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Same Sex Wedding Planning in NZ

  • Writer: Hannah Lind
    Hannah Lind
  • Aug 14, 2024
  • 3 min read

The Marriage Amendment Act 2013 is why (and when) I chose to get my celebrant’s licence.  

It’s always been important to me that everyone who wanted to celebrate their relationship with marriage could do so with joy and a celebrant who was far happier to be there celebrating with them than being ‘legally obliged’ to.


Gay couple with their dogs in forest, before Tekapo lakeside ceremony
Nat & Michelle with their two goodest boys before their Tekapo lakeside ceremony. Jess Howzen Photography

But I still had to learn to say those things out loud.  

To acknowledge that my inclusivity isn’t a given.  

That my experience of life as a white straight presenting cis woman with an optimistic view of humanity, had blinded me to what it could be like to navigate the world in any other way.


A young couple - two wonderful men - emailed me in I believe 2015 to ask if I would be their celebrant, they were planning to elope on the shores of Lake Tekapo after Christmas that year.  Peppered through their email in many different ways, was the question ‘is it okay with you that we’re gay?’

My heart hurt.  Because I wanted to yell of course it is!  But also in not being very very clear that I was LGBT+ friendly, I left room for doubt.


So to be clear - I am LGBT+ friendly, I am here for the celebration of your love - regardless of

  • Your sexuality

  • Your gender identity, and how you choose to present that

  • Your relationship structure

  • Your age,

  • The age gap between you and your partner,

  • Whether you choose to live together or in separate countries,

  • Your culture or the colour of your skin

  • Even if you like Vegemite better than Marmite.



Guests throwing confetti over a gay couple as they walk back down the aisle after their ceremony. Mt Cook NZ
David & Neels walking back down the aisle as husbands at their Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat ceremony Focus Photography

What I want for all of my couples, for you - is that your biggest and only concerns about booking me are ‘is Hannah a good fit for our style, our vision, our personalities?’ Or ‘does Hannah fit into our budget’ maybe ‘is it okay with us that she knows all the words to Ice Ice Baby and sings along in the car?’


Never to worry (or to wonder) that something about who you are might impact how happy I am to celebrate your relationship with you.


That is true whether I’m celebrating with you as just your celebrant or planning an elopement or wedding for you.

I have asked every business I work with the hard question so you don’t have to.  Every location, photographer, florist, makeup artist, caterer etc that I work with is just as happy to celebrate your relationship with you as I am.


Throughout my website I hope you can see yourself represented for who you are, who you love and what a celebration means to you. (I am still holding out hope for a barefoot beachside ceremony with firepoi and an ice cream truck - if that sounds like you, let’s talk!)  

Gay couple laughing together, both in wedding dresses on the the shore of Lake Hawea NZ
CJ & Katie on the shores of Lake Hawea after their elopement

I’m based in Alexandra in beautiful Central Otago.  

I travel as a celebrant around the South Island.




Create elopement packages for couples who value beauty, solitude and an epic night sky here in the hidden parts of Central Otago.




As well as intimate wedding packages for couples who value time spent with all those people they love in beautiful venues around Central Otago.




Or if you're not sure yet, but you'd like to start a conversation...





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