River Ridge Retreat Catlins wedding photos

Photographed by Isaac

If you’re one of Emma & Harley’s friends or family – or if you’d prefer to see a more complete story of this gorgeous wedding – the best place to see more photos is their slideshow – click here to view.

When I asked Emma how she came across our work – it actually turned out that she’s quite a photographer herself, and had seen we ran a lighting workshop for photographers in Invercargill a few years back, she’s been following us ever since!

Hearing that they planned to get married in the Catlins – I jumped at the chance! It’s a part of New Zealand that I’ve been keen to visit for years, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
On a grey and rainy Friday afternoon I landed in Invercargill – and headed straight down to the Catlins to do a bit of scouting around the local area. River Ridge retreat is an amazing place to have your wedding – not only is the venue itself set in the most epic location next to a river, but they can accommodate up to 90 people in their onsite chalets and rooms – so everyone was able to stay the night before & night of the wedding.
I had a great time exploring the various bays, beaches, cliffs, and waterfalls around the Catlins – plenty of driving up & down gravel roads & not even one sketchy ‘oncoming-tourist-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-road‘ experience.
On the morning of the wedding the clouds had cleared and the sun beamed through. Back at River Ridge, they were hosting clay-bird shooting for all the guests – while the girls did hair & makeup at some nearby accommodation.
Emma & Harley are both signwriters – so their attention to detail at the wedding was awesome – from the invites through to the signs they’d made, custom lighting with festoon bulbs to hang from the ceiling – the effort put into planning the wedding day was next level. It must have been cool to see everything then come together, and finally be standing in front of the toi-toi circle arch they had made themselves.
After the wedding, we headed out to a few nearby spots for some photos (including the most awesome tunnel of beech forest overhanging the road) and then back to River Ridge for the reception.
Just before dark, a few of the guests made their way up to the hilltop, which had a driving range platform for smashing golf balls down onto the grass below. I set up my lighting to capture a bit of the drama happening in the skies above.
The evening followed along with plenty of dancing, sparklers, and even fireworks – what more could you ask for on your wedding day?!
Early the next morning, Emma’s parents were in the kitchen – preparing an amazing banquet of locally sourced food for everyone. With them being keen hunter / gatherers – we were all treated to a feast of crayfish, blue cod, venison, toheroa, paua, whitebait fritters – such a unique and special gift!
Once we were all completely full, Emma & Harley put their wedding clothes back on & we headed out for a quick post-wedding photo session to make the most of the epic Catlins scenery – rather than leave the guests waiting for too long on the wedding day itself. We checked out Purakanui Falls & the rugged cliffs of Purakanui Bay – a stunning way to wrap up such an epic wedding experience.
This is just a tiny preview of the photos. There’s another 500 or so photos still to follow – and you can also check out the slideshow for a more complete story that this blog post just hints at. Enjoy!

Want to see more??? Watch the slideshow for a more complete story – click here to view.
If you’ve enjoyed Harley & Emma’s River Ridge retreat Catlins wedding photos – let them know. Leave a little comment in the box underneath this post – we know they’ll be stoked to hear from you!
If you’re looking into River Ridge Retreat as a wedding venue down in the Catlins – I’d thoroughly recommend it. Amazing place & we were all really well looked after by the staff. And of course – if you’re looking for a photographer for your wedding in the Catlins (or anywhere else in New Zealand for that matter!) – just get in touch with us.
We’re Auckland wedding photographers but we travel nationwide 🙂
You can follow us at @perspectives_nz on Instagram and Perspectives Photo + Cinema on Facebook – to stay up to date with our latest creations.
Until next time,
Isaac.