Plan B
The higher peaks were too windy. This happens. Mountains don’t check the wedding calendar before deciding what the weather does, and sometimes the original plan needs tweaking. Scott’s response to this situation is usually the same: he has somewhere else in mind. He almost always has somewhere else in mind.
For Amy and Tom, that somewhere else was Moonlight Creek — a small river valley tucked into the landscape, sheltered from the wind, lined on both sides with pristine native bush. There’s a bend in the river where the water slows and the bush closes in from both sides. Scott had also clocked a small waterfall nearby. The photos ended up looking like a movie set — the kind that costs a lot of money to build and looks slightly unreal even when you’re standing in it.
Not bad for a backup.
The Location
Moonlight Creek doesn’t appear on most elopement radars — which is kinda how we roll. It’s one of those Hidden Gems landings that gets used when the conditions call for it, or when a couple’s style is better suited to bush and water than rock and sky. The 60 minute landing gave them enough time for a ceremony then work with the waterfall, the river bend, and a few different spots along the bank.
The native bush in this part of New Zealand has a specific quality that’s hard to describe. It’s dense, green, and a bit chaotic in the best way — not the manicured kind of pretty, but the kind that looks like it’s been growing undisturbed for a very long time, because it has. For a couple with a boho aesthetic, it was a better fit than an open alpine peak would have been anyway. Sometimes the wind does you a favour.
Amy and Tom
Amy wore Doc Martens. The groom wore a dark red shirt. The bouquet matched the shirt. As a coordinated styling decision this is pretty hard to fault — it’s consistent, it’s deliberate, and it photographs well against a backdrop of green bush and running water.
There’s a type of elopement couple that arrives with a clear idea of what they want and doesn’t need much steering, and Amy and Tom were that. The Doc Martens are a reasonable indicator. You don’t accidentally end up in Doc Martens at your own wedding — that’s a considered choice, and it sets the tone for everything else.
Sophia Shortcliffe — Married by Friends
The ceremony was handled by Sophia Shortcliffe, a Married by Friends celebrant. Sophia is one of those officiants who makes the whole thing feel less like a formal procedure and more like a gathering of people who are actually having a good time. The ceremony at Moonlight Creek was relaxed, well-paced, and — from all accounts — genuinely enjoyable.
The Photographs
Moonlight Creek in full bush, with a waterfall, with a couple in coordinated dark red and a bride in boots — the photos were always going to be interesting. What they ended up being was a perfect fit. Something that conveys a mood and looks a lot more considered than ‘we ended up here because the peaks were windy.’
Because Scott’s a bit of a master, the 60 minute landing gives him enough time to work through the different spots: the waterfall, the river bend, the bush edges. The results were slightly wild and beautifully boho.
If your elopement style leans more Rivendell than Remarkables, Moonlight Creek is worth knowing about.
