Stewart and I got married at Stoneridge Estate in their picturesque Chapel by the Lake, followed by a reception in the Estate's Hayes Room on 21st August for 42 guests.
Although we anticipated the venue to be beautiful, judging by the website and other peoples general impression of Queenstown, we were absolutely blown away. What the website and emails can't convey is the warmth of the venue and the friendliness and professionalism of everyone - Suzanne, Wayne, Pablos.
We organised our wedding from outside New Zealand and hadn't visited the venue prior. We conducted all of the organising via email with Suzanne at Stoneridge. She was fantastic, made it so easy for us with her prompt and informative emails. We were anticipating that organising a wedding was going to be incredibly stressful, but it was surprisingly straightforward and fun. I had confidence in their ability and I felt happy to put some of the smaller details in their hands, I had a feeling that whatever questions we had, they had already had the answer. Which is a reflection on their experience and high quality.
The team have simply got it right. With friendliness and professionalism down to a fine art. Nothing was too much trouble.
So many people commented about not only the venue (the individual touches and interior design), but how well the day went and how much fun everyone had, which is a largely down to the team.
We felt that for the exceptional standard it was value for money and it was perfect for a truly memorable occasion. We couldn't have asked for more.
The food was wonderful, wine delightful, but you can't put a price on the level of hospitality. All meals came out at the same time, good portion sizes and huge menu to choose from.
We stayed at the cottage for two nights and it was wonderful. Small touches, everything seemed to have been thought of, and once again incredible views.
Although not directly related to Stoneridge, if you're planning a wedding I would highly recommend the following -
Queenstown based photographer, Tim Hawkins was just amazing. Not only is he a great photographer, but a lovely person. He took the time to learn people's names and made our experience feel personal and he has a genuine enthusiasm for photography which translated into some wonderful photos. (We also paid extra for location shots in a helicopter - wow!).
Justice of the Peace and Celebrant, Kathryn Omond was fantastic. She is compassionate, kind and helped ease our nervous excitement. Again, high quality and professional. Although to some extent the registry office style services can be seen as a formality, Kathryn made it so special for us that it didn't feel like that but unique to us.
Last, but not least - Brett Strachan. He has got to be a Queenstown legend. He is a true blue Kiwi. Great singer, entertainer, met all of our needs with no fuss, and no problem. We just wish he could have carried on til the wee hours as we didn't want the night to end!
The whole day really was what dreams are made of!
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