Hear from other Bride & Grooms.

We had our ceremony outside in the garden under the fig tree and moved onto the deck for drinks and canapes, inside the ballroom for dinner. From the very beginning, the Duke made everything so easy. Ellie was an absolute super star, both in the lead up and then making sure everything was set up beautifully on the day. She had great ideas and tips, and was very accommodating with our ideas and plans as well. The Duke is such a wonderful venue. It is beautiful, in an incredible location and offers so much. The food was delicious, and we had so many comments on how good it was. The service was also fantastic - Gerben made sure the evening went like clockwork. One of the reasons we chose the Duke was for the accommodation upstairs, and it was perfect. The rooms are wonderful, and it meant that our guests were so well looked after, and it meant that people such as my grandparents could pop upstairs for a nap throughout the day. This worked so well that they were ready for the dancefloor when the band started!

My bridesmaids and I also stayed upstairs, and we had such a beautiful morning getting ready on the porch, looking out over the bay amongst the pohutakawa trees and watching the vendors arrive and start setting up. We felt very glamorous and loved every minute of it. People always say that your wedding is the best day of your life, and it actually was! I am sure that was in no small part to being able to relax and enjoy ourselves, knowing that everything was beautiful and being taken care of. We couldn't recommend the Duke more! Kelly and Trelise Haora.

There is no better place to get married (from our one experience), The Duke wedding and hotel team were absolutely fantastic to work with. Adam and I were traveling from Singapore to NZ to get married, so most of our communication and planning was with Ida via email which was no problem at all. Working with a licensed venue from a distance is a fantastic option as we had no need to worry about service, food, alcohol and even decorations were super easy as this location is superb! The planning team worked with us on different seating options to accommodate our odd sized event, recommended great local vendors and put together a fantastic on the day service. Our guests raved about the event and in particular the amazing menu. A special shout out to the Hotel team who also tirelessly helped us with lots of back and forth on accommodation options for our international guests whilst balancing two weddings back to back! We will be back to celebrate many anniversaries to come. Thank you to everyone at The Duke! Kelly-Ann & Adam

This is the perfect venue for a wedding and the staff have been incredible through everything. From our initial inquiry the wedding co-coordinator Ida Birch was amazing. She was so easy to get in contact with and made planning the wedding so seamless. They offered so many great choices for food, drink and accommodation. Always available for meetings and catch ups and always steering you in the right direction to make sure you're picking the best options for your day. Ida was so helpful with things from our wedding timings, making sure our bridesmaids had platters sent to the room when we were getting ready, having our favorite cocktails provided for our top table and giving the manager on duty a thorough handover for how we wanted the day to go.

Diane who managed our accommodation was also superb. I honestly can't keep track of all the emails I sent for room changes and Diane was always so speedy updating everything with no stress. The Duke also offers great rates for wedding guests. Which brings me on to Ellie and The Duke staff! I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to help set the room up for dinner but they set it up exactly how I imagined it and literally everything was perfect. Having worked in hospitality for about 7 years I can be quite an annoying person to look after at events and there is literally nothing I could fault with the team. The food was INCREDIBLE, every guest had nothing but great things to say about the meals and the canapes. Everyone loved that they could order off a menu rather than having to pre order months in advance. The drinks were always topped up, communication with staff was great letting us know bar tab amounts etc. It can be difficult letting a team of people run your wedding but I had zero stress on the day, they made everything so perfect. Scott and I are so thankful to everyone at The Duke for making our wedding so special. You have been an exceptional team to work with and we hope to see you all again soon for some anniversary celebrations! Lots of Love Charlotte and Scott Taylor

The Team at the Duke were exceptional in all details leading up to and on our wedding day. The hotel itself has loads of character and charm and the only thing we would have done different is stayed longer! All of our wedding guests said the food and service was excellent and it really was. This is a wedding venue that you can count on to be special. Erica & Ed Delamare

From planning through to celebrating our very special day, the Duke went above and beyond in every way. They were so helpful with suggesting great, local vendors and always flexible in meeting our needs. Many of our guests have raved about our wedding at the Duke, remarking on the beautiful setting, delicious food (and wine) and highly attentive staff. Ida, Bridget, Alistair and the team were absolutely brilliant and ensured we had the best time! We really can't imagine having had our wedding anywhere else. It was just perfect. We look forward to celebrating many anniversaries to come at the Duke. We are so grateful; thank you!! Lisa & Byron

We had an absolute awesome time. One we will never forget. We would like to thank Ida, Ellie, Nicole,Di and all the wonderful staff who kept the drinks and food flowing. The food and the view were amazing and it was truly our fairytale wedding. We cannot thank you all enough for such a stress free relaxed day. The staff were all so helpful, especially the cleaners, our room was spacious and very clean not to mention the view was just breathtaking. It will be a day that our family and friends will cherish as they are still talking about it two weeks later. To the Duke of Marlborough Russell , Bay of lslands we salute you!!! Thank you so much for everything. We had a fantastic wedding! Naremin and Cory xo

We would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to everyone at the hotel who helped make the day so memorable. We would like to make a special mention regarding Ida, as she went above and beyond to help make Scott and Charlotte's day special. All the guests have since commented how amazing the venue was including the quality of food and the overall level of service. Without any doubt, we will most certainly recommend the Duke of Marlborough to others. many Thanks

We planned our wedding through the covid madness, Ellie and the team at the Duke were amazing every step of the way. We could not recommend the Duke enough, A class services. An absolutely stunning venue and the food was amazing. Our guests also had so much fantastic feedback from what was a perfect day and night

We had a truly amazing day, everything ran so smoothly and stress-free for our small private elopement. Thank you to the amazing Ellie for making everything so easy, even with just one month of planning! You provided us with all the information we needed and really set our minds at ease. Our rooms were beautiful and the service was fantastic. We thank Ellie and all the staff at The Duke of Marlborough for a truly special day, it was everything we wanted and more!