West Coast Events Centre at Shantytown Heritage Park

Shantytown Heritage Park recreates a West Coast gold rush town in the bush at Rutherglen, about eight kilometres south of Greymouth. Tucked inside it is the West Coast Events Centre, the largest events and conference venue on the Coast, and the combination gives couples a private bush setting with a working heritage town for photos. Ceremonies are held in the 1866 interdenominational church, which seats about 70, or outdoors on the Cobb and Co lawn. Receptions move into the Miners' Hall, which takes up to 200 guests seated for a banquet or around 500 for a cocktail function, with a stage and two sprung dance floors for the band and dancing. The Welshman's Conference Centre sits in the surrounding rainforest and can be split into smaller rooms. Catering is done on site and the venue runs a fully licensed bar. The function team has been putting West Coast weddings together for well over a decade, so styling, menus and the run of the day are handled in house. There is plenty of parking and the grounds are wheelchair accessible.