Tabula Rasa Wedding and Event Centre — Attraction in Franklin

My Partner and I got married at Tabula Rasa just this month, If you are looking for a Venue that requires minimum effort for maximum results than look no further.

I shall start with the only downsides we experienced, as I feel reviews with only one side lack a little authenticity. First, there are a fair few bugs due to it having massive (Beautiful) gardens on all sides, to counter this there is bug spray offered, unfortunately we did not notice until we had already been bitten. Second It isn’t the closest venue to central Auckland, being a wedding, with many patrons drinking it can be a downside, hiring a bus to and from venue could solve this issue. As far as the positives, well were do I begin, The owners of this Venue are amazing, it is a family run business and it isn’t a cramming session for them, when we were looking at venues they mentioned they ran a wedding a weekend so that both their team and the Wedding were not overly stressed and it meant we could come in the day prior to set up, this was a massive plus in our books as most of the places we looked needed the wedding to be both decorated, completed and cleaned up within the same day. Like any business customer service is key, and the Tabula Rasa team went above and beyond, changing our day from magnificent to magical with small but caring moments.

We had several meetings with Tabula Rasa as we tried to envision our day, they were open to us visiting the venue on multiple occasion and were there to add there opinion / expertise as we went.

When we sat down with the chef to talk menu the chef was both knowledgeable about her position and went out of the way, I had a few coeliac guests, and the chef managed to cater to their needs while not altering from the original menu, meaning they did not feel excluded when food was served. The chef offered to incorporate small versions of the larger deserts I was keen for so we could include them in the tasting platers that they offered.

Being an idiot, I managed to forget to eat before the wedding (This is not advised), and was starting to feel a little tipsy before the majority of the guests had arrived, I spoke to the team and they were able to whip up a sandwich for me to help settle the alcohol and the nerves. It’s the small things.

The catering team brought out Canapes and drinks were bought out mid photo shoot for the wedding parties, this is a big must as taking photos for an hour can whip up hunger like you wouldn’t believe

I was then surprised at dinner, when the chef came out with a small side of veges, my partner and I could not decide between two of the sides, and being the groom I happily conceded when the zilla came out, seeing my reluctance they took it upon themselves and I got a taste of the side I wanted on the day.

The team at Tabula Rasa also allowed us to do non-conventional bar tabs, which meant the bridal parties and a few others we selected could order off the menu while setting a standard wine, cider and beers for all others.

If you made it this far through the review then something must of sparked your fancy, before moving on to have a look at another venue I’d recommend to message the Team and pop in for a visit, the venues style and aesthetics are beautiful, not one guest had anything bad to say and they made our day simple, elegant and most importantly fun.

Another shout out for the day was the awesome team at Kouki Photography NZ for capturing our day. Their team was very fun to work with and managed to get photos of our beautiful day at...

We had our wedding here last year and I hope our review will do this beautiful place and amazing people justice. From the very first meeting we had with Caryn, Wendy and Trevor, Tabula Rasa met and exceeded every expectation we had. They were so welcoming it was as if we were meeting with family. They made every moment so personal and I can not thank them and their staff enough for the everything they did. I suggest if you are even just considering holding your wedding or event at Tabula Rasa, meet with them and see it for yourself in person. Our guest continue to compliment everything from our day here.. the food is amazing (we had platters, mains and desserts) the venue is gorgeous with so many possibilities of how you want to personalize your day. It was such an elegant and sophisticated venue yet inviting and welcoming. I experienced a lot of problems just weeks before with hair and make up cancelling, florist cancelling just two days before, family dramas and it felt like just a whole lot of bad luck. They could see how anxious I was the day before but they just had everything under controlled, organized so efficiently and I honestly can not thank them enough for helping me get through the day. On the day, we had so much fun and it was such a relaxed experience because of the team here. They went above and beyond anything that was asked and we loved everything about them, the venue, the pool, the accommodation, the food and the staff. You will not be disappointed with their fun, attentive and professional approach to whatever event you have in mind. Thank you! Jaye...

Tabula Rasa was the one and only wedding venue we visited, once we came to see the grounds and met Caryn and team, we knew straight away it was the one, it ticked all the boxes!

We had a fairly unconventional style of wedding in mind and a guest list well over the venue's max capacity but Caryn and Trevor assured us they could make the day we dreamed of work, even with our tricky requirements.

The grounds are beautifully manicured gardens and there's a perfect spot under the oak tree for the ceremony, but what we loved was the outside/pool area. This area has a large covered pergola with louvre system and could also accommodate marquees on the lawn. The space felt relaxed and our guests loved it. Unfortunately we had a tonne of rainfall in the evening but the team made sure it didn't affect our day and quickly accommodated guests inside to have dinner.

As for the food, we had many guests raving about it, particularly the salmon! We also found the prices for canapés and dinner were so reasonable compared to other venues. The team allowed us to choose alcohol that we knew our guests preferred and they brought it in to accommodate.

We really appreciate the effort Caryn, Trevor and Wendy put in to making sure we were looked after, from first visit to the very end. You could easily forget that they're juggling multiple weddings at a time because they make you feel like you're their only client. Very pleased and highly recommend!...