Like many of our couples, Liz and Ted flew over from Australia and combined their elopement into a longer New Zealand holiday — married on Cecil Peak, then off to explore more as newlyweds.
Why March Is a Great Time to Elope in Queenstown
March sits in a sweet spot where the sun is starting to lower, giving softer light and longer golden hours, but the days are still warm with plenty of daylight hours to fit in plenty of other travel adventures. Weather can be a little calmer too, which helps when a helicopter is involved. Fewer of the wild swings you get in peak summer, more stretches of the still, clear conditions that make for good flying and good photos.
Best time of year for a Queenstown helicopter elopement
Not the usual Cecil Peak landing
Cecil Peak is in our Best of Queenstown options and is often synonymous for The Ledge, a hugely popular spot overlooking Queenstown. If you’ve read much on our website you’d know that we really love the secret spots and lesser-known landings. Often just over the next ridge or a gem found with a bit of an explorer’s hat on. This landing on Cecil Peak is one of those spots. It’s only accessible on calm days, so getting up there is genuinely a treat.
The views are pretty epic. Wide, uninterrupted sightlines across Lake Wakatipu, mountains stacked behind, all the way up toward Glenorchy. Schist rock and dramatic rocky outcrops give the landscape real texture and drama. It’s a similar feel to The Ledge on Cecil Peak, but positioned to avoid any view of the township or housing below — just lake, rock, and mountain. Nothing to remind you there’s a world down there at all.
Simple Is Beautiful, As Usual
Liz and Ted went with our Simple is Beautiful package — just the two of them and a mountain. Celebrant Andrew Bell led the ceremony, and by every account it was a genuinely fun one. Liz and Ted were relaxed, easy, and the kind of couple that makes the whole day feel effortless.
Liz and Ted arranged their own hair, makeup and flowers, which is exactly the point of Simple is Beautiful package. The package flexes to what you actually want: add extras if they matter to you, skip them if they don’t. No pressure to spend on things that aren’t important to you.
That’s the model. One helicopter, one landing, one photographer and a ceremony that’s entirely about the two of you.
