Venue review · Manawatū
Makoura Lodge, Manawatū: a Wedding Venue Review
A destination lodge an hour from Palmerston North, where the whole weekend becomes the wedding, reviewed by the team who photographed a day here.
Makoura Lodge is the one couples pick when they want the whole wedding to feel like a proper getaway. It's out in the rural Manawatū, about an hour from Palmerston North, so everyone drives out, settles in & the weekend just slows right down. We shot T & M's wedding here & loved it, so here's our honest review!
Short version: if you want a destination feel without leaving the region, on-site accommodation so nobody's driving home, & big open countryside for photos, this is a really special one :)
Makoura Lodge
A destination lodge in the rolling Manawatū countryside.
Makoura sits out in the rural Manawatū countryside, big open landscapes, golden hills & that gorgeous evening light, about an hour from Palmerston North. There's an indoor or outdoor ceremony, a reception for up to 110, a boutique bar, & accommodation on site so nobody's driving home.
It's such a beautiful spot to shoot, heaps of room so the day never feels cramped, & that destination-weekend feel without actually leaving the region.
- Rural Manawatū, ~1 hr from Palmy
- Up to 110 guests
- On-site accommodation
- Indoor & outdoor ceremony
● 736 Makoura Road, RD1 Feilding (Apiti), Manawatū
Make a weekend of it
Everyone stays on site & gets ready together.
This is the big one for us, because everyone stays at Makoura, the morning is relaxed & unhurried. The crew get ready together in the lodge, the bridal party spill out into the paddocks in their matching robes, & there's no racing around between locations.
It genuinely changes the feel of the day. It's a hang-out with your favourite people that happens to have a wedding in the middle of it.
Clay shooting & the countryside
On-site activities & big rural views.
Makoura's got on-site activities to keep everyone busy through the day, the guys had a go at clay-bird shooting out in the paddocks, which made for some brilliant photos & a lot of laughs.
And the countryside itself does so much of the work, rolling golden hills in every direction & that soft late light. A dream to photograph.
The details
The little things, made room for.
Because there's no rush, there's time to actually shoot the details properly, the dress hanging in the light, the rings & perfume, the shoes. Little bits that are easy to skip when a day's packed too tight.
That breathing room is one of the quiet perks of a stay-on-site venue like this.
T & M
A couple completely at ease.
You can feel it in the photos, because the whole day is so relaxed, T & M just got to enjoy it, & the countryside gave us those big, warm, golden portraits with nobody watching the clock.
That's the real magic of Makoura. It's not a venue you rush through, it's a place you sink into for a couple of days, & it shows.
Your photographer & film team
Getting married at Makoura Lodge? We'd love to shoot it.
We're Selah, a Palmerston North wedding photo & film team, & Makoura's right on our doorstep! One crew for Photo, Video, & real Super 8 film. If you're planning a weekend out here, we'd be stoked to connect :)
Common questions
Where is Makoura Lodge?
It's at 736 Makoura Road, out past Feilding toward Apiti in the rural Manawatū, about an hour's drive from Palmerston North. Remote enough to feel like a getaway, close enough that it's an easy trip.
How many guests does Makoura Lodge hold?
The reception seats up to about 110 guests, with indoor & outdoor ceremony options. It suits a mid-sized wedding where a good chunk of your people can stay on site.
Does Makoura have accommodation?
Yes, that's a big part of the appeal, there's accommodation on site so nobody's driving home & the whole thing becomes a proper weekend. Chat to them directly about how many the on-site rooms sleep.
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