Sand underfoot, or native bush behind you. New Zealand has plenty of beaches, gardens and reserves that can host a ceremony, as long as you ask the right people first.

The first step is finding out who looks after the spot you love, because that decides who you ask. Many parks, gardens and beaches are run by the local council, and some gardens by a regional council.

Others sit on public conservation land, which the Department of Conservation (DOC) manages. DOC suggests checking the name and status of a site on its Discover the Outdoors maps.

Booking a beach, garden or park

Christchurch City Council takes wedding bookings for its beaches and its Port Hills and Banks Peninsula parks and reserves, and there’s no fee for these spots. Bookings run for up to three hours, plus 15 minutes to set up and pack down, and rehearsals aren’t included.

Thames-Coromandel District Council asks couples to send in an application form with a $68 lodgement fee. A small number of chairs and tables and a 3 metre by 3 metre gazebo are fine, but signs and banners can’t be tied to trees or structures.

Vehicles aren’t allowed onto reserves for weddings, so everyone arrives on foot. If you’re having music on the beach, the council asks you to point the speakers towards the ocean.

Some Coromandel reserves have areas you can’t enter or where food isn’t allowed. At significant cultural and archaeological sites the ground can’t be disturbed, which rules out even gazebo pegs, so check the reserve plan for your spot before you apply. Tauranga City Council runs a similar system online, with up to 2.5 hours at one location and no charge for a ceremony.

Gardens often come with set lawns and set prices. A wedding area at the Dunedin Botanic Garden costs a $50 non-refundable donation.

Its spaces range from the Rose Garden, where up to 10 people can use the paths, to the Northern Lawn, which holds about 100. Bookings start from 10am and finish an hour before the gates close, and there’s no vehicle access.

Wellington City Council hires out the Soundshell in Wellington Botanic Garden and Cockayne Lawn in Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush for $113 an hour each, and fees aren’t refundable once a booking is confirmed. Cockayne Lawn takes up to 50 people and 20 chairs without spikes, with no marquees, gazebos or awnings.

In Taranaki, the regional council hires out Keiller Garden at Pukeiti in two-hour slots for $250, plus a $600 refundable bond. It holds 80 standing guests and suits a ceremony with light refreshments.

Nelson City Council says any of its parks can be booked, and Isel Park, Broadgreen and Queens Gardens are among the most popular. Trestle tables, chairs and gas barbecues are allowed everywhere except the Huangshi Chinese Garden. Unamplified music is fine, but amplified sound needs a resource consent.

Sharing the space, confetti and a toast

A booking holds your place, but at almost every spot here it doesn’t close the park or beach. Christchurch’s council says you’ll be sharing with the public, and Nelson’s can’t guarantee exclusivity, so a birthday party might turn up at the same time.

In the Coromandel, public car parks can’t be reserved for your guests. Hamilton Gardens is the exception, where some of its themed enclosed gardens can be closed to the public for a ceremony of at least two hours, between 10am and 5pm.

Confetti rules change from place to place. Both Wellington garden sites rule out confetti, rice, flower petals, bird seed and glitter.

Nelson bans paper confetti in every park but is happy with rice or rose petals, except in the Chinese garden, where no confetti is allowed. If you’ve got your heart set on a send-off, check your council’s list before you buy anything.

If you’re planning a toast, check whether your spot is in an alcohol ban area. Councils set these through bylaws.

Nelson’s bans alcohol around the clock at Queens Gardens and from 9pm to 7am at Isel Park, Broadgreen, Miyazu Gardens and Fairfield Park, and couples can apply to the council for a wedding exemption.

Wellington’s ban covers Oriental Bay at all times, and an exception there needs a written application at least 10 working days ahead. Tauranga has a dispensation form for couples who’d like a ceremony toast.

DOC land and drones

DOC asks anyone running a business or activity on public conservation land to hold a concession, its word for a permit. Its filming page lists commercial still photography in its fee schedule, so ask your photographer whether they hold a concession for the place you have in mind. If you’re unsure whether your own plans need permission, DOC’s advice is to contact its permissions team at permissions@doc.govt.nz.

A one-off concession is for activities with only minor environmental effects and no permanent structures. Timing depends partly on whether iwi need to be consulted, and complex applications can take a number of months. The minimum processing fee for a one-off activity is $740 plus GST.

Drone shots need a little extra care. DOC treats drones as aircraft, and every drone flown on conservation land needs a permit. A recreational permit for green-zoned land costs $180 plus GST, is issued instantly online and lasts a year.

A drone flown for pay needs DOC’s commercial permit. Orange zones are reviewed case by case, and red zones are rarely approved.

Wherever you fly, the Civil Aviation Authority’s Part 101 rules apply. Pilots need consent before flying over people and property, can fly only in daylight and must keep the drone in sight. They can’t fly higher than 120 metres or within 4km of an aerodrome, except under set conditions.

Once you know who looks after your spot, you know who to ask, and the rest follows from there. Your celebrant and photographer can help you check what the site needs. Then it’s just the view, your vows and the two of you.