Intimate mountaintop wedding in New Zealand

Real Weddings - August 20, 2026 - Sherry Pickerell

Intimate mountaintop wedding in New Zealand

Helicopters, mountaintops, glacial lakes, and one very good party. When one of our own gets married, you know it’s going to be something special. Today, we’re sharing Sara and Weston’s intimate mountaintop wedding in New Zealand, captured by fellow World’s Best Wedding Photos member Jason Vinson of Vinson Images.

Sara is one of the family. A member of the World's Best Wedding Photos community and a working wedding photographer herself, she knows exactly what it takes to capture a day right, which made her choice of photographer for her own wedding worth paying attention to. She hired Jason Vinson from Vinson Images, a fellow WBWP member and destination photographer, to capture her spectacular intimate mountaintop wedding in New Zealand.

Sara and Weston married on a private mountaintop above Wanaka, reachable only by helicopter. They planned their day to focus on what matters to them, intentionally choosing meaning over extravagance and weaving elements of their story into every moment. Surely a photographer’s dream assignment?

Fasten your seatbelts – this one is epic!

Intimate mountaintop wedding in Wanaka, New Zealand - Vinson Images

The Location

Sara and Weston's guests flew in from around the world to Wanaka on New Zealand's South Island, to celebrate in a spectacular landscape with mountains in every direction, glacial lakes, and open sky. Their reception was held at The Lookout Lodge, overlooking the impressive views and celebrating Sara and Weston’s love of adventure, aviation, and travel.

Getting Ready

The morning began with everyone under one roof, getting ready in different corners of the same house. With only their closest family and friends there, things stayed easy and relaxed.

Weston’s first look wasn’t with Sara, though.

It was with their sweet daughter, Charlie.

The two shared a sweet moment in the lavender garden beside the house before Sara and Weston had their own first look in the same spot a few minutes later, mountains rising behind them.

And then it was time to head to the airport.

Because naturally, the next stop was the top of a mountain.

Access By Helicopter Only!

From the house, the group loaded into cars headed for the airport and lifted off in waves aboard Wanaka Helicopters. Only one helicopter operator is permitted on the mountain at a time, giving Sara, Weston, and their fifteen guests an incredible amount of privacy once they reached the top. The groomsmen went first, followed by the guests. Sara and her bridesmaids arrived last.

"When I landed, Weston walked out to escort me from the helicopter, which honestly felt surreal against the mountain backdrop."

Once the full group had landed on Coromandel Peak, they walked together to choose the perfect ceremony spot. They made their decision based on light and views, something Jason Vinson captures perfectly in this intimate mountaintop wedding in Wanaka.

Mountaintop Ceremony

The ceremony was officiated by the couple's close friend, YouTube creator David Manning, with a reading from his wife, Morgan. The celebration didn't end at "I do." The group stayed on the peak for portraits with their daughter and their closest friends while a second helicopter, hired specifically for the purpose, circled and performed aerial passes overhead.

The couple met on a plane, and Weston is a helicopter pilot. In the lead-up to the wedding, guests even received custom passports and luggage tags as save-the-dates, giving them their first clue about the adventure ahead.

"I didn't want details added just for the sake of being extravagant. I wanted every part of the day to actually reflect who we are, our story, and the things that have shaped our relationship over the years."

Next Stop: Glaciers and a Secluded Lake

After the ceremony, Sara and Weston weren’t quite ready to come back down to earth.

They continued exploring by air, stopping near the glaciers before landing beside a secluded lake for portraits along the shore.

Then, after one final loop over Wanaka, they headed back to The Lookout Lodge, where their guests were already waiting below and cheering as they landed.

Not exactly your average wedding-day transportation.

A Relaxed and Intimate Reception

Sara and Weston skipped cocktail hour and went straight into dinner, gathering everyone around one long outdoor table overlooking the mountains.

With only fifteen guests, the evening felt less like a formal reception and more like one big dinner with the people they love most. There was more food than anyone could finish, plenty of stories, emotional speeches, lots of laughter, and time to actually sit together and enjoy it all.

Cake cutting led into Sara and Weston’s beautifully backlit first dance, then their daughter Charlie joined Weston for a very special father-daughter dance.

Sweet, intimate, emotional...

And then things took a turn.

The Party Gets Wild

Once everyone moved inside the barn, espresso martinis appeared and a girls-versus-guys dance battle kicked off the night.

Sara disappeared for a quick outfit change and returned in a one-shoulder gold dress, hair pulled back and very clearly ready to party.

And this little group of fifteen absolutely went for it.

There was dancing. There was log rolling. There was lap dancing. There was screaming along to favorite songs.

The small group of guests didn’t mean the party was quiet. They were log rolling, lap dancing, and screaming the lyrics to their favorite tracks. Things got WILD!

Choosing Their Wedding Photographer – Jason Vinson - Vinson Images

Sara has spent more than twenty years photographing weddings, and she and Jason Vinson have shot side by side at events for years.

“He has a way of being in the moment without taking away from it. He becomes part of it. I wanted the epic photos and raw moments.”

And this wedding gave Jason just about everything to work with: changing mountain light, helicopters flying overhead, quiet moments between family members, enormous landscapes, and eventually a very lively dance floor.

He was right there for all of it.

“I can still see him running from one mountaintop to another, and I could not be more appreciative of that effort.”

"This may be one of our favorite descriptions of a wedding photographer doing whatever it takes to get the shot". - Sherry Pickerell -World's Best Wedding Photo's - CEO

Advice For Other Couples

Sara’s advice to couples looking for their own wedding photographer comes from the unique perspective of someone who has spent years on both sides of the camera.

“Look for someone whose perspective differs from your own, someone who captures the in-between moments as naturally as the big ones, without ever getting in the way of either. He didn't just photograph what everything looked like, he captured what it actually felt like to be there."

Find Your Destination Wedding Photographer

You may not be planning to arrive at your ceremony by helicopter, or maybe you are, but your wedding should feel like you.

Finding a destination wedding photographer who can capture both the big, jaw-dropping scenes and everything happening in between is exactly why couples come to World’s Best Wedding Photos.

Whether your dream wedding takes you to a mountaintop in New Zealand, a beach halfway around the world, or somewhere completely unexpected, explore our directory of vetted wedding photographers and find someone who can capture not only where your adventure takes you, but how it felt to be there.