We have a podcast! Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat is pleased to present our four-part podcast. It’s the story of where we began, and how our Retreat has grown and evolved. Available on all major podcast listening apps, or stream it directly from our website.

Weddings

In Paradise

Make your wedding the experience you’ve always dreamed of.

The Retreat is a private hideaway that offers discreet wedding experiences and is the perfect luxury destination for your special day. Your wedding will take place in one of New Zealand’s most spectacular settings, overlooking the Ben Ohau mountain ranges, Lake Pukaki and Aoraki Mount Cook.

The Retreat has a beautiful selection of private venue options for your ceremony and celebration, from an intimate elopement for two, to a destination wedding for close friends and family, to a ceremony and reception for 200 guests.

We offer a range of wedding packages designed to cater for weddings small to large. Each package can be personalised for your requirements. If you have a vision for your wedding, whether an elopement or a large event, talk with us and we will see how we can make it happen!

Retreat Wedding Stories: Hannah and Tom

“The Retreat was the first and only venue we visited. We and our families were sold after resort owner Luke took us for a tour. With the views of Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook and surrounding landscape making it private and beautiful, it was exactly what we were looking for!”

 

Retreat Wedding Stories: Dani and James

Dani and James chose Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat for a destination wedding where their families and friends could take time out from busy lives and get away together for a weekend.

Moraine Lodge

Moraine Lodge, our signature event space, was created to host elegant gatherings. Its high ceilings, delicate chandelier and large open fireplace create a warm and luxurious atmosphere. Large doors open onto a picturesque veranda, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor flow and amplifying the spaciousness of the Lodge. Its facilities include a commercial kitchen for our expert culinary team to cater events with exquisite cuisine

The Great Hall at Moraine Lodge is designed with vaulted wooden ceilings, an custom mosaic tile entrance, large open fire, luxury furnishings and outside courtyard. Overlooking the Mackenzie Basin and Ben Ohau Ranges, this is the perfect place for grand banquets for up to 100 seated guests or more informal settings.

Outdoor Locations

The Retreat features two large, grassy wedding lawns, the Lavender and Lakeside Lawns. Both overlook Lake Pukaki and the Southern Alps to the north.

The Lavender Lawn is ideal for weddings of 200-300 people. The lawn can bet set with a marquee as a wet weather option. The smaller Lakeside Lawn is located on the clifftops overlooking Lake Pukaki. Perfect for up to 150 guests, the Lakeside Lawn is a tranquil, picture-perfect space.

Our estate’s private helipads allow direct helicopter access to carry your party to the snows and glaciers of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, for an alpine ceremony next to the wild beauty and grandeur of Aoraki Mount Cook itself. Heli landings and departures for guest transport is also an option.

Outdoor Locations

Outdoor Locations

Photography Locations

Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat offers unsurpassed opportunities for beautiful wedding photography. Our beautifully crafted wedding spaces, Moraine Lodge and Ashley Mackenzie Villa, are luxurious and set within a dramatic and seasonal landscape. Winter has snow-capped mountains and ice formations, while spring brings a green tinge with daffodils and tulips. Summer is warm and dry rusty browns, and autumn has deep red mauve shades and the rustle of falling leaves. Each season is memorable, and in winter a roaring fire adds extra magic.

Our close proximity to Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and location at the heart of the Mackenzie Country mean you will have no shortage of choice for dramatic photographic backdrops.

Photography Locations

Photography Locations

Please tell us a little more about your wedding requirements. There are a number of options we can offer, from a 2-hour ceremony on the Wedding Lawn to a destination wedding that runs over 2-3 days. Once you have had a chance to review the options, we can provide a quote for your wedding based on the kind of experience you would like to create.

Let us know if you would like to arrange a viewing of our facilities – we would love to show you around!

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