Baylys' Farm — Attraction in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

My husband and I had our wedding here in February 2022, and we truly cannot recommend Baylys' Farm more highly enough!! They do SUCH an amazing job. We feel so fortunate to have found them.

Obviously, as a venue that is set up for events/weddings, Baylys' Farm knows EXACTLY what they are doing!! They have an incredibly helpful brochure/planning guide for their guests that clearly and easily lists need to know info and also recommendations for vendors in the area who have worked with Baylys before and have a good 'lay of the land'. This was SO helpful for us, because obviously, planning a wedding and knowing where to start can be so overwhelming. Oh my gosh, honestly, Baylys Farm did SUCH an amazing job and made our wedding dreams into a reality!! The fact that they also had a beautiful Marquee set up already, along with tables and chairs, also made things easier for us to organise, as those were all big basics that they had already taken care of for us!

Not to mention, on top of all of that, that the venue is so massive and so beautiful, that you don't need to travel anywhere to get such PERFECT wedding day shots!! Beach shoot? No problem, it's there. Cliff side with ocean and mountains in the background? You got it! Dreamy shots in long dry grass? Mountains? Fields? Trees? Literally, almost anything you could dream of for your wedding photos, Baylys Farm almost definitely has you covered for the perfect locations. We couldn't have picked a better venue, and all our guests had SUCH a wonderful time. We were so happy with everything.

The communication we had from start to finish with Baylys' Farm (Melita particularly) was SO great. She was always so quick to respond, and answered all questions we had so well and thoroughly. Her and the team at Baylys Farm are all so professional, and so trustworthy of handling your special day! In our opinion, they truly went above and beyond in looking after us, right from the beginning all the way to the very last moment of our wedding day/night. We were in such good hands and knowing they had things in control allowed us to really have the confidence to sit back, relax and enjoy our once in a lifetime day.

Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend Baylys' Farm!!!! Thank you SO SO much to Melita and the Baylys' Farm team for making our wedding day SO...

We unfortunately had to cancel due to COVID travel restrictions for my family overseas, something very much beyond our control. Baylys decided to take it upon them to change their contract when we asked to postpone. Initially, we had paid a %20 deposit (which would be non-refundable if we canceled which is what happened in our case), and would have to give 3 months notice at the latest to any postponement or cancelations. When they sent us a new contract, they were now asking for a %50 deposit, a $1,000 fee, and would require a 10 month notice for any changes, anything less than that and they’d keep all your money. So they more than tripled the notice time, and more than doubled the amount of money you would potentially lose.

We were aware of a postponement fee when we signed on. It was a risk we were willing to take trying to book more than a year in advance. However, the changes they made to their contract showed bad faith and made it seem like they were taking advantage of a situation that’s affecting so many people beyond their control. Weddings are expensive, everything magically triples in price when you mention somethings for a wedding, we all know how frustrating that is, but Baylys just puts the cherry on top of it all, they’ll take your money without giving anything in return.

Many businesses across NZ have been affected by COVID, big and small, many of which I’ve had to make cancellations or changes with as well, but not one of them tried to take advantage of the situation and make a profit out of it, they would either give you a refund, credit, or allow to you to reschedule without a fee. Their venue was already completely booked for all of Jan 2023, 16 months in advance, I’m sure they’re doing just fine. Don’t risk it with this venue, not unless you are %100 certain that your plans are rock solid for more than 10 months in advance. Take it from someone who learned it...

Look no further, you have found the wedding venue of your dreams. Baylys farm speaks for itself, if you are looking for coastal charm located on one of the most beautiful historic farms in the Bay of Islands, then this is the venue for you. BUT - what truly sets this wedding venue apart from the others is Melita and Will. They put there hearts and souls into ensuring you are prepared for the big day and they provide you with everything you need to be set up for success. When we first started planning we viewed quite a few potential venues, however they all lacked something, be it the service experienced on viewing or being underwhelming and oversold on the likes of instagram. So when we met with Melita at this point I didn't have my hopes up. Boy was I wrong, one meeting with Melita showing us around, answering my 101 questions was all we needed, we walked away feeling as if we had found "the one". Come the big day, all communications up to this point were prompt, kind & considerate. Anything we needed I knew that they would of gone above and beyond for to ensure we could have the best day ever and that it was. I would re do our wedding day over and over again here at Baylys because it was everything we could of dreamed of. I cannot recommend them enough, you will not regret it! It will be what your dreams are made of! And to add to that, when you book with Baylys you receive a list of all the best vendors to work with and they make the planning process a breeze - if you're planning your big day, all the best! I hope you...