FAQ’s

An ‘Island Picnic’ is a unique outdoor dining experience on Lord Howe Island. We provide low lying picnic tables, luxurious cushions and rugs and beautiful tableware along with a delicious antipasto platter. Love Lord Howe does all the work for you so you have nothing to do but arrive and enjoy. But the best part? We pack it all up and do the dishes too!

Platters and picnics for up to six people are bookable online via our website. Picnics can be booked up to 8pm the evening before your preferred day and platters can be booked up to 11am for same day delivery. We take full payment for your platter or picnic at the time of booking. If you require a picnic for more than six people, please contact us.

Love Lord Howe highly recommends booking well in advance to avoid disappointment. Due to the organisation, set up and preparation time involved, Love Lord Howe limits the booking of picnics to two per day. We accept bookings of up to 10 platters per day.

Although amazingly beautiful, Lord Howe Island can be a very windy place. As wind can ruin a picnic, Love Lord Howe does not confirm the location of your picnic until the day before, although we are happy to take location requests.

The day before your scheduled picnic, Love Lord Howe will advise you of the best possible picnic location via email. We will take into consideration the wind direction, ease of access and the picnic table required. Love Lord Howe will explain the best way to get to your picnic location, based on your transport (if you are riding a bike/walking/using a car) and provide a map if required.

Sorry, we cannot assist with transportation.

Due to the Lord Howe Island Board’s strict Vehicle Importation Policy, Love Lord Howe only has access to a sole vehicle for our business. This vehicle is in constant use delivering platters or transporting equipment for our island picnics, weddings and events. If you require assistance with transport, please contact Macca at Wilson’s Hire on 02 6563 2045. Wilson’s Hire has bikes, cars and mobility scooters for rent. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Large spills requiring dry cleaning will incur a cleaning fee and breakages will need replacing. We will also need to replace any platters which are not returned to continue to service our guests. This information is detailed in our terms and conditions, which must be agreed to prior to booking.

Island Picnics

Picnics generally begin in the afternoon and you select your preferred time during the booking process. If you require a different time, please contact us.

Love Lord Howe will have your picnic set up and ready to go at your location (which will be emailed to you the day prior) at the booking time selected. We will wait with your picnic until you arrive, and then come back to collect and clean up your picnic  at sunset or another agreed time.

Platters

Platters will be delivered to your selected location at the time selected during the booking process. Please allow 10 minutes either side of your requested time for delivery.

Once you are finished with your platter, please dispose of any left over food and bottles/cans in the bins provided at your location. Then place the platter, any bowls, cheese knives and drinkware in the large ‘Love Lord Howe’ bag provided with your platter. Tie the handles of the bag together and leave it in a visible spot as close to the road as possible. We will collect your bag later in the day! Lord Howe is a very safe place with many hotels and lodges offering a similar service. We would really appreciate if items were rinsed prior to collection!

Kids are more than welcome at our picnics. However, please keep in mind that the styling, the crockery, the glassware and the antipasto platter food provided is designed to delight adult attendees. We can amend the platter to more ‘kid friendly’ options if required. For more information, please contact us.

Picnics

Love Lord Howe will wait with your picnic for up to 20 minutes past the agreed start time. If you have still not arrived by this time, we will place a large covering over the picnic set up and for food safety reasons, return your platter to cold storage at our premises.

The entire set up will then be left unattended until you arrive. We will endeavour to return to the location again around our existing bookings with your platter but this is not guaranteed.

Love Lord Howe will still return at the agreed finish time to pack up. Please note that we will still return at sunset or the agreed pack up time regardless of your arrival time.

Platters

If you are not at the agreed drop off place and time for your platter, we will wait for up to ten minutes for you.

If you have still not arrived, we will depart to place your platter and drinks in the fridge inside the transit room at your lodge. Your lodge information is collected during the booking process.

Yes, you can subject to availability. Please contact us with your requirements. Extra hourly hire costs apply.

Love Lord Howe will return to collect all items at sunset, or another agreed time. Guests are responsible for all items until collection. If items are missing when the picnic is collected, replacement fees apply.

Platters

There are no refunds for inclement weather.

Love Lord Howe will still attempt to deliver the platter to the agreed location. If this location is outside and not undercover, Love Lord Howe will deliver the platter to your Lodge.

As part of our booking process, you advise Love Lord Howe which lodge you are staying at during your time on Lord Howe Island.

Picnics

No refunds are offered for cancellations due to wet weather.

Due to the outside nature of our business, it is essential that guests have a back up plan should we be unable to set up an outdoor picnic due to wet weather.

We are able to set up picnics at your lodge or in another undercover location as long as we are granted access. As part of our booking process, you are required to advise us where you would like us to set up your picnic during wet weather.

Love Lord Howe will contact you the day before your booking via email to confirm your wet weather location. If we have availability for a picnic on an alternate day during your stay we will advise you in the same email. Please note a change to the date and time is NOT guaranteed.

All our picnics include a deluxe antipasto grazing platter which includes fine cheeses, homemade dips, speciality crackers, fresh seasonal fruit and other yummy treats. Alterations to the platter, such as making it gluten or dairy free are possible on request. We also provide a jug of lemon infused Lord Howe Island rainwater.

During the booking process, you can also add a bottle of wine, champagne or a few craft beers at an additional cost.

Love Lord Howe can cater for dietary requirements, provided adequate notice is given. We ask that guests with dietary requirements book as early as possible to enable speciality ingredients to be ordered.

For each person booked and paid for, Love Lord Howe provides individual crockery, cutlery, drinkware and floor cushions. We also ensure there is enough delicious food for the amount of people you have booked for.

If you anticipate there will be more people than you originally booked for, please contact us prior to 8pm the evening before your scheduled picnic. Subject to availability, we may be able to accommodate them. Extra charges apply.

If less people arrive than planned, there are no refunds offered.

No refunds are offered for cancellations due to wet weather. During wet weather, platters will be dropped to your lodge or can be dropped to Ned’s Beach Shed on request.

Love Lord Howe will endeavour to reschedule Island Picnics to an alternate day during your stay, however this is NOT guaranteed due to booking availability and time constraints. As part of our booking process, you are required to advise us where you would like us to set up your island picnic during wet weather if we are unable to re-schedule your picnic. Should you wish to cancel your picnic or platter for another reason, the following cancellation policy applies:

Outside 14 days from your Island Picnic:

If you wish to cancel, we will issue a full refund minus a $10 service fee, plus costs of any speciality items already purchased for your individual booking.

Between 7 to 14 days from your Island Picnic:

If you wish to cancel, 50% of your pre-payment is forfeited. We will refund the amount for any unused alcohol/soft drink purchases.

Within 7 days of your Island Picnic:

100% of your picnic pre-payment is forfeited. We will refund the amount paid for any unused alcohol/soft drink purchases. This is because our catering supplies are ordered in from the mainland via our fortnightly freight ship and may spoil if not used. We also may have turned away other picnic bookings in order to confirm your particular time and date.

Unfortunately, wedding or event date changes cannot be made.

For weddings, this is because of the schedules and availability of the vendors involved in each individual wedding. Danielle will discuss potential indoor options with wedding couples the day before the wedding if required.

For events only engaging Love Lord Howe, we will endeavour to reschedule events to an alternate day during your stay, however this is NOT guaranteed and unlikely due to booking availability, time constraints and staffing requirements. Event organisers are informed of potential wet weather options and costs during the planning process.

As part of both the Wedding and Elopement packages, your wedding co-ordinator Danielle Nicolson will pick wedding couples up the day before the wedding to view the recommended potential ceremony locations based on the forecasted weather.

During this meeting, Danielle will discuss with you the alternative indoor locations if rain is highly likely.

Depending on the size of the wedding group, potential free undercover venues are the Neds Beach Shed or inside the Transit Room at your lodge (subject to permission from the Lodge Owner)

There are various private undercover options such as the Community Hall and The Golf Club which attract an additional room hire fees, ranging from $800 to $3000.

Love Lord Howe recommends several ‘Island Based’ wedding vendors.

We work regularly with a local wedding celebrant, photographer, florist, hair and makeup artist, wedding cake maker and transport operator.

As Lord Howe is such a small community at 400 people, sometimes a vendor may not be available for your wedding date. If this should happen, we will work with you to find an alternative – either on Lord Howe Island or brought in from the mainland.

This is a tricky one to answer!

If you use all the best vendors on the Island including:

Wedding Co-Ordinator – Love Lord Howe

Celebrant

Photographer / Videographer

Florist

Hair and makeup artist

Wedding cake

Transport services

An elopement ranges between $8000 – $10,000 depending on the level of services required.

If you are particularly budget conscious and only require the services of Love Lord Howe, a wedding celebrant and witnesses, pricing starts at $2545.

These prices are current as of April 2024 and are subject to change.

For a wedding to be legal in Australia, wedding couples must give 28 days written notice to Births, Deaths and Marriages.

To allow for your paperwork to be processed in time, you must allow at least five weeks between submitting your paperwork and your wedding date.

Our recommended celebrant will guide you through the paperwork and identification requirements.

Once you decide to hold your event or to get married on Lord Howe Island, please contact Danielle by emailing danielle@lovelordhowe.com.au to discuss your preferred date and requirements.

To confirm all wedding and event bookings we take a $1000 deposit, with any remaining amounts payable 28 days prior to your wedding or event.

We are more than happy to make suggestions and answer basic questions regarding accomodation options on Lord Howe Island.

However, we are not a licensed travel agent an cannot make bookings on your behalf.

For elopement bookings, we can put you in direct contact with lodge owners to discuss your accomodation requirements. For larger weddings and events, we recommend the use of Oxley Travel, a specialist Lord Howe Island travel agent.

No refunds are offered for cancellations due to wet weather.

Should you wish to cancel your wedding or event for another reason, including in relation to Covid-19, the following cancellation policy applies:

Outside 28 days from your wedding or event:
If you wish to cancel, your $1000 non-refundable deposit is forfeited, plus the cost of any speciality items already purchased for your wedding or event. Full payment for all weddings and events are due 28 days prior to the scheduled event date.

Between 14 to 27 days from your wedding or event:

If you wish to cancel, the initial $1000 non-refundable deposit is forfeited, plus 50% of any additional pre-payments.

Within 14 days of your wedding or event:
100% of your wedding or event pre-payment is forfeited. This is because our catering supplies are ordered in from the mainland via our fortnightly freight ship and may spoil if not used. We also may have turned away other wedding or event bookings order to confirm your particular date.