Prep: Daniel at Hossegor House, Gerringong, Sharna at Private Address
Ceremony: St Mary, Star of the Sea, Gerringong
Portraits: Big Fig Park, Kiama, Secondary locations on Kiama Bends and Terralong Street.
Reception Venue: The Pavilion, Kiama
An international love story, resulting in one of the biggest weddings I’ve ever shot – and definitely the biggest of 2023! Strap in, this post and gallery is huge.
These two lovebirds stumbled across each other on a Contiki tour in Europe 4 years before their wedding. Sharna was a Gerringong native, and Daniel lived at the tip of New Zealand’s South Island. Their whirlwind time together on the Tour had them both keeping in regular contact for years, blossoming into a beautiful long-distance relationship with not even the great oceans between them keeping them apart. That was – until COVID hit. Daniel had secretly been planning to pop the question just before internation borders closed, and so he and their families had to wait the most agonising wait holding the secret until they were able to be reunited. There were many tears of joy shared among their 120 guests while recounting the story, as our most wonderful couple were now able to finally live the rest of their lives together.
This wedding was a huge day, starting with some preparations at separate locations. Daniel and his team of men and family got ready at the stunning beachside Airbnb Hossegor house, overlooking the iconic Werri Beach, with surfers being greeted by dolphins in the distance. The groomsmen were all super fun, with lots of laughs and cheeky moments.
Our stunning bride Sharna got ready for her happily ever after at her parent’s private address nearby. The home was a perfect space with beautiful gardens to complement the lovely bride tribe and her family. There was lots of nerves, excitement, and beautiful moments.
Being a Gerringong local, Sharna’s choice of ceremony venue was very dear to her and her family. It also made for a stunning backdrop, with the Church inside being super roomy with lovely warm and muted light. The mezzanine above provided a wonderful opportunity for a point of view not often seen. After the traditional Catholic ceremony, our bridal party and newlyweds were greeted with cheers, smiles, and bubbles as they emerged into the Church courtyard, with the huge family greeting the new Mr. and Mrs. before we took off for our formal portraits.
We allowed a LOT of time for photos between the Ceremony and Reception, which meant we could quickly drop by multiple locations, as well as give the bridal party heaps of time to relax and hangout together prior to starting their celebrations. Our first location was to drop by a little side-road adjacent to the end of the Kiama bends, overlooking the town of Gerringong and surrounded by green fields. Our main photos, however, were taken around the Big Fig Park in Kiama, around the back of Greyleigh drive. Being late in the afternoon, there were no families around, so we took advantage of the empty playground for some super fun portraits before moving around the back of the walking path and park to take some more formal pictures. We ended our little portraits session with a quick snap back in the centre of town, outside the Old Kiama Firestation on the crossing at twilight. The bridal team then hit up the pub while I headed to the reception location.
Our last stop was the huge but classic hall of the Pavilion, by Surf Beach in Kiama. It was a traditional set up for the evening, with lots of love, laughter, great food and crazy dancing. A little later in the evening the bubble guns were brought out again, as were the light up LED sticks for the dancefloor! In amongst the dancing, I pulled our bride and groom aside to take advantage of the darkness and take some photos together among the stands and on the field, allowing our couple some privacy and to cool down before continuing their partying. The evening ended with a guard of honour exit before our newlyweds walked off to their happily ever after!
