When you’re looking for a south coast wedding venue, you really are spoilt for choice, there are so many options on looks and styles, beach, bush and farm locations, so as a South Coast Wedding Photographer, it’s really hard for me to pick my favourites, but one that has to be in my top 5 south coast wedding venues is Seacliff House in Gerringong, New South Wales.
Ideally located just off the M1 Motorway, it’s easy for guests to get to, with accommodation options less than 5 minutes away in Gerringong, or accessible by a bus or car from Wollongong or Nowra under half an hour away. The venue itself has two separate houses on site with enough accommodation for your bridal party to stay with you, The sophisticated homes can accommodate up to 20 guests, with 5 bedrooms in each, eight bathrooms, large living spaces and fully equipped kitchens.
Most couples check in the afternoon before the wedding, staying the night before, and the night of the wedding, and checking out the next morning, providing a relaxing experience around the wedding. It’s great that there are two separate houses so that guys and girls can get ready separately on the wedding day, and your wedding photographer and videographer and other vendors don’t have to move between different sites. The houses themselves have some great features, with one having a pool to cool off on those hot summer days, while the main house, usually where the girls get ready, has beautiful light-filled rooms and an epic west-facing balcony for those sunset shots.
Seacliff House is a DIY venue, and while this means a little more work, it does allow for you to have things like catering, drinks and styling exactly how you want them, and being you have the property from the day before, everything can be set up well before the wedding. The reception space, which is a modern day white barn style, caters for up to 130 people, but would be more comfortable to keep it to 100-110 so that you have space for a DJ and dancefloor, and a Photobooth if you want one as well, we recommend using Party Central for these services, and for special FX if you want great first dance photos with dry ice and cold sparks which are permitted at the venue.
On to the ceremony area, which offers a beautiful sunken paved platform area, with just a couple of steps for you to walk down, and with enough space to seat the majority of your guests, with standing space around for the remainder. Set up an arbour and decorate with florals, as behind you are rolling green hills, which lead the way down to the ocean. This are post ceremony is where your guests will hang out while you head off to have some photos. There’s ample space to set up some lawn games, plus there’s a caravan bar set up for you to utilise so people can soak up some sun, and in the warmer months, I suggest getting a gelato cart, always a hit for a spring wedding or summer wedding.
Speaking of photos, as a South Coast Wedding Photographer, I love that this venue has so many great photo opportunities just a few minutes apart. I already mentioned the balcony on the main house, but the house itself is architecturally stunning and makes for a great backdrop, it also provides shade for family photos directly after the ceremony behind the house. The driveway makes for some great walking shots, particularly around sunset when I capture some drone wedding photos. There is also complimentary use of a golf buggy to get you around the property, so don’t be daunted by the long walk down the paddocks. As you head down towards the ocean, you’ll usually encounter some friendly cows in the neighbouring property who don’t mind a wedding photo or two, before continuing down to the rotunda which has been built next to a small lake, which makes for some great romantic and intimate wedding photos between the two of you.
There are so many more reasons I love Seacliff House in Gerringong, and hopefully you can get a sense of just how beautiful it is from some of my photos below. If you’re looking for a DIY wedding venue on the New South Wales South Coast, then definitely check this one out, or if its not what you’re after, feel free to contact me, tell me what you’re after and I’ll point you in the right direction.
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