Mudbrick Wedding VENUE - PHOTOGRAPHER REVIEW
As photographers who have shot all throughout New Zealand, we wanted to highlight some of our favourite venues and give you an insight into what your wedding might be like there. Today we look at Mudbrick Restaurant and Winery on Waiheke - a spot we can very highly recommend to any of our couples.
MUDBRICK OVERVIEW - GENERAL THOUGHTS
Mudbrick truely is an iconic Auckland and New Zealand wedding venue. It occupies a stunning spot at the top of Waiheke Island looking back over to the Auckland city, where it feels like you are above it all. With beautiful views, gardens and grounds, consistently amazing food, staff and wine, this is a dream venue worthy of any wedding celebration. While it feels like it’s own little world, Mudbrick is just a 45min ferry ride away from Auckland - super convenient for everyone travelling.
We have fond memories of Mudbrick as it was where we shot one of first ever weddings! You can see that wedding here. We’ve been back many times since and it’s one of our favourites.
CEREMONY LOCATIONS AND OPTIONS
At Mudbrick you have a few options of where you would like to have your ceremony, and options incase rain disrupts plans too. All the options are easy to access and take place near the newly constructed site, a few steps up above the main restaurant. After the ceremony you can hang out and enjoy the view before heading down to the main restaurant for dinner and dancing.
OUTDOOR OPTION
The outdoor option makes full use of the amazing view. Normally Mudbrick ceremonies happen later in the day, around 4-5pm to make use of the lower sunset light. This all means you don’t need to add much to make the ceremony looks super beautiful. Your guest have the view back toward Auckland, and the view of you of course! The only consideration here might be the wind and guest being able to hear the action at the front. Consider a microphone for your celebrant and people giving readings - Mudbrick can provide all of this.
INDOOR OPTION
If the weather conditions are not ideal, the indoor option at Mudbrick is also super beautiful. It will be held in a covered-atrium in the new venue and feels a little like you are outside, even though you are safe from the rain. The clear ceiling is great from a photographers point of view as sometime indoor locations can be a little dark, but this option gives lots of great natural light. + a vote from us!
PHOTOSHOOT LOCATIONS
Mudbrick has great shooting spots both on and off-site. We love to location scout and find new and unique locations for every wedding. So chat to us about where we could go. Whether you want to do your photos before the ceremony, or afterwards, we work closely with you to put together your timetable and locations.
ONSITE LOCATIONS
Firstly, there are some great spots to shoot onsite if you don’t want to go far. We love to make use of the stunning grounds and building’s that really show where you choose to get married. There lots of great spots depending on what the light is doing on the day. Also, we LOVE a quick little adventure up the hill at sunset to shoot overlooking Waiheke.
OFF SITE LOCATIONS
If you are keen for an adventure there are some great spots nearby to Mudbrick. Just a 2 min drive down the road is a great spot to look over Waiheke, very easy to access. From there we can walk down to some awesome beaches, rocks and textures that make for great photo locations. If you would like to go a little further, there are SO many beaches, forests and high points with great views that we can get to. We love to put this together with you and make something that is uniquely you on your wedding day.
RECEPTION
After your ceremony and chill time up at the top of the property, everyone will make their way down to the main restaurant for the reception. This space is always something special. It can be set up in so many different ways and always has a lovely intimate atmosphere. Whether you have the place full of people, or with smaller group, it just feels right. There’s a seperate room for the bar, and a great spot for the dance floor too. You can even go all out and take the upstairs room for a late night drink with you closest.
In the main room, the way the sunset light hits is just magical. This is one great spot for your party.
We also need to mention the food - it is always amazing! We always look forward to weddings at Mudbrick as we know the food will be out of this world. And of course the wine - our favourite is the Syrah.
GETTING READY AND ACCOMMODATION
Mudbrick also offers great spots for you to stay and to get ready. This keeps things very easy on the wedding. With one of the best spots on Waiheke, why would you want to go anywhere else.
MORE INFORMATION
Capacity - Mudbrick can hold up to 126 guests in the main reception room, and does a wonderful job of intimate weddings with around 40 guests.
Accommodation - as mentioned there is accommodation onsite that will work for the couple. You can find information about that accommodation here. There are many great options on Waiheke that you can find through AirBnb or Book a Bach.
Transport - The are very regular ferry crossings from downtown Auckland everyday. You can view the full timetables here.
Mudbrick Details - you can see more about Mudbrick here at their website www.mudbrick.co.nz
Email: weddings@mudbrick.co.nz
Physical Address: 126 Church Bay Road, Oneroa, Waiheke Is, New Zealand.
See more on Together Journal
Photography: If it is not clear already, we love shooting weddings at Mudbrick and would love to chat about your celebration there. While we have shot Mudbrick many times, we love the challenge of doing things differently and uniquely for every couple. If you have any questions about Mudbrick feel free to book in a chat with us through our contact form at the button below.
You can also see this full wedding featured in Together Journal that we shot at Mudbrick - Callum and Chelsea
