stamford Plaza Auckland Hotel

If you enjoyed the photos from Wouter and Kirsten’s wedding, do leave a comment down below. They’ll be thrilled to hear from you too!

Alyssia & Tavita – Cornwall Park Wedding

Alyssia and Tavita were married at the beautiful Cornwall Park on a gorgeous Sunday. We made our way around the park for bridal party photos before the ceremony, and this allowed more time for them to mingle with guests after.

We had a very relaxed reception in that Alyssia and Tavita decided not to keep things too formal. There wasn’t going to be any formal speeches or a first dance, instead they opted for friends and family to just have a great time being surrounded by awesome people and of course, super yummy food! This was such a wonderful idea.

Thank you guys for having me photograph your special day and making the day so easy. Here’s a small preview of the photos to come!

bride and groom walking in cornwall park auckland

auckland wedding bride and groom walking

auckland cornwall park rotunda wedding venue

wedding guests congratulating the couple

bride and groom announced into reception

Reception venue – Longroom

Celebrant – Emma Love

If you’ve enjoyed the gallery do leave a comment down below. I’m sure Alyssia and Tavita would love to hear from you too!

Andrea & Arny – Castaways Resort Wedding

Andrea and Arny had an amazing wedding at Castaways on the west coast of Auckland, just a few minutes from Waiuku. They did a perfect job of blending two cultures on their wedding day, most noticeably with the reception area decked out with elaborate Mexican paper decorations and both of them dressed in traditional Indian outfits!

In the morning Arny and his mother could be seen busy setting up the ceremony site, and it was super worth it! Straight after that we had the opportunity to get some photos around the venue. Later in the evening after both Andrea and Arny were in their traditional outfits, we had a little walk outside and got some more photos with the sunset.

It was incredible seeing their two families come together celebrating their big day, not to mention the energy that was present on the dance floor at the end of the night!

Thanks for having us photograph your special day guys, here’s a preview of photos with many more to come.

groom preparing ceremony site at castaways

castaways traditional wedding decorations

groom seeing the bride for the first time

bride and groom strolling alone the beach

bride and groom in traditional indian outfits

bride and groom asking guests to join in

wedding guests having a great time on the dance floor

Venue – Castaways Resort

Celebrant – Aurora Ward

Do leave a comment down below if you’ve enjoyed looking through the gallery, we’d love to hear from you!

Lucia & Ajay – Markovina Vineyard Estate Wedding

Lucia and Ajay’s wedding ceremony took place at St. Michael’s Parish in Remuera, Auckland. Earlier in the day, we did a couple’s ‘first look’ at the Auckland Domain, with the entire wedding party joining us straight after for some photos in the area. The weather forecast actually predicted rain but we were super lucky and it stayed overcast for us instead!

We made our way to Markovina Vineyard Estate for the wedding reception – besides keeping nice and warm at the reception venue, friends and family were also treated to beautiful live music performances. Many heartfelt speeches were shared by people very close to Lucia and Ajay, and after all the formalities it was time to hit the dance floor! The energy was incredible, and I managed to sneak the couple off for a few quick photos away from the party to end the day.

Thank you guys for trusting us to document your big day, here are some photos and there’ll be many more to come!

auckland domain winter gardens couple shoot

st michaels remuera church wedding venue

guests having a good time at markovina wedding

guests having a drink at markovina vineyard estate

bride and groom enter markovina vineyard wedding reception

bride and groom first dance at markovina

couple first dance markovina vineyard estate

father daughter dance at auckland wedding

Ceremony venue – St. Michael’s – Remuera Parish

Reception venue – Markovina Vineyard Estate

If you’ve enjoyed the photos, do leave a comment down below! We’d be thrilled to hear from you 🙂

Flora & Steven – Settlers Country Manor Wedding

Flora and Steven had their wedding at Settlers Country Manor in Auckland, it’s a very charming venue with beautiful and vintage interiors. Earlier in the day, the girls prepared a series of games and challenges for Steven and the boys before he could see her for the first time on the wedding day. The boys did well and after quite some effort (including drinking dubious-looking liquids!), Steven went on to have a moment with Flora before heading off for the venue.

Having changed into a different outfit for the ceremony, we did a little ‘first reveal’ at the venue before welcoming guests into the ceremony site. After the ceremony, the wedding party set off for Muriwai beach for more photos and before daylight completely disappeared, we made our way back to the reception.

It was a gorgeous reception at Settlers and besides wonderful speeches by the parents of the bride and groom, we were also treated to a number of song and dance performances through out the night.

Thank you Flora and Steven for having us document your big day!

wedding guests waiting for bride arrival

groom waiting for the bride at settlers manor

settlers country manor wedding recession

couple first dance at settlers country manor

Venue – Settlers Country Manor

Celebrant – Glenys Lindsay

Videography – Jetmo Project

If you’ve enjoyed the photos, feel free to leave a comment down below! I’m sure Flora and Steven would love to hear from you too.

Sherees & Mathew – Castaways Wedding

Sherees and Mathew are two of the most cheerful people I know, and they were married at Castaways Resort with a stunning view of Auckland’s west coast. For a wedding photographer in Auckland, this has to be one of the dream venues to photograph at!

Earlier in the day Sherees and Mathew opted to do a ‘first reveal’ before the ceremony, and to make it a tad more exciting, we had Mathew blind-folded. The couple shared a moment before we set off for some bridal party photos on the beach. After the ceremony we headed off to get some sunset photos – we had a pretty short window of time before it got dark, with a total team effort from the wedding party we got all the shots we wanted!

At the wedding reception there were a number of very emotional moments, it could easily be seen how much family and friends cared for Sherees and Mathew. Towards the end of the day the dance floor was never empty, and Sherees even performed the Siva Samoa and the energy in the room went through the roof!

Thanks for trusting us with documenting your special day, here are some photos from the wedding, more to come!

castaways resort waiuku wedding accommodation

bridal party talking at castaways resort

bridal party getting dressed at castaways

bride removing blindfold from groom during first look

bride and groom walking on auckland beach

bride and groom first kiss castaways wedding

sunset couple shoot at castaways resort waiuku

bride and bridesmaid having fun on the dance floor

Do leave a comment down below if you enjoyed the gallery, I’m sure Sherees and Matthew will be thrilled to hear from you too!

Venue – Castaways Resort

Celebrant – Nichola Taylor

Joyce & Alex – Markovina Vineyard Estate Wedding

Joyce and Alex were married at Markovina Vineyard Estate, an incredibly beautiful wedding venue in Auckland. Not only does the venue provide great options for the ceremony in both dry and wet weather, there are also a ton of options on-site when it comes to photography locations.

In the morning we started our day at the bride’s place as she got ready for the day. There was also a traditional Chinese tea ceremony for the bride’s family, before we made our way to Alex’s place to continue with the tea ceremony for his side of the family. We decided to get some wedding party photos done on our way to the ceremony, so that Joyce and Alex would have more time to mingle with friends and family after the ceremony, definitely a great idea!

We scored a great sunset too, and made sure we got some awesome photos before heading back to the reception. The guests were treated to a number of emotional (and very entertaining!) speeches by friends and family members. Towards the end of the day and much to Joyce’s surprise, Alex actually came up with a secret performance and it was done perfectly with the help of some of the boys!

What a special day to be a part of, thank you guys for having us and here’s a preview with more to follow!

bridesmaid putting on earrings for bride

traditional chinese wedding tea ceremony

bride in traditional chinese wedding dress

auckland traditional chinese tea ceremony

bride receiving red packets on wedding day

auckland chinese wedding bride visiting groom family

wedding party having fun in cornwall park

bride putting on veil before the ceremony

groom smiling waiting for the bride to arrive

bride walking down the aisle with father

groom saying his vows at the wedding ceremony

markovina vineyard estate wedding ceremony

auckland wedding bride and groom recessional

bride and groom mingling with the guests

wedding party having fun at markovina vineyard estate

bride and groom photo at markovina vineyard

bride and groom announced into wedding reception

father of the groom laughing during speech

guests having a good time at the wedding

bride crying at her wedding in auckland markovina

wedding guests cheering during the reception

groom performance at markovina vineyard wedding

sister of the bride dancing at the wedding

wedding guests enjoying themselves at markovina wedding

If you’ve enjoyed the gallery do leave a comment down below! We’re sure Joyce and Alex will be thrilled to hear from you 🙂

Ceremony & reception venue – Markovina Vineyard Estate

Videography – Matt Randall Productions

Nicole & Cam – Sorrento In The Park Wedding

Nicole and Cam were married at Sorrento In The Park, a beautiful venue located in Central Auckland. We started the day off with a bit of rain, and right as the wedding ceremony was going on, the Sun started to peek out from behind the clouds! It was perfect timing for us as we headed out to Cornwall Park for some wedding party photos.

One of the perks of a rainy day, and in our case with the rain having just stopped, is the lack of people at most of our locations! After spending some time shooting, we made our way back to the reception a little early as it started raining again. Nicole and Cam were welcomed into the wedding reception with lots of cheering from friends and family, and right after that we were treated to a number of great speeches.

Thank you guys for having us at your wedding, we can’t wait to share more photos with you!

bridesmaids helping the bride with her dress

bride and groom together at the reception

Venue – Sorrento In The Park

If you enjoyed the gallery, do leave a comment down below. We’re sure Nicole and Cam would love to hear from you too!

Danika & John – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Wedding

Danika and John had their wedding at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Not only is it a beautiful venue in the heart of Auckland city, it also has one of the best views of the Auckland harbour bridge! This is also one of the earliest starts to a wedding day that I had, having packed my gear in the car and making my way to the bride’s place before 6am! The cool thing is the wedding also ends really early before the day got dark.

Right after the ceremony, we made our way to Bastion Point for bridal party photos and were pleasantly surprised at how empty it was compared to a typical day – Bastion Point is very popular with visitors so that’s a huge bonus!

Back at the wedding reception, we were treated to a number of great music and dance performances, there were lots of talented people in the room. There were also many emotional moments, one of them when the father of the bride (who is super talented in song writing) stood in front of everyone with a guitar in his hands and sang a song for her. Towards the end of the day, John also serenaded Danika with a beautiful and emotional song, there weren’t too many dry eyes in the room after that.

Thank you for trusting us with documenting your wedding guys! Here are some photos from the day, more to come!

auckland wedding bridesmaid getting ready

bridesmaids helping the bride with dress

wedding guests at the royal new zealand yacht squadron

groom and groomsmen waiting for the bride

auckland royal yacht squadron wedding ceremony

groom looking at the bride during wedding ceremony

father of the bride looking at her during ceremony

bride smiling at the groom during wedding

wedding guest and the bride share a moment

wedding guests shaking hands of the groom

bridal party walking together in auckland bastion point

bridal party photo at bastion point in auckland

bride and groom photo at bastion point auckland

bridal party reflection at bastion point in auckland

bridal party cool reflection shot in bastion point auckland

auckland wedding photo at bastion point auckland

reflection of the bride and groom in auckland

bride and groom at bastion point in auckland

epic reflection of bride and groom at bastion point auckland

bride and groom kissing at bastion point in auckland

bride and groom in veil at bastion point auckland

bride and groom romantic moment in big field

bride and groom entrance to reception at royal yacht squadron

friends and family cheering for bride and groom

cultural performance at auckland wedding

cultural performance at royal new zealand yacht squadron

bridesmaids having a chat at the wedding reception

bride and groom watching performance at their wedding

father of the bride song performance at her wedding

haka performance at an auckland wedding in royal yacht squadron

intimate moment between bride and her father

couple first dance at royal new zealand yacht squadron in auckland

family of the groom dancing at the wedding

wedding guests laughing and cheering at the wedding reception

bride and groom kissing by the auckland harbour bridge

wedding photo by the auckland harbour bridge

If you’ve enjoyed Danika and John’s wedding gallery, do leave a comment down below! We’re sure they would be thrilled to hear from you too.

Venue – Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

Videography – OPV

Nicole & Josh – French Bay Yacht Club Wedding

Nicole and Josh were married at the stunning French Bay Yacht Club in Auckland, on a gorgeous day! We started the day at the boys’ as they were getting ready in the morning, and headed over to the girls and hung around till they were ready to head off to the ceremony venue.

The ceremony site was located right by the water which made for a beautiful spot to get married. After the formalities up till this point, we made our way to the beach for some bridal party photos before driving to a cool little spot for more couple photos. And just like how we envisioned it (we really did!), as we drove back towards the venue the skies turned to beautiful pastel colours which we definitely made good use of!

Thank you Nicole and Josh for trusting us to document your big day, here’s a little preview of how the day unfolded 🙂