The Waterfront Function Centre is one of my favourite venues for weddings in The Sutherland Shire and St George area. There are so many beautiful locations to take stunning wedding photographs! So many options in one place. The water views, boats, and wharf are so pretty and the sunset opportunities are endless.
There’s the option to have your ceremony there too. So that makes wedding planning really easy.
For your wedding ceremony you have the choice of the park right next door to the venue: great if you want a touch of greenery and some shade.
Or the Waterfront Function Centre has a beautiful balcony next to the St Kilda room. It’s elevated and has water views that seem to go forever! The balcony is completely under-covered too, so it’s the perfect wet weather backup plan for your wedding ceremony! (check availability with the wonderful functions team first though). And equally as perfect if you are wanting a summer wedding out of the direct sun.
Looking for angles, the direction of light, reflection and sun:
As a photographer, you’re always looking for different angles to produce a variety of photographs for your client. This image was taken from the balcony of the St Kilda room, looking down onto the road below. The bridesmaids were under these parasols, in bright red dresses can you believe. So adjustments to back and white and a tiny amount of photoshop made this image a stunning wall piece in this couple’s home.
The mariner…
So many different options here. I usually make the decision on which way to go depending on the light on the day. Photographing right near the water in the early afternoon can be super tricky. You can get a lot of reflection off the water. So my first priority is checking the direction and intensity of the sun. This will obviously vary for the different months of the year!
The first image was taken in the midst of January so the light is super harsh!! I headed to the furthest walkway at the end of the Mariner for this group shots. The sun was really intense so the idea of candid photography not looking at the camera worked well. The others were in the same area but just as some cloud cover helped produce nice even light.
I really love these images of the couple with lots of boats in the background. Again not directly facing the sun to avoid the reflection off the water.
And the same wedding at a different spot! These were the last image but almost look like there were taken earlier because the sun is so bright. So facing Tom uglies bridge is probably the trickiest area to photograph, but one of my favourite spots. I really love this rickety wooden wharf. It has so much charm and character. Catching reflection and sun flare always add a beautiful touch to images. That summer haze looks really pretty as well.
Different months of the year can give you very different looks as I mentioned before. The top image was taken in January, and the bottom taken in May. Identical spots!
If you think you might want to travel a little and get some images at a local park as well as the mariner for your bridal party shots: then Cars Park Cottage is really close. Lots of greenery and sandstone buildings add a completely different feel to your photography.
Id suggests going to the park first then the mariner. The lower the light is in the sky the better for photography close to the water.
One other feature I love at the Waterfront Function Centre is their Bridal Suite! I usually get all my group shots done earlier in the photography session, then send the bridal party up to the suite to enjoy and drink and some time out. The groomsmen and bridesmaids are usually very happy to head up there 🤣! That then gives me the opportunity to spend some quality time alone with just the bride and groom taking photos. It’s amazing how much you can capture in a short time with just two people.
And of course, if you have time to duck out from your reception for 10 minutes at sunset then, all the better! I just recommend mentioning this to the ladies at the Waterfront Function Centre. That way we can try to coordinate these sunset images around meal service and speeches. They usually only take a fwe minutes or so and are very worthwhile.
For more information on this beautiful venue https://waterfrontfunctions.net.au/weddings/
Images by Sutherland Shire Wedding Photographer ©