Heart & Truth Series

When I began New Zealand Dream Weddings nearly 30 years ago, I had no idea where the journey would eventually lead. I only knew one thing for certain: I wanted every couple who trusted me with their day to feel cared for, understood, and completely at ease.

Back then, elopements were quieter, simpler, and far less known. But even in those early years, there was something deeply special about planning a wedding that centred around two people, their connection, and the landscape they chose to stand in. It felt honest. It felt real. And it felt like work worth dedicating my life to.

Where the Heart of My Work Has Always Been

After all these years, the core of my work hasn’t changed.
Every couple who reaches out becomes, in a way, part of my little family. I plan with them, dream with them, protect their day fiercely, and carry their hopes as if they were my own. That connection is what makes elopements so meaningful – not just the views or the photos, but the trust we build along the way.

My role has never been about volume or numbers. It has always been about people. Real couples, real stories, real moments. That is the foundation NZDW was built on, and it will always remain at the centre of everything I do.

Photography, and the Next Chapter

Over the years, photography has been quietly weaving itself into my journey. I’ve always been drawn to the natural, unposed moments – the ones that happen when people forget the camera is there and simply exist in the light, the landscape, or each other’s arms.

Photography feels like a continuation of the same work: noticing the truth of a moment and preserving it. Not staged, not stiff – just honest.

I was the the photographer for NZDW for many years, and only tucked the camera away when I moved back to my hometown with my husband and children. The move was not to be forever, just another chapter to my journey.

And now the passion is calling again, to pick up the camera, to become a part of the world where I become one with the eye piece seeing through the lens the magic of emotions

New Zealand & Japan – Two Sister Paths

While NZDW will always remain at the heart of my planning work in New Zealand, I’m also building a second path: elopements and photography in Japan.

Not as a replacement.
Not as a shift away from what I’ve created here.
But as a sister company – shaped with the same values, the same care, and the same one-to-one connection with couples.

New Zealand will always be home for my elopement planning.
Japan will become home for photography and intimate ceremonies in a different landscape, with a different kind of magic – but with the same dedication behind it.

I am incredibly privileged to work with the very best team of celebrants, photographers, videographers, stylists, florists, and crew here in New Zealand. Their skill, kindness, and professionalism mean I can plan NZDW weddings from anywhere in the world with complete confidence. Technology has made it natural – chatting, planning, and video-calling with couples feels no different whether I’m in New Zealand or Japan.

And no matter which country I’m working in, one thing will never change:
I will always be the person couples speak to, plan with, and trust.
I give every couple 200% of myself. Their dream wedding is my passion, and that will always remain at the centre of everything I do.

Looking Ahead With Quiet Excitement

As NZDW and my future Japan business grow side by side, I feel the same steady excitement I felt at the beginning – that sense of stepping toward something true, something aligned, and something filled with purpose.

Two countries, two landscapes, two sister paths…
but one heart behind it all.

Thank you for being part of this journey – wherever it leads next.

Donna