Ilex Wedding Photography + Film

Kia ora, we're Robin + Andie, a wedding photography and film studio who love shooting weddings at Ilex in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

Ilex sits inside the Gardens, which makes it unusual: a city venue where you step out of the door into one of the best green spaces in the country.

Shooting at Ilex

The trees are the reason this place is special. The Botanic Gardens hold specimen trees that have been there well over a century, and nothing built in the last twenty years comes close to that kind of scale in a photograph. They give portraits height, depth and a sense of permanence.

They also give you shade, which matters more than people expect. On a bright Canterbury afternoon, open lawns are hard work for portraits; here you can step twenty metres and be under a canopy with soft, even light.

Being in the middle of town is the other advantage. Getting-ready spots, hotels and the city itself are minutes away, so a Christchurch wedding at Ilex can take in gardens and city without anything feeling rushed.

And the Gardens shift completely through the year. Spring planting, deep summer green, and autumn colour that's genuinely worth timing a wedding around. Worth knowing if you've seen photos from one season and are booking another.