Meet the founder

Hi, I’m Shana. I built this because every NZ couple deserves a wedding planning experience that feels as good as the day itself.

Start with the free checklist Meet the vendors
Shana, founder of Your Wedding Planner NZ
Shana on her wedding day in Canterbury
The beginning

The wedding that started all of this

It was a day I had dreamed about for years. My partner and I had been together for seven years, raising two children, sharing a house, walking the same dog. We built a whole life before we built a wedding. And I had been lucky enough to stand beside friends as a bridesmaid a handful of times, helping them through the same process I was now stepping into. I loved it.

By the end of it I had a beautiful day, a husband I adore, and a Google Drive folder with 47 wedding spreadsheets in it.

I’m a digital marketer. I plan campaigns and build systems for a living. And even loving the process, even with all the bridesmaid experience, I found planning a wedding in New Zealand harder than it needed to be.

Every checklist I downloaded was American. Every budget tool quoted prices in dollars that weren’t ours. Every “top venues” article was a paid placement dressed up as advice. I had 15 browser tabs open at any given time and no idea if I was ahead, behind, or doing it wrong.

“Someone should build the NZ version of this properly. So a few months after the wedding, I did.”
Get to know me

A bit more about me

If you texted me asking the same questions every couple wants to ask, this is what you’d get back.

S
Shana
Online now
Today
What’s your coffee order?
Vanilla iced latte. Always.
Where did you get married?
Biased but Rosemount in Canterbury. I’d do it again tomorrow.
Most played song at your wedding?
The Power of Love by Cyril. Cried, laughed, danced. Still do.
Hot take on wedding traditions?
Skip the formal plated meals. Go shared style, long-table feasts, food trucks. Your guests will remember it for years.
If you eloped, where?
Queenstown. Easy answer.
What advice would you give engaged couples?
A wedding is a party, not a performance. The only people who’ll remember the centrepieces are you. Everyone will remember if the couple was too stressed to have fun.
What did you spend way more on than expected?
All the small things. They add up fast and nobody warns you.
And way less than you expected?
My florals. Exactly what I dreamt of, and they didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
What I’m building

A home for your wedding.
Everything you need to plan it.
Free, made for Aotearoa.

Calling all NZ wedding vendors

We need founding vendors

Your Wedding Planner is launching with a curated directory of NZ wedding vendors. If you’re a photographer, venue, florist, caterer, celebrant, or any other wedding business in Aotearoa, I’d love to have you as a founding partner. Special launch pricing for everyone who joins us early.

Become a founding vendor
Start here

Start with the checklist

If you’ve just got engaged and you don’t know where to start, start here. The 426 task checklist is the same one I built for myself, refined over the last year of building this platform.

Download the free checklist Try the AI planner