Fiordland Lodge

Fiordland Lodge sits on the edge of Lake Te Anau on the road to Milford, an exclusive retreat inside a World Heritage area. It was named Best Destination Venue at the 2019/2020 Hospitality New Zealand awards, and a wedding here trades on the setting: the blue of the lake, the peaks of Fiordland National Park and a main lodge built around two thirty foot stone fireplaces. Couples marry on the bridal lawn with the lake and mountains behind them, or inside the Great Room, which seats 100 and works just as well when the weather turns. Afternoon weddings of fifteen or more take over the whole property, so the day is yours alone. Smaller lunchtime weddings can hire the main restaurant as a private room instead. The lodge has twelve rooms and sleeps up to twenty-nine guests overnight, while day numbers can reach 120. The head chef builds each reception menu with the couple, with three course dinners starting from $100 per guest. For something wilder, helicopters can land in front of the lodge for alpine photos or a remote ceremony deeper in the national park.