Weddings & Events in Auckland

Weddings & events in Auckland: a bride's flower for a southern summer

Weddings & events in Auckland turn on timing: New Zealand peonies are cut from mid-October to mid-December, peaking in November, while local suppliers place the wedding season in summer and early autumn, December to April. Because of that gap, choosing a bouquet starts with the date, and for guests sending a gift, with the venue's address.

A November bride and New Zealand peonies

New Zealand peonies are cut from mid-October to mid-December, with the heaviest picking in November, and most of the crop grows on the South Island. Part of each harvest flies out of the country while the Northern Hemisphere is still waiting for its own peony season. That is one reason a late local peony can be hard to find once New Zealand cutting is over.

A bride marrying in October, November or early December can still carry a flower cut in its own season. The Peony Bridal Bouquet suits that window; other arrangements pair a true peony with a peony-shaped rose for the same effect. Outside that window, see the peonies selection for other dates.

After mid-December: roses for a summer wedding in Auckland

Once mid-December passes, New Zealand's own peony picking is largely over, and a wedding from then through to April sits in the stretch local suppliers already call summer and early autumn. Auckland's weather through the year sets the backdrop for an outdoor ceremony at that time.

Local roses meet most of that summer demand on their own. A peony-shaped rose gives a similarly full, many-petalled head once the season has moved past the peony altogether, without needing the true flower at all. Around the same months, Parnell's rose garden is in bloom from November to March with more than five thousand roses, a sight that has nothing to do with where a bouquet's own stems were grown. Wedding bouquets built mostly around roses suit that stretch of the calendar, and plain roses on their own work just as well for a smaller posy.

Lilies for the venue, jumilia for home: wedding flower delivery

Guests are rarely the ones buying the bride's bouquet; their flowers usually go to the couple instead, as a gift for the venue or for the home they return to. A lily basket for the reception or a jumilia for the house covers both, set apart from the bride's own flowers as the couple's own gift.

A basket stands on a table without a vase, because its stems sit in a block of soaked foam, and the foam is watered every day across its whole surface rather than from one spot. Lily pollen is the one thing worth minding near pale fabric: it stains cloth badly and is hard to lift once it has set. Growers strip the anthers once a bloom opens, and any pollen caught fresh on a sleeve comes off with sticky tape rather than a rub.

For a couple heading home after the weekend, the 51 Jumilia in Airy Wrapping suits the gap well. Its bud opens to about seven centimetres across, white at the base and pink at the tip, and holds for close to a fortnight with good care.

For restaurants, the delivery time is agreed with the venue administrator, so a basket or jumilia can be timed to a toast, a dessert course or the couple's entrance. The florist photographs the arrangement before the courier leaves, most orders are delivered on the day they are placed, and orders for a chosen date are accepted for any zone; delivery terms cover the rest.

The simplest way in is by who you are buying for. A bride can start with her bride's own bouquet, guests sending something to the couple with gifts for the couple, and anyone marrying in November with a peony that is already in its own season.